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Judea
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Understand the environment by which Joshua the leader, Samson the judge, Samuel the prophet and King David acted and the conflicts they had to deal with. Follow them from the Tomb of Samuel to Ajalon Valley where Joshua halted the sun, to Beit Shemesh and Tzora where Samson fought the lion and to the battlefield of David and Goliath in Elah Valley.
Wander through the underground mysterious man-made caves of Maresha and see in the wall painting of a burial cave the unusual mixture of cultures in the ancient community of the city. Continue to nearby Beit Guvrin, once the roman city with well preserved amphitheatre and remains of a crusader castle.
Learn about the bitter end of a small Jewish community at Horvath Itri in the desperate Bar Kochva revolt (132 C.E.) and make your way through the refuge tunnels dug in the rock by his warriors at Amatzya.
Be intoxicated by the colors and smells of the rich spring (February � March only) flower blossom. Visit the lowlands to enjoy the red carpets of anemones, the indigo fields of the wild lupine, the pink clusters of cyclamen and the orange prairies of chrysanthemums.
Hike in the backyard desert of Jerusalem � the Judean desert. Walk through the oasis of Ein Gedi, take a shower in the waterfalls and look for the wild ibexes and hyraxes. Climb up to the hidden spring, trace the 6th century Jewish community and explore its synagogue with marvelous mosaic floor.
Try the unusual experience of floating on the heaviest water on earth at the Dead Sea, apply black therapeutic mud to your skin and relax yourself in warm thermo-mineral spring water.
In Qumran, find out about one of the earliest communities of hermits, Jews of second temple time, who retreated into the desert to live a pure and simple life. See the places they lived in, their baptismal sites and habits and hear about the astonishing writings they left us.
Find out about facts, myths and symbols concerning the famous fight of a bunch of Jewish zealots against masses of roman soldiers over the mighty cliff of Masada, towering over the Dead Sea. After climbing up the cliff (by cable car or on foot) learn also for whom the outstanding hanging palaces, baths, huge cisterns, enormous storehouses and other facilities were built and for what purpose. |
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