Tourism Archives - Page 75 of 96

Israel’s Largest Aquarium Coming to Jerusalem Biblical Zoo

The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo and the Jerusalem Municipality announced on Sunday a NIS 80 million initiative to create Israel’s largest aquarium at the zoo. The aquarium, expected to open in 2015, will hold 2 million cubic meters of seawater in a number of large tanks. The highlight of the exhibit will be an underwater tunnel where visitors can walk underneath the aquarium and see a 180-degree view of the sharks, sea turtles, coral reefs and exotic fishes. The two largest tanks will focus on life in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, while 30 smaller tanks will feature small habitats…. “Jerusalem will be the first city where there will be both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and people won’t be able to say anymore that Jerusalem doesn’t have the sea,” Mayor Nir Barkat said.

The full story is here.

Tagged Jerusalem, Tourism

Israel to Revive Jordan River

A Reuters report describes how the Jordan River has shrunk over the years but a new plan will bring the stream back to life.

Today, as a result of years of overtaxing for irrigation and drinking water, [the Jordan River] snakes irresolutely along the valley from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. As far as the eye can see, it is just a few meters wide.
“It’s five percent of what once flowed,” said Ben Ari, who is one of the rehabilitation project leaders. “You can easily walk across without getting your head wet.”
Almost all the water that feeds the river is diverted by Syria, Jordan and Israel before it reaches the south, he explained.
But for the first time, Israel — which is two-thirds arid and has battled drought since its establishment 64 years ago — has a water surplus.
This follows decades of massive investment in the country’s water infrastructure. It re-uses 75 percent of its wastewater, mostly for agriculture, and by next year, 85 percent of drinking water will come from desalination plants.
The Israeli government has chosen to use this bounty to rehabilitate the country’s rivers. The Jordan tops the list.

The rest of the story describes other ways that Israel plans to promote tourism in the area. The article does not mention the impact this may have on the Dead Sea.

HT: Charles Savelle

The Jordan River south of the Sea of Galilee

Tagged Jordan Rift, Tourism

Leen Ritmeyer posts photos and discusses recent damage to the walls of the Temple Mount. “It is clear that the time bomb is ticking louder. It is only a matter of time when large sections of the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount will collapse.”

Wayne Stiles reflects on the relevance of archaeology to faith in the reign of Hezekiah. “I have a faith rooted in history—not mystery. The words on the pages of Scripture are supporting by simple elements we can dig out of the ground. They prove nothing, but they support it all.”

The Tall el-Hammam Season Six (2011) Report is available online.

Matthew Kalman’s article on Oded Golan after his acquittal is now available (and no longer behind the paywall).

The Star-Telegram features a gallery of photos of the new Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit in Fort Worth.

This looks like a nice tour of Turkey to sites that most first-time visitors don’t see, but you won’t believe the price.

One man has made a model of the Roman Colosseum using 200,000 Legos.

HT: Craig Dunning, Tim Graham, Explorator

Tagged Dead Sea, Excavations, Forgery, Italy, Jerusalem, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Wednesday Roundup

Subway construction has revealed two ancient roads from ancient Thessalonica.

Iraq will not cooperate with the US on archaeological exploration because Washington has not returned the Jewish archives.

A lecture by Tom Levy at TEDx on his excavations at Khirbet en-Nahas is now online.

Eleven sections of the Israel Trail are briefly described in this article at JPost.

The bronze statue of a she-wolf feeding the founders of Rome is actually 1500 years younger than previously thought.

HT: Al Sandalow

She-wolf suckling Remus and Romulus

Tagged Discoveries, Italy, Lectures, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

My Recent Trip to Israel

Until last month, every tour that I had led in Israel was of a student group under the auspices of an educational institution. For that reason, I could never reply with personal experience to inquiries about which travel agent to use, which tour guide to hire, or similar questions. Several weeks ago I returned from a two-week tour with a group of 45 from my church in the Dallas area. The trip went very well and I thought I might share about some of those who made the trip successful.

For arranging our group flight, we used Shirley Fleig of Group Advantage. Shirley has arranged group travel for The Master’s College ever since I first traveled to Israel in 1990. She has always done an outstanding job and this time was no different. (Note: Group Advantage arranges travel for groups only.)

Several friends recommended I contact Yoni Gerrish of Jerusalem Cornerstone Foundation to be our land agent. Yoni is a licensed tour guide who has some similar educational background to me. I appreciated his flexibility and excellent prices. I could not ask for anything more than he provided.

I did all of the teaching but for legal purposes we had a licensed Israeli guide traveling with us. Since this was a new experience for me, I had some concerns, but Yehuda Zabari was a perfect partner for the trip and I would happily work with him again.

A friend had a great experience with Elie Mamann at TalknSave and while our group did not end up needing many cellphones, those who did had a smooth experience with Elie.

What would I consider to be the most important places for a two-week study tour of Israel for a physically fit and mentally prepared church group? My schedule answers that question.

I might close by noting that the above does not mean that there are not other excellent agents and guides. I know that there are! But I thought it might be helpful to share my experience for those interested in knowing some of the options.

Preparing to recite the blessings and curses between Mounts Gerizim and Ebal

Tagged Tourism, Travels

Seven Wonders of Israel

Seven wonders of Israel were selected last year in an online vote sponsored by an Israeli television station. Stas Misezhnikov, the Israeli Minister of Tourism, declared the following winners according to the number of votes received:

1. Baha’i Gardens, Haifa

2. Dead Sea

3. Western Wall, Jerusalem

4. Masada

5. Coral Reef, Eilat

6. Stalactites Cave, Judean Hills

7. Caesarea

One obvious omission from this list are large erosional craters (machteshim) in southern Israel. I would also vote for the Sea of Galilee, surely a wonder in a land with limited fresh water supplies.

Machtesh Ramon from west (source)

Tagged Dead Sea, Tourism