BEAT THE HEAT THIS SUMMER IN ISRAEL WITH NIGHT-TIME TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

30 July 2009

BEAT THE HEAT THIS SUMMER IN ISRAEL
WITH NIGHT-TIME TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

She'an Nights, a multi-media multi-sensory night tour of the ancient city of Beit She'an-Scythopolis, will once again be an exciting night-time option for tourists visiting the Beit She'an National Park in the Jordan Valley. This unique project, the first of its type in the world in an archeological site and the fourth largest such project in the world, offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy the site in the cool night air in a region known for its sweltering summer days.

The visit includes a 10 minute presentation on the area’s history, followed by a multi-sensory experience walking through the excavated streets, where audiovisual presentations are projected onto dozens of giant screens on the columns, walls and even the tel behind the site.

Advance reservation for the English pre-show is necessary: 972 4 658 7189.

The Night Spectacular at the Tower of David museum tells the story of Jerusalem in a one hour blaze of images, characters and sounds projected onto the walls, archeological ruins, bridges and hidden pathways of the ancient citadel.

A unique multi-sensory experience composed of motifs connected to the history of the city, its significance and its spirit, the show employs special film techniques and giant sound and lighting systems.

August show times every evening except Sunday and Friday at 20:00 and 21:00. Advance booking recommended (972 2 6265333). http://www.towerofdavid.org.il/

Visitors in the north can also enjoy guided tours at night of Nimrod’s Castle, among the illuminated remains of this 800 year old fortress on the slopes of Mount Hermon (Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays throughout August.) Foreign language guided tours with advance reservation (group bookings only) at 972 4 6934163.

The Soreq Cave in the Judean Hills near Jerusalem will remain open till late (from 08:00 - 21:00) every Thursday in August, thereby allowing tourists and visitors the opportunity to visit this stunning natural phenomenon during the cooler evening hours. The cave, 82 meters long and 60 meters wide, contains dozens of stalactites and stalagmites, some of which are at least 300,000 years old and up to four meters long. Advance reservation required for the English-language guided tour: 972 2 991 5756.

Sunset concerts will take place every Friday in August at 18:15 among the Crusader castle ruins of the Apollonia National Park near Herzliya, overlooking the Mediterranean. Tickets and information : 972 9 9550929

VOTE FOR THE DEAD SEA IN THE FINALS OF

22 July 2009

VOTE FOR THE DEAD SEA IN THE FINALS OF
THE NEW 7 WONDERS OF NATURE COMPETITION!

The Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth and one of Israel’s most popular tourist sites, is one of the 28 finalists in the New 7 Wonders of Nature, an international online competition to grade the seven natural wonders of the world (www.new7wonders.com) To reach the final shortlist, this unique tourism site had to beat off about 440 sites from 220 countries (more than the number of countries competing in the Olympics).

The lowest place on earth will compete through 2011 for the hearts and votes of over a billion people from around the world, against 27 other sites including, among others, the River Amazon, the Galapagos Islands, the Grand Canyon and the Maldives.

It is hoped that the candidacy of the Dead Sea in the competition will promote tourism to the region and raise public awareness around the world of the problems facing the sea, which has lost about one meter in height every year for the past 30 years.

Over the next 2 years, the Tourism Ministry will lead the campaign for the Dead Sea to be selected as one of the winners in the contest, via its 14 representative offices around the world, its websites in 11 languages and focused marketing activities that emphasize the unique attributes of the Dead Sea.

Voting can take place via a link on the home page of the Tourism Ministry’s website, www.goisrael.com or directly at the competition website www.new7wonders.com.

At over 400 meters below sea level and with luxury hotels in the Ein Bokek area, the Dead Sea is known as the lowest and largest natural health spa in the world. This natural phenomenon offers tourists and health-seekers black Dead Sea mud and thermo-mineral hot springs which ease muscular tensions, improve blood circulation and alleviate rheumatic pain; desert-dry, pollution and pollen-free air that is rich in oxygen, bromine and magnesium and offers relief to those suffering from asthma, lung and heart diseases and year-round sunshine, whose harmful UVB rays are filtered through the extra layers of atmosphere offering relief to those suffering from skin diseases – as well as tourists looking to get a safer tan.

Tourist attractions in the area, among others, include the Roman fortress at Masada, the Ein Gedi and Einot Tzukim nature reserves and Qumran, home to the Essenes sect and the area where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

VOICE OF MUSIC IN THE UPPER GALILEE

23 July 2009


VOICE OF MUSIC IN THE UPPER GALILEE
CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL
CELEBRATES 25 YEARS WITH 25 CONCERTS
2-8 AUGUST, KIBBUTZ KFAR BLUM
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The Voice of Music in the Upper Galilee Chamber Music Festival, which will take place 2-8 August 2009 in the pastoral surroundings of Kibbutz Kfar Blum, is celebrating 25 years with 25 concerts. This year’s festival program includes five of the most loved piano quintets – by Dvorak, Schumann, Brahms, Schubert and Cezar Franck - as well as five celebrated string quartets – Schubert, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Dvorak.

In addition to the chamber concerts, visitors to the festival can enjoy the informality of the rehearsals free of charge, with this year’s opening event an open rehearsal of Schubert’s Trout Quintet. Classical and Romantic chamber music and vocal music feature in the festival. German baritone Andreas Reibenspies will perform all of Schubert’s song cycles and sing in a concert (3 August), devoted to Mendelssohn’s music, in celebration of 200 years since his birth.

The festival will also honor the Festival of Love, celebrated in Israel on 5 August, with works by Mozart, Haim Permont and Monteverdi played in the romantic setting of the gardens surrounding the kibbutz’s Olympic-sized pool.


The Voice of Music Upper Galilee Festival has its own Children’s Festival, with concerts, dancers, hikes in nature and more.

Tickets for the festival concerts available from Castel: 972 3 6045000.

The Upper Galilee, one of Israel’s main tourism centers, offers visitors a large concentration of tourist sites and attractions, natural beauty and breathtaking landscapes. Sites include national antiquities parks (including Bar’am, Tsipori, Beit She’arim, Monfort and Kohav Hayarden); moshava farming communities from the early days of the modern settlement of Israel, which tell the story of Zionism (Metula, Yesud Ha-Ma’ala, Rosh Pina); beautiful nature reserves (Hula Lake, Mt. Meron, Bar’am Forest, Nahal Kziv and many more); Jewish holy sites, such as the graves of the sages and ancient synagogues (in Safed (Tsfat) and Tiberias); and Christian holy sites that are visited by many pilgrims during their tour of the Holy Land (Nazareth, Kfar Nahum (Capernaum), the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee)

TRAVEL + LEISURE MAGAZINE READERS AWARD

16 July 2009


TRAVEL + LEISURE MAGAZINE READERS AWARD:
JERUSALEM AMONG THE TOP CITIES IN THE WORLD - BEATS LONDON, PARIS AND BARCELONA

According to the prestigious Travel+Leisure Magazine, Jerusalem is ranked as one of the top destinations in the world by their discerning readers.
In an annual poll of its online readers published earlier this week, the capital was ranked 17th in the ‘World’s Best Cities – Overall’ list, ahead of popular destinations such as London, Paris and Barcelona. Among the cities in the Middle East, Jerusalem was ranked third (behind Cape Town and Fez, Morocco).
Tel Aviv did not make the top 20 list, though it did rank seventh among cities in the Middle East and Africa.
Jerusalem attracts over two million tourists a year, with about 80% of all tourists visiting the holy city. The city also contains within it the most visited sites in Israel, including the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Via Dolorosa, Yad Vashem and the Mount of Olives.

PEOPLE OF THE WORLD INSCRIBE THE BIBLE

15 July 2009

PEOPLE OF THE WORLD INSCRIBE THE BIBLE
A UNIQUE GLOBAL PROJECT TO HAND INSCRIBE THE BIBLE IN NATIVE LANGUAGES GOES ON DISPLAY AT THE BIBLE LANDS MUSEUM JERUSALEM

The Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem has recently opened to the public a display of People of the World Inscribe the Bible, a unique project initiated by the Bible Valley Society together with the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project is a global initiative wherein hundreds of thousands of people unite together to hand-inscribe Bibles in their native languages.

On display in the museum is a selection of complete inscribed Bibles representing a variety of languages and nationalities including Chinese, Tamil, Taiwanese and Finish. The display is enhanced with selected artwork from the project, Children of the world paint the Bible, that was originally exhibited at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem in 1999.

To date, thousands of people from 31 countries have participated in this project. Each community hand-inscribes 23,127 verses of the Bible, the goal being to complete the inscribing of 100 Bibles in 100 hundred languages. Among the countries participating in this project: Panama, Costa-Rica, Brazil, United States, Argentina, Denmark, India, Hong-Kong, Taiwan, Greece, Israel, Poland, Singapore, Finland, Canada, England, Germany, Switzerland, Latvia, Ukraine and more.

This unique undertaking builds bridges of understanding between the people as they are united by a shared love and reverence for the Bible. This one-of-a-kind display demonstrates the living relevance and broad outreach of the Bible today, and is therefore most appropriately on display in the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem, where the history of the Bible comes to life for people of all faiths and nationalities.

The Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem is a jewel in the crown of Jerusalem’s museum row. It has inspired and educated hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world. An interactive time capsule – the Museum exhibits thousands of artifacts illuminating the shared cultural history of the people of biblical times, in the lands of the Bible. The daily lives of our ancestors, the origins of communication, trade and commerce, spiritual and religious ritual, art and architecture are revealed through the artifacts on display.

Visitors interested in participating in People of the World inscribe the Bible can arrange to inscribe a biblical verse in the Museum, Sunday to Thursday, between 10:00 – 15:00 for a small fee. (Groups by advance reservations).

http://www.blmj.org/

THE INTERNATIONAL ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR

9 July 2009
THE INTERNATIONAL ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR
SULTAN'S POOL, JERUSALEM
3-15 AUGUST 2009

Among the many special events taking place in Jerusalem this summer is the International Arts and Crafts Fair, a tradition of more than thirty years' standing and the largest and most popular festival for tens of thousands of tourists, which will take place from 3-15 August. The colorful fair, known as Khutsot Hayotser in Hebrew and named after the small arts and crafts lane at the foot of the Old City Walls, features 150 Israeli artists and artisans, an international art exhibit from 35 countries, an international food fair, attractions for children, creative workshops, theater, dance and musical performances and spreads over an area of 5,000 square meters.

Open every evening (except Fridays) from 18:00 – 23:00 and Saturday from one hour after the end of the Sabbath until midnight, the fair is held at the Arts and Crafts Center and the Merrill Hassenfeld Amphitheater in the Sultan’s Pool, opposite the Tower of David at the foot of the Old City Walls.

The Israeli Pavilion houses over 150 of Israel's finest artists, exhibiting and selling paintings, ceramics, metalwork, jewelry, textiles and weaving, Judaica, woodwork and more. The International Pavilion features artists from the Far East, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, exhibiting their wares and demonstrating their crafts in unique booths.

Every evening at 21:30, popular Israeli singers perform on the main stage in Sultan's Pool, including, among others, Ivri Lider (3.8), Shlomi Shabat (4.8), Mosh Ben Ari (6.8), Meir Banai (10.8), David Da’or (13.8) and Aviv Gefen (15.8). Other live music, dance and theater events take place during the evening (21:00) on smaller stages, with local and international musical ensembles and dance groups performing, among others, Greek, South American, Flamenco, Korean, Thai, Polish, African and Israeli ethnic music and dance.

An International Food Fair complements the exhibits with exotic tastes and at the Eastern Fair, with its Bedouin tent, visitors can browse through Middle Eastern artifacts and handicrafts from Palestinian embroidery and Syrian furniture to Armenian ceramics and watch artisans from Hebron and Ramallah demonstrate the ancient techniques of glass-blowing.

The Bezalel Compound will feature a ‘small and crazy shop’ built in the Fairgrounds presenting animation and video films, together with works in design, painting, sculpture, pottery, glass, metalwork, photography and fashion from the famous Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.

The entry ticket includes entry to the pavilions and all the live music, dance and theater events.
For a full schedule of events: http://artfair.jerusalem.muni.il/eng/all.htm

LOW COST AIRLINES ANNOUNCE NEW ROUTES TO ISRAEL

12 July 2009

LOW COST AIRLINES ANNOUNCE NEW ROUTES TO ISRAEL
AIR BERLIN FROM BERLIN (IMMEDIATE)
AND EASYJET FROM LONDON LUTON (FROM 2.11.09)

The cost of flying between Israel and Europe is going down with the recent announcements by two low-cost airlines of new routes to Tel Aviv. Air Berlin, Germany’s second largest airline, began operating two weekly flights on 2 July between Berlin-Tegel and Ben Gurion Airport with flights on sale from €99 return. Low-cost carrier easyJet, the UK’s largest airline, announced its plans to expand to Israel this winter with the launch of a new six times weekly service, between London Luton and Tel Aviv.
Air Berlin’s two weekly flights, leaving Berlin on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Tel Aviv on Wednesday and Friday mornings, brings to 68 the number of flights to Israel from various cities within Germany, operated by a total of 8 airlines. These cities include Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Berlin, with 14 weekly scheduled and charter flights departing from Berlin.
easyJet is the first low-fares airline to operate between London and Tel Aviv, with single tickets selling from £71.98 and return tickets from just £102.98, including taxes (there is an additional charge for baggage). The flights leave daily (except Fridays) from London Luton at 11:30 and from Tel Aviv at 19:25.
Other airlines flying the London-Tel Aviv route include El Al with 2-3 flights daily from Heathrow and a daily flight from Luton and British Airways and bmi with two daily flights each from Heathrow. In addition, Jet2.com launched its weekly flight from Manchester in May and has already announced plans to increase to two flights a week in peak periods. Isrotel Hotels recently announced their own direct charter flights from Luton to Eilat, with 14 flights from December 2009 – April 2010.