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Tour writeups, reflections on guiding and the occasional practical guide.
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Campus Negev Day 2: The Ramon Crater / Makhtesh Ramon
Day 2 of the Negev campus in the Makhtesh Ramon: the refurbished visitors' centre in Mitzpe Ramon, the Nabbatean khan at Saharonim, the dykes of Nachal Ardon, the Carpentry Shop and a porcupine or two at Bio Ramon.
Campus Negev Day 1: The Negev Mountains
Day one of the Negev campus. We trace the peaks of the Negev mountains, from Yerucham Park to the Large Makhtesh with its fossilised trees, and on to Ein Yorkeam and the Scorpions' Ascent.
Safed / Tzefat
A return to Tzefat, where I spent three months on my gap year, this time as a guiding student. Akhbara, Mt Canaan, the kabbalists' synagogues of the Old City and a sunset over the Crusader citadel.
The Judean Mountains
A day in the Judean Mountains west of Jerusalem: archaeological excavations at Motza, the Crusader castle of Belmont, the Sataf farming terraces, the Scroll of Fire Holocaust sculpture, and a sunset from Pilots' Mountain.
Settlement of the Jezreel Valley
A field trip across the Jezreel Valley tracing the early-Zionist settlement of the area: Tel Yoqneam, the Valley Railway museum, the Templer villages of Bethlehem of Galilee and Waldheim, the Nahalal cemetery, Merhavia and Sejera.
Gush Etzion / The Etzion Bloc
A field trip into Gush Etzion, the Jewish settlement bloc in the Judean Hills: the Convoy of 35 at Har Tuv, the 1948 massacre at Kfar Etzion, Yeshivat Har Etzion, the Roman-period Biyar Aqueduct, the Lone Oak, and Derech HaAvot.
The Battles for Jerusalem
A Jerusalem field trip across two wars: the Greek Orthodox monastery of San Simon and its 1948 battle, Kibbutz Ramat Rachel with its First Temple palace remains, and Ammunition Hill, the memorial to the 1967 capture of the Old City.
Eastern Lower Galilee
A field trip around the eastern lower Galilee, the basalt-cliff region between the Sea of Galilee and the central Galilee: Mount Arbel and its ancient synagogue, the Druze shrine of Nabi Shu'aib, ancient Korazim, Domus Galilaeae and Tel Mutilla.
Jaffa
A guided walk through ancient Jaffa: the clock tower, Andromeda’s rock, St Peter’s Church, the Bronze Age excavations, Napoleon’s campaign route and the Protestant cemetery with its surprise occupant.
Masada
A return visit to Masada, the desert fortress and UNESCO site above the Dead Sea: the cistern network, the Roman ramp, the Byzantine church mosaic, the Western Palace, the Northern Palace and one of the world’s oldest synagogues.
If you are going to Israel, you would be mad not to give him a call.
Amol Rajan, BBC presenter and broadcaster
Having been on trips in Israel with seven different tour guides, Samuel stood above all the rest.
Seasoned Israel traveller
Samuel is one part walking encyclopedia, one part storyteller, one part stand-up comedian.
Berkeley Haas Business School student