Blog
Tour writeups, reflections on guiding and the occasional practical guide.
All articles
128 articles
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.
The South in 1948
A field trip along the 1948 southern front: the Ad Halom Bridge that stopped the Egyptian advance, Kibbutz Nitzanim and the Women of Valour Centre, Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, and Kibbutz Negba where Operation Yoav broke through into the Negev.
The Road to Jerusalem in 1948
A field trip along the 1948 road to Jerusalem: the Masrek viewpoint over Shaar Hagay, the snow-covered Castel, the Kiriat Anavim cemetery for the Harel Brigade, the Yad Lashiryon Armoured Corps memorial at Latrun, and the Burma Road that finally broke the siege.
Southern Golan Heights
A stormy field-trip day around the southern Golan Heights: Hamat Gader's Roman bathhouse, the Peace Vista over the Sea of Galilee, Gamla's last stand, and the reconstruction at Umm el Kanatir.
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