Israel

The food in Israel is famous for its authentic taste that can even make a fastidious eater fall in love. The aroma of the delicacies in Israel when floats in your nose, you can not resist on eating these amazing foods there.

• Hummus masabacha / kawarma
• Aubergine with baba ganoush
• Falafel
• Tahini
• Shakshuka
• Lechem Bread
• Kanafeh
• Meatballs and Sweet Potato

• By Bus: Use intercity buses, cheap, reliable and comfortable. Buses between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem run every 10-15 minutes and t take 50-60 minutes. In the city use buses, taxis and the light rail in Jerusalem.
• Shared Taxis and Shuttles: Sheruts operate across the country both on local and inter-city routes and are Israel’s shared taxis which cost almost the same as bus but can have flexible stops.
• By Train:Trains in Israel are reasonable and comfortable but you need to know that the stations are not in the city centers always.
• By Flights: Internal flights are operated by two airlines, Arkia and Israir on routes like Eilat to Tel Aviv & Haifa.

Although Israel is an entirely western country with an advanced level of hygiene, health care, the routine vaccines are recommended to everyone, on top of that, it is advisable to have a Hepatitis A and a typhoid vaccination done if you plan to eat out. However, information of disease risk in Israel is extremely less so there are no specific vaccination mandatory to get.

Hebrew, Arabic, English and Russian, these are the fours language which are commonly spoken by the Israelis population, however, Russia is surprisingly a non-official language which is still spoken by 20% of the total population. Some of the useful greetings and everyday expressions which can be used while traveling to Israel are listed below:

• Hello is locally spoken as ‘Shalom.’
• Thank you in Hebrew is said ‘Toda.’
• Sorry in Hebrew is ‘Slikha.’
• Good Morning in Hebrew is ‘Boker tov.’
• Do you speak English? Can be translated in Hebrew as ‘ata medaber anglit’ (to a male) and ‘at medaberet anglit’ (to a female).

Shopping in a middle eastern country is an adventure itself but Israel is a unique place to shop some of the best souvenir to take back home.

• The Arab souk of Jerusalem’s Old City.
• Machane Yehuda market for every day’s goods.
• The Bezalel Arts Fair in Jerusalem’s city center on every friday.
• Tel Aviv hosts the Nachalat Binyamin Arts and Crafts Fair on every Tuesday and Friday.
• Carmel Market in Tel Aviv is open every day of the week except Shabbat.
• The Jaffa Flea Market sells clothing, antiques, art, trinkets, and oddities etc.

Israel is likely to be the newest of the countries in the world but there are old and ancient galleries and collection that you must explore in these famous museums:

• Israel Museum: it is one of the largest museums in the world with over half a million items in its collection.

• Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv: It was founded in 1932 and is one of Israel's leading art and culture institutions that displays a unique blend of art architecture and design.
• Design Museum Holon, Holon: A bustling museum that hosts industrial, fashion, textile and jewelry design weeks, exhibitions and events, constantly. It is just a 20 minutes drive away from Tel Aviv.
• Museum of Art, Ein Harod: A fine example of Israeli Modernism was first built in 1930 but was moved into a permanent building in 1948 and since then it has been declared as Israel's first museum.
• Tower of David: In this museum each room is dedicated to a different period and presents Jerusalem across history.
• Yad Vashem: You can learn about the Holocaust and about its influence on the Israeli society in this excellently preserved museum.
• City of David: There are a number of walkable underground tunnels leading to the pool Pool of Siloam to the Western Wall. This is an archeological site more than a museum.

Israel is like a dot in the world map yet it has many UNESCO world heritage site, some of the most famous archeological sites are:

• Caesarea:one of the best archaeological sites to visit in Israel that houses quaint cafes, ancient galleries and a great visitor center.
• Old City of Jerusalem: A walled city full of history and culture and is a site that commands your attention through its intricate archeological wonders. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The old city of Akko: The Old City of Akko is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Israel and is situated on the Mediterranean coast in the north of Israel.
• Jaffa: Its existence is thought to be since at least the Bronze age and one of the oldest ports in the world
• Masada: It is situated next to the Dead Sea in the Negev Desert, and the trek to Masada up the snake path is regular activity among the visitors. It s also a UNESCO world heritage site.

The laid back beach culture in Israel is the USP of the country, people love to spend time by the beach and so do the visitors. Some of the best ones are:

• Beit Yanai beach(Mediterranean)
• Coral Reef Beach (Red Sea)
• Sironit Beach (Mediterranean)
• Dado Zamir Beach (Mediterranean)
• Mineral Beach (Dead Sea)
• Banana Beach (Mediterranean)
• Dor Habonim Beach (Mediterranean)
• Dolphin Reef (Dead Sea)
• Aqueduct Beach, Caesarea (Mediterranean)
• Metzitzim Beach (Mediterranean)

It has very recently that Israel is coming out as wine hub and the wines brewed here can give competitions to some of the known brands.

• Pelter Winery
• Netofa Winery
• Golan Heights Winery
• Recanati Winery
• Tulip Winery
• Carmel Winery
• Agur Winery
• Tabor Winery
• Tishbi Winery
• Flam Winery

The distance from Jerusalem to Dead Sea is 40 to 45 KM depending on which side of the dead sea area you want to visit. It can be visited in a day tour.

The salt concentration of the Dead Sea is staggering 33 % sometimes fluctuates near 31 or 31.5% which creates natural buoyancy and people easily float in the water. There is no life found in the Dead Sea because of high concentration of salt.

In southern Israel’s Judean Desert an ancient fortress sits in silence which is called as Masada ruins. It's on a massive plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. One can reach there by a cable car ride or by climbing a long, winding path to the fortifications, built around 30 B.C.

Here are the best tips Thrillophilia has to offer for your trip to Israel

• • Travelling to certain countries with Israel stamp in your passport could be difficult, especially Iran , Saudi , Lebanon and Syria so better to take a paper visa.
  • Always carry your passport.
  • Please note: All the public transports and other businesses are closed on the Shabbat which means you need to plan ahead on your commuting and sightseeing.