I visited Israel for 32 days in the month of July. During this time, I only had 4 weekends (8 days) to travel and so in total I travelled 5 cities in 8 days. It is undoubtedly the most memorable trip till today, with so many unforgettable experiences: running to catch the last bus before the Sabbath starts, witnessing the cenacle where Jesus had the last supper, trekking mount of olives to catch the beautiful sunset, tasting Knafeh (Israeli sweet) at Ben Yehuda Street, shopping locally crafted jewelry at Jerusalem, floating in the "Dead Sea" and the list goes on.
David Ben-Gurion was the first prime minister of Israel. Although having a chance to stay at a better place David Ben-Gurion chose to stay at this place for his vision to transform the Negev (dessert land) into a tech valley. His house has been kept intact after his demise and is open for public viewing. I was surprised to see Mahatma Gandhi's photo in this house and came to know that he had great respect and faith in the ideologies of Gandhi. As the name dessert home suggests his home is surrounded by dessert and you can get a few picturesque shots here.
It took us 1.5 hours to reach the dead sea beach from David Ben-Gurion's home. Not only is the Dead sea the lowest point on Earth (430.5 m below sea level), you can actually float in it due to high salt content of the water. There are showers and changing rooms at the beach.
Note: Make sure the water doesn't go in your eyes or else your eyes will burn to an extent that you won't be able to open them.😜
Trekking in the Ein Gedi Reserve was beautiful, different yet tiring not because of the difficulty of the trek but due to the scorching heat. Nonetheless, it was unique and interesting.
We stayed in Jerusalem for 2 days. On the first day we visited city of David, near to it is King David's city excavation site. We also walked through the underground water channel (Siloam tunnel) carved beneath the city of David.
King Herod built the Western Wall around 19 BCE . The Romans destroyed the temple in 70 CE but the support wall survived. People pray to the western wall and write their wishes on a piece of paper and put them on the wall. Near to the western wall is the Ramban synagogue which is the oldest functioning synagogue in the Old city of Jerusalem.
Note: Tourists are allowed to enter the Temple mount on fixed days and time. Check it before you plan to visit.
Mahane Yehuda market is a must visit to taste the authentic Israeli sweets and food. Around 800m from the market is the Umbrella street where you can find a few good jewelry shops to buy locally handcrafted jewelry.
Cenacle de Jerusalem is the place of the last supper. King David's tomb is present on the first floor and directly above the Tomb of David is located the room of last supper also called the "upper room". It is considered a holy site for Jews and Christians.
The garden tomb is said to be the place where Jesus was crucified (The place of crucifixion is apparently opposite to the "skull-hill") and after the crucifixion he was kept in a cave near to the skull hill.
In the evening, we went to the Mount of Olives sunset point to witness the mesmerizing view of the sunset and old Jerusalem.
The port city of Jaffa is beautiful, you can rent lime scoot using the lime app and wander along the beach. In order to use the lime scoot you need to scan your passport in the app, so make sure to keep it handy.
Travel tips:
1. Fridays and Saturdays are weekends in Israel and Sundays are working days.
2. Sabbath is a day for rest and worship for Jews in Israel from Friday sunset till Saturday sunset every week. And public transports are not operational between this time except for private taxis.
3. Markets, shops and restaurants are also closed during sabbath. Stock food or necessary items before the sabbath starts.
