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Editor's Review |
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Israel
Guidebook … or Bible and Koran? Just the place names of modern Israel recall events now millennia old. Tel Aviv, is a bustling modern city, not yet a name to conjure with. But Gath, Ashkelon, Gaza, Galilee, Nazareth and, of course, Jerusalem, a centre for three world religions – with Roman overtones to boot. The awe-inspiring golden Dome of the Rock is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike; the Citadel was built by Herod the Great; the Wailing Wall is a relic of the Jewish Temple and the wailing is for its destruction; the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the traditional site of both the crucifixion and resurrection. Yet Israel offers much more than history. In a day, you can enjoy snow-capped Mount Hermon and float in the Dead sea; there are vineyards and orange groves; and at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula lies Eilat and the Red Sea for the finest diving and snorkelling imaginable. The underwater observatory at Coral Beach nature reserve is a spectacular open sea aquarium where you don’t even need a face-mask. Yet even here, there’s history – this is the biblical port of Ophir, where the Queen of Sheba landed on her journey to meet Solomon.
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