Month: September 2019

Your Israel tour will be considered incomplete if you haven’t visited Ein Gedi. Nestled between the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea, this desert oasis is indeed a must visit. This magical oasis with a rich history which dates back over 5000 years attracts thousands of tourists annually, thanks to its biblical references

Whether you prefer a private tour or a group tour, a tour in Ein Gedi Israel offers visitors an eclectic mix of both ancient surroundings and modern tourism. With plenty of things to do and a rich history, a tour of this spectacular sight where water flows abundantly among lush forests should be added to your itinerary.

Things to See and Do in Ein Gedi

With the array of interesting activities and beautiful places to visit, knowing where to start can be a daunting task. Here are some of the most popular attractions in Ein Gedi

Ein Gedi Nature Reserve

The Ein Gedi Nature Reserve is without a doubt, the biggest oasis in Israel as it supplies water in some parts of the country. The park is home to two natural spring-fed streams, Nachal David and Nachal Arugot, both with abundant water flow all year round. Together with Shulamit Spring and EIn Gedi Spring, they can produce approximately 3 million cubic meters of water annually. Plus, Ein Gedi nature reserve offers great hiking opportunity so do not forget to pack your hiking shoes. The area’s natural beauty will leave you struck in awe.

Kibbutz Ein Gedi

Within close proximity to the nature reserve is Kibbutz Ein Gedi. Founded in 1953, the kibbutz features a beautiful botanical garden with various plants from different parts of the world. A stroll among the houses takes you into a world filled with spectacular plants and trees that call it home. Here you will also find the Ein Gedi Eco Park, a zoo and environmental education sector. If you have more vacation time, stay a couple of days and lodge in one of the beautiful Kibbutz guesthouses. Other alternative accommodation options include camping out on the shore of Ein Gedi Dead Sea or staying in a nearby field school.

Float in the Dead Sea

Another activity that you’d not like to miss on your Ein Gedi Israel tour is to try floating in the Dead Sea. No other place can match the awesomeness of the Ein Gedi Dead Sea. It is a spectacular sight. Here you could try out a black-mud body wrap during your tour. This relaxing activity will not only help rid your skin of infections and other anomalies but also keep you refreshed and rejuvenated.

Shopping

Although there are only a few shopping malls in the area, shopaholics will find small outlets offering an array of locally made Dead Sea products. This comes in handy for those looking for an ideal gift item for loved ones back home.

Getting There

Getting to Ein Gedi is easy. It is about one hour drive from Jerusalem and 2 hours from Tel Aviv. For hikers, the Nahal David and Nahal Arugot trails are open every day of the week from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm depending on the season.

Amongst the many tour options available when planning a trip to Israel, consider opting
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Private VIP Tours in Israel

Your time in the Holy Land is precious. It is therefore important that you get the most of
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Helicopter Luxury Israel Tours

See Israel from a unique perspective with the private helicopter tours in Israel. Discover
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The main Sephardic house of prayer in the Jewish Quarter preceding the War of Independence was in fact a complex of four adjoining synagogues:  the Yochanan Ben Zakai Synagogue, the Istanbuli Synagogue, the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, and the Emtsai Synagogue. When you arrive at the square of the 4 Sephardic synagogues in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, you will be surprised to see that in order to visit them you need to go down a short flight of stairs. Well, you may think, obviously they must really ancient, and under several levels of buildings on top. But no. They are indeed ancient – dating back to the 12^th and 13^th centuries – but not ancient enough to have been built upon. The reason for their being under road level is the result of the prevailing Ottoman law of the time, which forbade religions other than Muslim to build places of worship that are more prominent than mosques. For that same reason, the bell tower of the Dormition Abbey is built on the side and not in a spire, as in traditional churches.

When the Jewish Quarter fell under Jordanian rule, the four synagogues were burnt and then used as horse stabled. Following the 6 Days War they were restored to their former glory and continue to serve residents of the Jewish Quarter and visitors. They are also used as venues for Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, lectures and other events.

The Yochanan Ben Zakai Synagogue dates back to early 17th-century with Gothic-Spanish style architecture. It is named after a founder of the Yavne Sanhedrin, formed following the destruction of the second temple. Under Ottoman and British rule, it was home of the Chief Sephardic rabbi.

The Eliahu Hanavi Synagogue is the oldest of the synagogues, dating back to the 16th century as a school for studying Jewish law and was only used for prayer during holidays. Its name is derived from a story whereby a person was missing to complete the 10 man quorum required for holding prayers, when miraculously in walked a mysterious stranger, allowing prayers to take place. Since then there is always an empty chair to commemorate the incident. Although originally Sephardic, it has been an Ashkenazi synagogue since the 18^th century.

The Emtsai synagogue is the smallest of the four, and is believed to have been formerly the women’s section of the adjacent Yochanan Ben Zakai Synagogue.

The Istanbuli Synagogue is the largest of the four and was built in the 1760s to accommodate the city’s growing community of Turkish Jews.

Designed by Italian architect Antonio Berluzzi, the Church of All Nations was built in the 1920’s. It is located on the Mt. of Olives, on the site of the Garden of Gethsemane, and is one of the main churches dominating the panorama of the mount. The funds for constructing the church were donated by many nations, which is where the name of the church originated. However in 1922, it was officially consecrated as the Basilica of the Agony.

The church was built over the slab of bedrock, on which it is said that Jesus spent his last night in agonizing prayer, sweating blood. The stone is in the middle of the present church, in front of the altar. The church was built on the site of two previous chapels that had been destroyed – a 12^th century Crusader chapel that was abandoned, and a 4^th century Byzantine church that was destroyed in an earthquake, the remnants of which, including a magnificent mosaic floor and pillar, were found during the digging works for laying the foundations of the present church. The architect had the excavations of this church completed, and the results can be seen under a glass floor from inside the church building.

The donations for the church came from many nations – Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, Chile, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, Poland, Spain and the United States of America. Each nation is represented by a coat of arms on the ceiling in a separate dome. The church is separated into three aisles by six violet colored alabaster columns, while the ceiling is painted blue and dotted with stars, depicting the night sky. The somber colors and semi-darkness present in the church are made to represent the somber and tragic atmosphere surrounding the last night of Jesus before his arrest.

The neoclassical appearance of the church derives from the Corinthian style columns that support the front atop which are statues of the four evangelists, as well as the magnificent mosaic adorning the façade. The church itself is made of two types of stone. The interior stone was quarried just north of Jerusalem, whereas the exterior rose colored stone came from Bethlehem. The Church of All Nations is a Roman Catholic Church, currently entrusted to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. In the gardens there is an outside altar which is used by many Christian denominations, including Roman Catholic, such as Eastern Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Protestant Lutheran, Evangelical, Anglican, and any other version of Christianity that is culturally unique to any particular nation.

The Garden of Gethsemane is situated at the foot of the Mount of Olives. It is the site where according to tradition Jesus spent his last night in agonizing prayer, before being betrayed and arrested by the Romans.  The site has been attributed to have a large stone upon which Jesus said his final prayers sweating blood, as well as a grotto where the disciples fell asleep while Jesus was praying, instead of keeping watch.

There are two churches today on the site of the Garden of Gethsemane. The Church of All Nations, which reportedly was built on the said stone that Jesus said his agonized prayers and “sweat blood”. Another church on the site is the Tomb of Mary, also known as the Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mar, is constructed near the grotto, where it is supposed that the disciples slept while Jesus prayed. The grotto itself has basically remained unchanged, but has been transformed into a chapel with an altar and statues depicting the sleeping disciples.

The name “Gethsemane” is derived from the Hebrew “Gat Shmanim” which means oil press. The garden is therefore presumed to have been a well-established olive grove where the fruits of the olive trees were pressed and ground into oil. On the site there are many olive trees, 8 of which have been dated to be over a thousand years old, however there are no trees dating back to the time of Jesus. These current trees are considered  to have sprouted from the original trees that grew there (based on the fact that new olive trees are known to sprout from the roots of previous trees). It is known that the Romans chopped down most of the trees that were on the Mt. of Olives to use for their purposes.

The olives that grow in the garden are still used for producing oil, which is used in the churches.

The site was excavated in 1972 by Bellarmino Bagatti, who was a Franciscan friar and archeologist. His excavations, which have not yet been fully assessed by the archeological community, found evidence of an ancient cemetery dating back to the 1^st century.

Many shrines, monasteries and churches have been built, destroyed and rebuilt on the site.

Currently the tomb and its church are owned by the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church of Jerusalem, whereas the grotto remains in possession of the Franciscans.

The Jewish Quarter is one of four quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem, and traditionally occupied by Jews since 800 B.C. During the Ottoman period the Jewish population reached 19,000, most of whom resided in the Jewish Quarter, although during this period there were some Muslims living there and there were also Jews living in the Muslim Quarter.

The Jewish population in the Jewish Quarter was completely eliminated during the 1948 War of Independence, when the Jewish fighters were unable to overcome the Arab forces, that bombarded and almost completely destroyed it, and all of the Jewish inhabitants were either killed or banished.

For a period of almost 20 years the Old City was controlled by Jordan.

During this time the quarter served as a refugee camp, its ancient synagogues were ransacked and ruined, and used as chicken coops or out buildings. None of the destroyed buildings were rebuilt.

Since being reoccupied by Israel after the 6 Days War in 1967, the Jewish Quarter has been extensively excavated and rebuilt.

Excavations that commenced prior to rebuilding, have uncovered such gems as a luxury neighborhood from the time of King Herod, the Byzantine Cardo, the Broad Wall – part of the ramparts guarding the city during the first temple period and of course the Western Wall, which is part of the outer second temple wall, and one of the main attractions of the Jewish Quarter.

All of these and many more can be seen underground and in the archeological parks, while overhead the destroyed buildings and synagogues have been rebuilt and resettled, maintaining the architecture and style of the Old City.

There are currently over 2000 Jewish inhabitants in the Jewish Quarter, which also houses many Yeshivas (schools for teaching Jewish lore) and restored synagogues.