Isfiya

 

The Druze village of Isfiya is located on the top of the Carmel Mountain commanding a panoramic view of the surrounding green hills. The village has a rich tradition of openness, hospitality, and warmth that is characteristic of the Druze community. Its special location and rich ethnic tradition and culture have proved especially attractive for travelers and tourists.

Isfiya was first established during the 17th and 18th century by Druze from the mountains of Lebanon. They were later joined by several Egyptian families, and in 2003 the village was merged with the neighboring Druze village of Daliat El Carmel. The two unified villages are known today as Ir Carmel.

The village has opened itself to tourists, while at the same time preserving its traditional Druze life style. The Druze are well-known for their warm hospitality and receive guests with smiling enthusiasm. The Isfiya residents are no exception, and welcome visitors into their homes, where they can get a close glimpse of Druze religious customs and traditions.  

Visitors can walk through the narrow streets of the village and wander through the picturesque alleyways on their own, but it is recommended to go with a guide, who will add to your visit by showing you around and telling you interesting stories about the community. In the center of the village are several old buildings built in the style characteristic of northern Israel and southern Lebanon. There is also an olive press in the impressive ancient quarter where visitors can learn about the process of making olive oil and make oil candles.  

The main street of the village has a lively bazaar filled with a variety of colorful shops. Nearby restaurants serve guests spicy ethnic foods. The colorful market is filled with visitors on Shabbat and is a noisy, festive place filled with exotic aromas and colors.  

Visitors who wish to learn about the Druze culture from close up can lodge in an authentic Druze home or in guesthouses run by the local residents. Guests can enjoy traditional foods, listen to stories, and watch special performances of traditional music, song and dance. Those who would like to have a religious experience can visit the Druze house of prayer, the mosque, or in the Catholic-Maronite Church.  

The western entrance to Isfiya has a beautiful promenade overlooking the view. Isfiya is a good departure point for nature walks in the Carmel Mountains nearby. 

Nazareth

Nazareth, or Natsrat as its name is pronounced in Hebrew, is the cradle of Christianity, the city where, according to tradition, the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the place where Jesus spent his childhood and youth. Nazareth, in the lower Galilee, is located in the heart of a valley surrounded by mountains that embrace several of the most important Christian sites in the world. This is a city of religion and faith, of spirituality and holiness, but also a city with a rich history, fascinating archeology, modern culture and Middle Eastern charm.

Nazareth, which began as a small Jewish village about 2,000 years ago, became a stronghold of Christianity in the Byzantine period, just a few hundred years later. During that period the name of Nazareth spread far and wide, and the yearnings to see the place where the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ had lived turned the city into a popular pilgrimage site. These visits led to the building of the city’s first church - the Church of the Annunciation at the traditional site of Joseph and Mary’s home. Many more churches have been built throughout the city, and were destroyed and rebuilt with the changes in Muslim and Christian rule over the centuries. In the 19th century Nazareth attracted renewed interest and Christians returned to live in this city and rebuilt churches and monasteries. Today Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel and has about 30 churches and monasteries, as well as mosques and ancient synagogues.

A tour of Nazareth is like reliving its various periods. Every era left behind it a powerful symbol that became a delightful and popular tourism site in the modern era. Most of the sites are concentrated in the Old City, built in the mid-19th century in a charming Middle Eastern architectural style. A walk through the narrow streets, between the picturesque houses, is an amazing experience and it is worth walking slowly to enjoy their beauty. 

There are many ancient churches in the Old City, with the Church of the Annunciation heading the list. The rebuilt church retained parts of the previous churches, from the Crusader and Byzantine periods. The church also houses an impressive collection of paintings.

Right next to this church is the Church of Saint Joseph, built on the ruins of agricultural buildings where, according to tradition, Joseph, Mary’s husband, had his carpentry shop. While the Church of the Annunciation was built on the site of Mary’s home, the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation is built over Mary’s Well, from which Jesus mother is said to have drank. This is a structure from the Crusader period and has some interesting frescoes. Right next to Mary’s Well is the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, inside a Crusader hall. According to tradition this is the location of the synagogue in which Jesus prayed. 

Among the many other churches in Nazareth are the Mensa​ Christi Church, the Maronite Church, St. Gabriel’s Church and the Salesian Church. The Old City also has important buildings from the Ottoman period, including the Saraya, or Government House, built by Daher el Omar, the governor of the Galilee in the 18th century, and the White Mosque, which is used today as a house of prayer and an education and culture center. The White Mosque also houses a museum with exhibits that document Nazareth’s history. No tour of Nazareth’s Old City would be complete without a visit to the local market, which has become a popular and well-known attraction thanks to the colorful stalls and the variety of merchandise. In the market you can enjoy a visual feast of fashionable fabrics, taste the spices and local foods, and by artwork and souvenirs. All the sounds, sights, smells and flavors promise an authentic Middle Eastern experience.Nazareth is full of fascinating and lovely corners that will open your heart to their beauty. Another place that is worth visiting during a walking tour is the Nabi Sain ridge promenade to enjoy the marvelous view of the Galilee. You can visit the ancient Turkish bath house discovered during renovations to one of the city’s stores, take a peek at a fancy manor house with a display of the riches and customs of the Ottoman upper class in the 19th century, including some amazing frescoes. Also worth visiting is the Greek Orthodox bishop’s house, where you can walk through a series of underground passages discovered in the courtyard. Another interesting site is the compound built by the Russians as a hostel for pilgrims.

Nazareth, which has welcomed pilgrims for centuries, has Christian hostels and fancy hotels for the comfort of the tourists who throng to this important site, especially around Christmas. Dozens of restaurants serve delicious foods with wonderful aromas foods that attract visitors all year long. Nazareth is glorious during Christmas, when the city is decorated for the holiday and its colors and excitement join the holy atmosphere and the sounds of prayer emanating from the city’s churches.

Beit Lekhem ha-Glilit

Particularly beautiful ancient stone houses and the enchanting landscape of an oak forest are the perfect settings that greet visitors to the picturesque Moshav of Beit Lehem Ha'glilit. This beautiful German Templer village, established 100 years ago, has been extraordinarily well preserved, and has even improved over the years.

It all started with a Templer vision to establish an ethical religious Christian community in the Land of Israel. To realize this vision, a group of German Templers arrived in Haifa at the end of the nineteenth century and bought land here. The first group of settlers, headed by Christof Hoffmann, established the village. 

True to their European lifestyle, they built large, spacious houses with big courtyards and adjoining dairy farms. A community center and a public building for worship and social life were erected in the center of the village, and next to it was the water tower that provided the village with water. During the Second World War, the Templers supported the German Nazi Party. As a result, their activity was halted and the British deported them to Australia. New immigrants and children of veteran moshav members from other moshavim settled in Beit Lehem Ha'glilit in April 1948 and established the present-day moshav. Visiting the moshav, you will see that most of the houses of the German colony have remained, and that the courtyards are adorned by large trees. Today, most of the residents engage in tourism, and the moshav has guest rooms, restaurants and coffee houses, art galleries, a spice farm, a modern dairy farm, and more.  The moshav is located among enchanting hills of oak trees, among them giant ancient trees that have been preserved thanks to the Templers' opposition to the wild felling of trees by the Turks. Beneath and in between the local Tabor oak trees and snowdrop bushes, lush carpets of cyclamen, anemones, buttercups, irises, and other flowers blossom colorfully in the winter and spring. 

Ashkelon

Ashkelon is the southernmost city on the Mediterranean shoreline. In recent years, its 12 kilometers of beautiful beaches have attracted both Israelis and foreign tourists. Ashkelon was named after an ancient city whose remains can be found on Tel Ashkelon in the Ashkelon National Park. The city is mentioned in the Bible several times. But the main stories connected to it are about Samson and the fact that Goliath the Philistine was “a man of Ashkelon”… The city has been inhabited throughout the ages, but has had its ups and downs. It has been settled and abandoned, bloomed, prospered and then fallen. Its location on the coast has often made it an important port city.

Ashkelon has become a tourist center, and offers new attractions alongside interesting archaeological sites. The city’s major attraction is the National Park south-west of the city, which includes the ancient Tel Ashkelon. The Tel (the Hebrew name for abandoned ruins that often appear as hillocks in the countryside) contains ancient remains, starting with the impressive city gate from the Canaanite Period (about 4,000 years ago), a public building and many sculptures from the Roman Era (about 2,000 years ago), and up to the ruins of fortifications from the Crusader Period (about 1,000 years ago). The National Park extends about the Tel, and has spacious lawns and a public beach. 

The city’s remaining public beaches stretch out to the north of the National Park, with an abundance of holiday facilities and hotels. The seashore also has a Marina. Nearby there is a beautiful promenade, and the Ashkelona Water Park, offering families an attractive water experience. Ancient sites are dispersed throughout the city, including an Archaeological Park with two magnificent coffins from the Roman Period (on Ha-Gefen Street in the Afridar neighborhood), the remains of two Byzantine churches (on Tsvi Segel Street in the Barne’a neighborhood), two splendid Roman graves and a Sheik’s grave from the Mamluk Period (next to the Marina). Buildings from the Arab city of Majdal have been preserved in the Migdal neighborhood, including the city’s big mosque and the Khan. Today, the Ashkelon Museum is located in the mosque, which houses an exhibition of the history of modern Ashkelon alongside archaeological findings, while the Khan houses artists’ studios.