Archaeology
Israel is one of the more densely-excavated places on earth. The posts under this tag span five thousand years, from Chalcolithic finds and Bronze Age tels through Roman Caesarea, Byzantine mosaic floors, Crusader fortresses, Ottoman caravanserais, and the modern excavations still going on. Many describe active dig sites where each season’s work changes what’s known.
35 articles
35 articles
Hula Valley
A day in the Hula Valley: Rosh Pina's restored First Aliyah old town, the Mitzpe Nimrod lookout, the Crusader Castle of Chastellet, the Mishmar Hayarden memorial and the Hula and Agamon reserves at dusk when half a billion migrating birds land.
Ein Gedi
Ein Gedi on the western shore of the Dead Sea: a hike up the David stream past plunge pools and a Chalcolithic temple, a Byzantine synagogue with a cryptic curse, the date palm groves, the Dead Sea sinkholes and a final stop at the kibbutz botanical gardens.
The Sharon Plain
A day on the Sharon coastal plain, off the regular tourist trail: viewpoints at Tzur Natan, an Ottoman tomb on a Samaritan synagogue, the Crusader ruins of Kakun, a soft-shelled turtle hike along Nachal Alexander, the Cheftzi-ba farm, and the cliff-top archaeology of Apollonia.
Mount Carmel
A day on Mount Carmel, from the panoramic Mishmar HaCarmel viewpoint and the burn scars of the 2010 fire to Little Switzerland, the Chai Bar wildlife reserve, the Druze town of Daliyat-al-Carmel and the Muchraka monastery linked to the prophet Elijah.
Northern Judean Desert
First trip of the guiding course took us down into the northern Judean Desert, from the Inn of the Good Samaritan and the Wadi Kelt viewpoint to Einot Tzukim, Qumran and Nabi Musa. Twelve hours, eight sites, plenty of Hebrew vocabulary added to the lexicon.
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