Israel is basically a country made up of immigrants and each nation brought with it a slice of their culture into the melting pot that is Israel. This means too that there is a great selection of traditional food to choose from, you can try Ethiopian, Moroccan, Iraqi, Russian or even Yemeni Jewish food when in Israel. Continue Reading

Christmas in Israel can be magical and a truly spiritual experience. There are services in local churches (mainly in Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem) as well as services held at the locations where Christmas events took place. Many tour buses leave Jerusalem on Christmas Eve to services in Shepherd’s Fields where an angel appeared to the shepherds on Christmas Eve. The tours continue to the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem and end off at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for the Midnight Mass.

Of all the Christmas celebrations in Israel perhaps the largest and most moving is at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, where gather in Manger Square to be a part of the celebration of Jesus’ birth on the spot where the events unfolded.

Roman Catholics celebrate on the 24th December at Saint Catherine’s Church in Bethlehem, as well as on the 5th and 6th of January when the Epiphany is commemorated. Greek, Coptic, Romanian and Syrian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on the 6th of January in Bethlehem. In Nazareth there are Christmas Eve parades and firework displays as well as church services. In all over 90,000 foreign visitors arrive in Israel annually to celebrate Christmas.
Christmas in Bethlehem includes processions through the streets, carol singing and religious services which can all be an extremely spiritual experience. It is important to remember that throughout the rest of Israel you could probably not even notice that it is Christmas as unlike America and Europe the streets and stores are not decorated, there is no Santa ringing a bell outside shops and Christmas music cannot be heard in the streets.

Looking for some where interesting and typically Israeli to eat but you don’t feel like humus and falafel? Well there is an elegant restaurant with loads of character in the Old City of Jaffa. The restaurant is in 600 year old rooms and has been open for business for the last 40 years. You enter Aladin down a few steps and through a small wooden door to see a small entrance way lit by brass lamps with stained glass decoration Continue Reading

The Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem make a fun and educational day out for families traveling with kids. The Zoological Gardens is a unique zoo that focuses on animals that are mentioned in the Old Testament Bible as well as species which are in danger of extinction and indigenous animals from Israel. In the Jerusalem Biblical zoo you can also see plants which feature in the Bible planted in the surrounding gardens. Continue Reading

While in Israel you will most likely want to try the local cuisine but apart from falafel, shawama and tachina Israel also has delicious chocolate. Perhaps Israel’s leading chocolatier is Max Brenner who has a line of chocolate products sold in most Israeli specialty stores. In addition to the store bought Israeli chocolates you can also indulge in a visit to Max Brenner’s chocolate restaurant where nearly everything is related to chocolate Continue Reading

Haifa is a city built partly on Mount Carmel and this presented unique challenges to city transport planning – how were residents to get from the bottom to the top of the steep slope of Mount Carmel on public transport? This lead to Haifa being the only city in Israel – as yet – to have any form of underground (subway/metro) system. Continue Reading