Tourism in Israel

Arab market. Old City of Jerusalem

Western Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the most-visited city with 3.5 million tourist arrivals annually. One of the oldest cities in the world, it is the proclaimed capital[Note 1] and largest city of Israel, if the area and population of East Jerusalem are included. It is a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – and hosts many historical, archaeological, religious and other attractions.[9]

West Jerusalem was built starting in the 1800s with the expansion beyond the Old City walls, gradually expanded throughout the British Mandate, and continued after the creation of Israel in 1948. Selected tourist attractions in this area are:

• The German Colony, a Temple Society settlement, with a colorful mix of architectural styles.
• Mea Shearim, established in the nineteenth century and inhabited largely by ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews, retains the flavor of an Eastern
  

  St. Peter's Church, Jaffa
  European shtetl.
• Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum.
• Ein Karem, the traditional birthplace of John the Baptist, is one of the four most-visited Christian pilgrimage sites in Israel.[10]
• Mount Zion, the traditional resting place of King David.
• Mount Scopus, site of the Hebrew University and standing at 2710 feet or 826 meters above sea level, offers a panoramic view of the city. Both the Temple Mount and the Dead Sea are visible from this location.

East Jerusalem was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-day War and considered by the international community as Palestinian territory held under Israeli occupation, although it was effectively unilaterally annexed in 1980 under the Jerusalem Law. It is the location of:

• The Old City of Jerusalem, traditionally divided into four quarters: the Armenian Quarter, Christian Quarter, Muslim Quarter and Jewish Quarter. Most importantly, the Temple Mount (known in Arabic as Haram ash-sharīf, the Noble Sanctuary), site of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem with only the Western Wall at its foot remaining, and now with the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
• The Mount of Olives and Kidron Valley: with its lookout point, Tomb of Absalom, and other Jewish tombs and burial grounds dating back 3000 years[11][12][13][14], and churches, Gethsemane, church of all nations, Dominus Flevit, and the Church of Maria Magdalene (Russian orthodox church). Various locations have been proposed as the Tomb of Jesus and/or as Golgotha, the nearby hill where he was crucified. Traditionally both have been believed to be in the vicinity where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands. Immediately south of the Jewish Quarter lies the City of David with archaeological digs including the Siloam Tunnel.

The controversial status of East Jerusalem has been an issue when attempting to market Jerusalem to international tourists. In 2009, 2010, and again in 2015, the UK Advertising Standards Authority ruled against a series of Israeli Ministry of Tourism advertising campaigns that displayed images and information about tourist sites located in East Jerusalem. The Authority wrote in its ruling that "the status of the occupied territory of the West Bank was the subject of much international dispute, and because we considered that the ad implied that the part of East Jerusalem featured in the image was part of the state of Israel, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead." Israel rejected the ruling, with the Ministry of Tourism releasing a statement that said the ad provided "basic, accurate information to a prospective UK visitor". The ruling from 2009 also included criticism about Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights being shown as part of Israel.[15][16]

Ruins of Scythopolis, Beit Shean

Eilat seaside resort on the Red Sea

Hula Valley in northern Israel

Masada

Ancient Synagogue at Bar'am National Park

Christmas Eve in Nazareth

Shivta National Park, (World Heritage Site)

Old City of Acre

Nahal Me'arot prehistoric caves, Mount Carmel

• With 2.3 million tourist visits in 2013,[17] Tel Aviv is Israel's second-largest city, and a cosmopolitan, cultural and financial global city. The city's greater area is the largest with 3 million inhabitants. Tel Aviv exhibits a UNESCO world heritage area of Bauhaus architecture. The nearby historical city of Jaffa is experiencing a touristic boom. In 2010, National Geographic ranked Tel Aviv as one of the world's ten best beach cities.[18]
• Tel Aviv is called the "city that never sleeps" by the locals because of its vibrant nightlife scene. Tel Aviv was named "the gay capital of the Middle East" by the Out magazine.

• Safed is one of the four holy cities in Judaism, where much of the Jerusalem Talmud was written and kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) was developed. Famous for its artisans. The grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is in nearby Meron.

Around the city, there are many nature reserves and archaeological sites notably the ancient synagogues.

• Old City and its Knights Hall
• Al-Jazzar Mosque
• (Baháʼí) Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, resting place of Bahá'u'lláh as well as a Unesco world heritage historical town.

• Carmel
• (Baháʼí) Shrine of the Báb, its terraces, and the Baháʼí World Centre and the buildings (a Unesco world heritage).
• Stella Maris Monastery
• Tel Shikmona
• Cave of Elijah
• Mahmood Mosque

Tiberias is one of the four holy cities in Judaism, overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

• Saint Peter's house at Capernaum, Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes.

• Nazareth is known as the 'Arab capital of Israel'.
• Visit Nazareth's old city and historical sites around the city
• Jesus's hometown and the site of many of his reported acts and miracles.
• Many churches, including The Church of the Annunciation, the largest church building in the Middle East. In Roman Catholic tradition, it marks the site where the Archangel Gabriel announced the future birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26–31).
• Starting point for the Jesus Trail, a network of hiking routes connecting many sites from Jesus's life and ministry.

• Settlement of Beersheba attributed to the patriarch Abraham. Regional capital of the Negev desert. It serves as a starting point for exploring such sites as the Ramon Crater or the UNESCO world heritage Nabataean Incense Route (Shivta, Avdat, Mamshit).

• Eilat, Israel's southernmost city, located on the Red Sea coast, is a hot, sunny year-round travel destination. Popular destination for skin and scuba diving, with equipment for hire on or near all major beaches, the Eilat Mountains are similar to those in Sinai and there are trail roads for hiking, where one can also find animals like dorcas gazelle, rock hyrax, striped hyena and Nubian ibex. Eilat has big hotels and various attractions such as camel riding, and the Eilat's Underwater Observatory Marine Park.

• Ashkelon is a city between Gaza City in the Gaza Strip and Ashdod. The city offers many hotels and Mizrahi Jewish restaurants. Local drink Arak Ashkelon is also popular among tourists..
• Tel Ashkelon is a big archaeological site, includes ruins from many different periods such as Canaanites, Philistines, Persians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims and Crusaders.
• Ashkelon has no active pilgrimage site but it was one of the places where the head of Husayn ibn Ali before transferred to Cairo was located, the mosque was destroyed in 1950 but in 2001 a small compound built on the site for Shia Islam pilgrims from India who visiting the site, there is also a well believed by Muslims and Christians alike which is one of Abraham's wells.
• The sand dunes between Ashkelon to Ashdod and between Ashkelon to the Gaza Strip are popular attractions on this area of the sea coast.

Masada is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau (akin to a mesa) on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. According to Josephus, the Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire towards the end of the First Jewish–Roman War ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Jewish rebels and their families hiding there. Masada is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Arad. Masada is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Israel's most popular tourist attraction only second to Jerusalem.

Caesarea's ancient city includes Roman and Crusader ruins, such as the amphitheater and hippodrome, where live concerts of classical and popular music are frequently held, as well as the harbor from which St. Paul was taken as a prisoner to Rome. It is one of Israel's biggest archaeological sites.

Beit She'an (Scythopolis) was a Roman Decapolis city. One of the largest archaeological sites in the Middle East.

Beit She'arim National Park was an ancient Jewish Necropolis, it is having many tombs of Jews with many significant signs like animals and menorah, it is also includes a Jewish city and an ancient synagogue ruins.

there are around 200 biblical Tells in Israel. Tel is an archaeological site that is not created by nature but by ruined human settlements. The biblical tells are from the Bronze Age and located on ancient cities that are mentioned in old testament. the chosen cities are Tel Hazor, Tel Megiddo and Tel Be'er Sheva which are also UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These tels also have some of the most ancient water systems in the world. Other biblical tells around Israel include Jerusalem, Tel Arad, Tel Gezer and Tel Lachish

Sites of human evolution at Mount Carmel – Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve is a site of human evolution at Mount Carmel in Haifa, Northern Israel. It has four caves such as Me’arat HaTanur (the Oven Cave; also known as Tabun Cave), Me’arat HaGamal (the Camel Cave), Me’arat HaNahal (the Stream Cave) and Me’arat HaGedi (the Young Goat Cave). The site was proclaimed as universal value by UNESCO in 2012.The site indicates the prehistoric man's settlements and unique evidence of a first burial.

Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev – The Negev incense route located between Jordan's Petra and Palestine's Gaza, the Nabataeans have built many fortresses, caravanserai but especially known for their four important cities of Avdat, Mamshit, Shivta, and Haluza that located on this important trade route, the Negev Incense Route is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Israel is the birthplace of Judaism and cradle of Jewish history includes many ancient synagogues from the Second Temple Period and Byzantine-Muslim periods from Northern to Southern Israel. Among the more impressive synagogue remains are those from Capernaum, Magdala, Masada, Anim, Bar'am, Gush Halav, Beit Alpha, Hukok, Nabratein, Ein Gedi, Caesarea, and Hamat Tiberias.

Additional synagogues can be found in the Israeli-occupied territories of the West Bank, for example Susya and Herodium, and the Golan Heights, such as Gamla and Umm el Kanatir.

Next to the ancient city of Arsuf stands the Sidna Ali Mosque, which is still in use and holds the tomb of Muslim holy man. On the Palestinian West Bank stands the even more famous and spectacular Nabi Musa shrine.

Avshalom Cave, also known as Soreq Cave or Stalactites Cave, is a 5,000 m2 cave on the western side of Mt.Ye'ela, in the Judean hills, in Israel, unique for its dense concentration of stalactites Some of the stalactites found in the cave are four meters long, and some have been dated as 300,000 years old. Some meet stalagmites to form stone pillars

Har Karkom ("Mountain of Saffron" in Hebrew), or Jabal Ideid in Arabic is a mountain in the southwest Negev desert in Israel, halfway between Petra and Kadesh Barnea. On the basis that the Israelites travelled across the Sinai peninsula towards Petra in a fairly straight line, a number of scholars have contemplated the possibility of Har Karkom being the Biblical Mount Sinai. Following this theory, Emmanuel Anati excavated at the mountain, and discovered that it was a major paleolithic cult centre, with the surrounding plateau covered with shrines, altars, stone circles, stone pillars, and over 40,000 rock engravings.

Although, on the basis of his findings, Anati advocates the identification of Har Karkom with Mount Sinai,[1][2] the peak of religious activity at the site may date to 2350–2000 BC, and the mountain appears to have been abandoned perhaps between 1950 and 1000 BC; the exodus is sometimes dated between 1600 and 1200 BC. However, no archaeological evidence has been supported by scholars to maintain a date of 1600–1200 BC. Anati instead places the Exodus, based on other archaeological evidence at around 2300 BC

• Tel Ashkelon is a big archaeological site, includes ruins from many different periods such as Canaanites, Philistines, Persians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims and Crusaders.

Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park is a national park in central Israel, 13 kilometers from Kiryat Gat, encompassing the ruins of Maresha, one of the important towns of Judah during the time of the First Temple,[19] and Beit Guvrin, an important town in the Roman era, when it was known as Eleutheropolis.[20] There are many Muslim saints which are buried in the area, the most known of them is Prophet Muhammad's companion Tamim al-Dari In 2014 UNESCO has recognized it as a World Heritage Site.

Israel's territory corresponds in part to the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem and boasts many castles and city fortifications from that time, although none were left intact by conquerors and the tooth of time. Most of them were built by the Crusaders and some by their Muslim enemies, and the most well-known of them are the cities of Acre and Caesarea, and the castles of Belvoir, Montfort, Arsuf, Sepphoris and the Arab-built Nimrod Castle in the Golan Heights.

Sea of Galilee is home to many Christian and Jewish holy shrines, the Jewish holy shrines are in Tiberias (click for taking a look of the sites), and the Christian sites are outside Tiberias, some of them are archaeological sites, the sites are – Magdala, Capernaum, Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes, there are also another archaeological sites such as Kursi, Hippos, Hamat Tiberias, Tel Bet Yerah, Khirbat al-Minya and Chorazin. it is also have a collection of fauna and flora.

Mount Arbel lies near the Sea of Galilee and is a national park with a fortress and synagogue and cliff hiking. The fortress was built by Jewish zealots and then in the Ottoman era by Fakhreddine II on the cliffs of the mountains, the ancient synagogue was built in the 5th century and survived little bit after the Islamic period started. The nearby area is the site of Horns of Hattin famous for his Islamic victory of Saladin at the Battle of Hattin and nearby this is the shrine of prophet shuaib, Maqam al-Nabi Shu'ayb is the holiest shrine for Druze faith; the Druze are making a big Ziyarat every year in April.

The Rosh HaNikra grottoes are cavernous tunnels formed by sea action on the soft chalk rock. The total length is some 200 metres. They branch off in various directions with some interconnecting segments. In the past, the only access to them was from the sea and experienced divers were the only ones capable of visiting. Today a cable car takes visitors down to see the grottos. A kibbutz, also named Rosh HaNikra, is located nearby. The Israeli city Nahariya is located about 10 km (6 miles) south of Rosh HaNikra. you must take a cable car to get into the grottoes. The Cable car is situated very close to the Lebanese border.

A Makhtesh is a geological landform considered unique to the Negev desert of Israel. A makhtesh has steep walls of resistant rock surrounding a deep closed valley which is usually drained by a single wadi. The valleys have limited vegetation and soil, containing a variety of different colored rocks and diverse fauna and flora. The best known and largest makhtesh is Makhtesh Ramon. Other makhteshim are Makhtesh Gadol, Makhtesh Katan and Mount Arif two small Makhteshim the Makhtesh is also a rare geological area.

Sepphoris was an ancient Jewish city with synagogue, villas, baths, water tunnels, a Crusader fortress and more. An old Christian tradition places there the house of Saints Anne and Joachim, the parents of the Virgin Mary.

Hula Lake Park, known in Hebrew as Agamon HaHula, is located in the southern part of the Hula Valley, north of the nature reserve. It was established as part of a JNF rehabilitation project.[21] In the early 1990s part of the valley was flooded again in the wake of heavy rains. It was decided to develop the surrounding area and leave the flooded area intact. The new site has become the second home for thousands of migrating birds in the autumn and spring.[22] The lake covers an area of one square kilometer, interspersed with islands that serve as protected bird nesting sites. It has become a major stopover for migrating birds flying from Europe to Africa and back, and also a major birdwatching site. In 2011, Israeli ornithologists confirmed that Lake Hula is the stopover point for tens of thousands of cranes migrating from Finland to Ethiopia every winter. In Israel, farmers set out food for them to keep them from damaging crops near the lake.[23]

Ein Gedi is a special nature reserve, known for its big number of friendly Nubian ibex and rock hyrax, waterfalls, and there are some archaeological finds on the trail. Ein Gedi is an oasis in the desert which is good for relaxing and for those who want to take refuge from the hot Judean Desert, located near the Dead Sea

A big natural arch in Israel's Upper Galilee, which was a cave that was destroyed due to geological reasons over the years. Today only the arch remains and is a popular attraction for professional hiking.

Eilat is located in the Gulf of Aqaba, one of the most popular diving destinations in the world. The coral reefs along Eilat's coast remain relatively pristine and the area is recognized as one of the prime diving locations in the world.[49] About 250,000 dives are performed annually off Eilat's 11 km coastline, and diving represents 10% of the tourism income of this area.[50] In addition, given the proximity of many of these reefs to the shore, non-divers can encounter the Red Sea's reefs with relative ease.[49] Water conditions for SCUBA divers are good all year round, with water temperatures around 21–25 C°, little or no currents and clear waters with an average of 20–30 meters visibility.

Offsetting the economic contribution by tourists visiting Israeli is the larger number of Israelis touring abroad. In 1993, for example, "tourism brought $750 million into the country , but Israeli tourists spent $2 billion abroad."[56] Statistics published a decade later reported "some 2 million Israelis touring the world."[57]

Syrian brown bears in Jerusalem Biblical Zoo

In 2009, the most visited Jewish religious site in Israel were the Western Wall, and the second-most visited Jewish religious site in Israel was the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai at Mount Meron.[6]

The Shrine of the Báb at the Baháʼí World Centre, in Haifa

The most popular paid tourist attraction is the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.[60] The top paid sites of 2012 were listed by Dun & Bradstreet Israel were as follows"[60]