Excursions around Israel in small groups

The Holocaust was a crime committed by Nazi Germany against the Jews, from the beginning of their persecution from 1933 until the end of World War II. During the four and a half years of military operations in Europe, about six million representatives of this ancient civilization flourished for more than two millennia.The number of those who managed to get out alive from such a crucible of massacres has by now substantially decreased and steadily less such ones remain. In order to resist the resulting vacuum in the cultural, moral and educational spheres, the Israeli parliament in the year 1953 unanimously passed a law establishing Yad Vashem, the Memorial of the Holocaust and Heroism. For more than half a century, he has been collecting names of victims, testimonies and documents related to the Holocaust, they are doing scientific research, educational activities are being conducted. Since 1993, the International Institute for the Study of the Holocaust began its work as an independent academic research group.The Yad Vashem complex is located at the 804-meter height of Har Ha-Zikaron, called the Mount of Memory, near the Jerusalem forest. Over the Museum of the History of the Holocaust has been allocated over 40000 square meters. m, the main part of its area is underground. In the top ten galleries, the history of the Holocaust is presented from the perspective of the representatives of the Jewish people, conveyed in the illustrated objects of everyday life, works of art and photographs, cinematographic materials.Engage in the creation of art in the Holocaust meant to be at risk for life, although there was a large deficit of materials necessary for this. It was extremely difficult to satisfy even the minimum requirements of everyday life. In the understanding of artists who worked at that time, it was almost the only chance to splash all that they wanted to say, in a few strokes on canvas or lines on paper.Entering the museum, the visitor will face a wall with an exposition of a number of artworks from various authors. The remaining spaces are occupied with artifacts that reflect the human image, as well as the environment and the situation inside and outside the ghettos and camps. For more detailed information about art in general, about this or that Holocaust artist, you can go by, in the world's first specialized computer information and archive center.The Yad Vashem Collection of Holocaust Art Objects is the most extensive in the world, it contains about ten thousand works. The number of artifacts received as a gift for many years from the victims of the Holocaust, or from their relatives and loved ones, exceeds 27 thousand units. This number also includes items that they were transferred by various organizations in Israel and from abroad.Currently, during the collection of artifacts, attention was focused on those of them that are relevant to the daily life of Jews against the background of total extermination, which were created in conditions of camps, for children's games, those that can testify to the struggle for normal life in almost incompatible with life conditions.Visiting the museum complex evokes a growing sense of belonging to their people, their ethnic unity with other peoples. And among non-Jewish people there is sympathy for the fate of the Jewish people, they will feel inspired to join the common desire of humanity for a universal future, which will be more humane for all.

Zichron Jacob is located in the southern part of the Carmel Range, 22 miles south of Haifa, and he is one of the first "modern" settlements in Israel. Zikhron became one of the first Jewish villages in the then Palestine. The village had its original name Zamarin. The founders of the city were a hundred Jewish pioneers who returned to their Biblical homeland from Romania. The beginning of those 100 immigrants who in December 1882 founded the city under the name of Zamarin was very difficult. From these difficult circumstances, many of the original settlers left during the first 12 months. But by a lucky coincidence, the next year saw the visit to Israel of the French Jewish philanthropist and wine-maker Baron Edmond James de Rothschild and his visit to Zamarin. He found that, it turns out, the soil of the slopes of Mount Carmel has excellent winemaking qualities and is really intended for growing grapes. The Baron renamed the city in memory of his father Jacob, Zichron in Hebrew means "Memorial", and founded the Caramel Winery, which to this day is one of the leading wineries in Israel. Planning of the city was entrusted to professional planners, with which the main street was designed with French tiled roof ventilation modules facing the road. Behind each house there was a long courtyard, and there was a back building for storing farm implements. Original courtyards and back buildings can still be seen in many places. The main street known as Midrakhov is now a pedestrian zone, along which there are many various cafes, shops, boutiques. Since this is an original settlement street, many houses on it are of great historical value, from the plaques outside one can learn the history of many. At the end of the Midrashov the First Museum of Alia, the museum of the repatriation of Jews to the State of Israel, is located, which tells about the fascinating history of the pioneers from Europe, who founded this city more than a hundred years ago. The Baron was also commissioned to build a synagogue in the city, named Ohel Yaakov in honor of his father. The synagogue has been operating daily since 1886, mainly on Shabbat and on Feast days, serves as one of the hallmarks of urban architecture in the northern part of the Midrahov. Among the most famous buildings in the city with its stone, the castle facade and the beautiful garden - the family house of Aaronson on Hameasdim street. Becoming one of the basic families of Zichron senior Aaronson left Romania with their furniture, crystals and porcelain, which are exhibited at their home as if the family had just prepared to start an official meal. Among historical buildings, numerous shops and galleries one can find an ancient synagogue. But the real purpose of this building and what is really behind it is to serve as a reservoir known as Brechat Binyamin. And the true goal during its construction in 1891 was to ensure a continuously flowing water flow to the central point in the village. But the main object in Zichron Yakov is, without a doubt, the father of all wineries, which was the first. The Baron-based Carmel-Mizrahi Wine Factory was founded in 1885 on the basis of the fruits of his French cuttings. In 1892, the vines were infected with a bacterial disease and were destroyed. The people of Rothschild imported some seedlings from America that were resistant to these bacteria, and this had a positive effect on the state of the winery. A bottling factory was also established in this area, in which today the Mizgag Museum in the kibbutz Nakhsholim. Currently, in the original 120-year-old building of Carmel, on the advanced equipment, the best-awarded wines are produced. Carmel has grown to the largest winery in Israel, producing 15 million bottles a year in four separate sites. In the new Carmel Wine & Culture complex, visitors will find a wine shop, a restaurant, two specialized tasting rooms, a small cinema and a barrel in one of the underground cellars of Rothschild.

One of the biggest tourist attractions in Israel and a popular place for families with children is the Jerusalem Bible Zoo. This park is located in the south of the city in a picturesque area at the height of Kiryat Gajov, it includes a large artificial lake with waterfalls surrounded by spacious lawns. There is also a savanna wildlife site, along which animals freely roam. From one corner of the park to another, visitors can get on a stylized train that runs along a route where there are several stations. The central part of the zoo, which goes to the African savannah, is framed in the form of an ark, where Noah collected all a pair of each species of animals that exist on Earth. On the deck of such an ark there is an auditorium, temporary galleries of exhibits, computer information stations, a souvenir shop and a cafeteria. Noah's Ark is an exotic playground, a sculpture garden created by Franco-American sculptor Nicky de Saint-Fall. In 1971, the artist received an invitation from the Jerusalem Foundation to lead the project of architectural sculpture for the children of Jerusalem. Nicky de Saint-Fall, co-authored by the famous Swiss sculptor Jean Tangly in 1972, was the first to be built. The great success that this work had, contributed to the fact that the Foundation began to look for further opportunities for joint cooperation. Such a new project was Noah's Ark in the Zoological Gardens of the Tish Family in Jerusalem. Nicky de Saint-Fall created animals, and the ark was created by the famous international architect Mario Botta, and this was their first joint work. The project cost was five million dollars, which they managed to raise through donations to the Jerusalem Fund. Sculptures were erected over a period of five years, and as a result, Noah's Ark appeared, which arose, as if it had landed after the Flood and was petrified in this place for many hundreds of years. Playful images of animals on the lawn form a contrast with a monochrome underground structure made of natural stone. Visitors to the zoo in Jerusalem feel like they were on some colorful island in the world. Noah's Ark is one of the main attractions in the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem. You can get to it by going 10 minutes from the entrance. Passing the flamingo, the greeting blue rhino will meet. And then there will be a ram, an elephant, a giraffe, a camel, a gorilla, a kangaroo, a spider. Turtle - in the form of a well, a bird like a boat, a green tapir, a cat, a monkey, a penguin, a lion and a lion, united like yin and yang. A total of 23 animal sculptures, all with mosaics and mirrors, with drawings by Nicky de Saint-Fall. In the beginning, the first grotesque sculpture by Golem Nicky de Saint-Fall was not categorically approved by the Commission of the Parks of Jerusalem. The reason for the categorical refusal was that this image is supposedly too scary for children and is not suitable for installation on a playground. The sculpture even began to be called "Miflet", which means a monster. But the avant-garde artist explained and proved what value and fundamental value something can have that is frightening in the middle of a safe place. She insisted that such things are so good that they help children learn to overcome their fears.  The golem of concrete and metal was built after all. And he, perhaps, looks like some monstrous colossus, but today he is happily surrounded by a local children. Jewish and Arab children climb up the back of the sculpture, where the one has a winding staircase to cheerfully move down one of its three red tongues.

Tsfat takes its rightful place among the main sacred cities in Israel, such as Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias. But its superiority over others lies also in the fact that it is the highest situated city in the territory of the Holy Land. Safed stands in the mountains of Upper Galilee at an altitude of 900 meters above sea level, surrounded by dense pine forests. It has a wonderful view on all four sides of the world. To the north to Hermon and Lebanon, to the west to Mount Meron and to the Amud Valley, southward to Tiberias and to the Sea of ​​Galilee, and also to the east to the Golan. Safed is a city with a history of more than two millennia. It is often said that after the Great Flood, one of Noah's sons became its founder. The inhabitants of the city for many years became the local Semitic population. In Josephus, Flavia Safed is mentioned under the name of Sepph as a fortified Jewish city in the Upper Galilee. The role and important contribution of this town to the history of the Jewish religion, to its spiritual formation is indisputable. Safed reached both considerable heights, and met with enormous difficulties. Over the course of several years of conflict, the Crusaders, the Mamluks, and the British were also here. For today, behind this small town goes the glory of the center of Jewish spirituality. In Safed, famous synagogues and a lot of historical places are attracted to visit. So from synagogues the oldest in Safed is the synagogue Sefardi-Ari founded in 1522. It is believed that Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, who is called the great Ari, studied and prayed there. Completely destroyed by strong earthquakes in Safed, this synagogue was rebuilt by an Italian Jewish philanthropist. In the War of Independence, the Jews used the synagogue as a strategic fortress in the defense of Safed from the Arabs in 1948. Synagogue Alsheh was one of the few buildings that survived the earthquake in 1837. Its name comes from the name of Rabbi Moshe Alshech, the leading Kabbalist of the 16th century. A beautiful ceiling in the shape of a dome has a blue color, just as many doors and houses are painted in this area. Blue shows their symbolic belonging to Heaven, where God reigns, and where evil spirits can not step. The Abuhava Synagogue is dated for the name of the great sage from Spain of the 15th century Rabbi Isaac Abukhava. The building is constructed taking into account kabbalistic ideas - it has four central columns, symbolizing the main elements of the earth, water, air and fire. In the dome, ten windows were made according to the number of Commandments, and the images show the 12 tribes of Israel. One of the Torah scrolls in the ark written by Rabbi Abukhav himself is used only on Yom Kippur, Shavuot and Rosh Hashanah. There is a legend claiming that the Torah is kept in the wall, it alone allowed it to withstand the earthquake of 1837, while the rest of the synagogue collapsed. The Karo Synagogue is the place where the chief rabbi of Safed in the 16th century, Joseph Karo, created his glorified works and teachings about the way of life of a beautiful Jewish life. According to tradition, in the dungeon under the floor of the synagogue Rabbi Karo was the appearance of an angel. One Torah in the ark is over half a thousand years old. The synagogue was completely destroyed by the earthquake in 1837 and after - rebuilt. For many, the main purpose of the trip to Safed is that this city is considered the world center of the study of Kabbalah. Kabbalah, in translation meaning "receiving", is a mystical branch of Jewish wisdom. After the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, many prominent rabbis headed to Safed. Among them there were many Kabbalists: Yitzhak Luria (Arizal) - to date, all serious studies of genuine Kabbalah in the overwhelming majority are based on the study of the works of Arizal with his disciples. Moshe Cordovero is a rabbi who dedicated himself to the systematization of Kabbalah and its transformation into a philosophical structure. Joseph Karo is a famous Kabbalist who wrote down the messages he received from the maggid, the heavenly mentor, who he believed regularly visited him. Parts of his records are printed in the book of Maggid Mesharim. Around 1550, in Tsfat, the Kabbalah Academy was founded, led by Ramak, who claimed that the prophet Elijah appeared to him. By the 16th century, Safed had become known as the center of Kabbalah. Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, the influx of Jews facilitated the transformation of Zefat into a global center for Jewish studies and a regional shopping center. A big and bright colony of artists of Safed, a quarter that was once nicknamed "The God-centered Center of Israel" deserves attention. Many well-known artists and craftsmen in Israel plant themselves at home in the growing quarter of artists in the city. Some of them manage to trace the connection of their ancestral roots with this place. The quarter of the artists of Safed is attractive as an occasional visitor, so for a true connoisseur and critic in the world of art and beauty. Expositions of art works in the narrow cobblestone alleys of the old city are approaching the peak of the mountain on which Tsfat stands. The top of it is occupied by the old buildings of the British Mandate with bullet holes since the onset of the war for independence in 1948. Now here is a monument to the IDF. Safed is good for visiting at any time, but in particular it is pleasant in Shabbat and days of holidays. Synagogues open to visitors, and city residents are happy to welcome all guests who joined them at the celebration. A special occasion is the Klezmer International Festival of Jewish Music. People come to him from thousands of people from all over the world to plunge into the atmosphere of joyful excitement and fun, which then spreads throughout the region. In this city the best combination is the delightful ancient greatness and comfort of modern resorts. Visit Safed in the framework of our tour Blue Tsfat. Stone, Sky, Kabbalah. Graves of the great righteous.

Timetable of excursions 2018-2019

Armageddon - this name came from the Bible and it is well known to almost everyone, since the book of Revelation describes the events that precede the end of the world. According to the author of John the Divine, nowhere else but in this valley will the last decisive battle be fought between the forces of Evil and Good. But the question of the origin of this name remains controversial to this day. If one starts from the way it takes place in Hebrew, then it can be correlated with "Har-Megiddo". Here, Har is the designation of a mountain, a hill, a mound or a hill, and Megiddo is comparable to the location of the ancient city of Megiddo. The place is 30 km away. in the southeast direction from the city of Haifa and occupies a strategically important point at the exit in the eastern hills of Carmel / Manasseh. There where in this location lies the famous ancient trade route Via Maris. Regarding this tract is also not available, no matter what a certain unified opinion. Via Maris is a Latin version, which the translators assigned to the designation "The Way of the Sea", found in the Book of Isaiah. Such words of the prophet, most likely, concerned the road between Dan and the sea in Tire. This route was marked along the northern border of Israel at the time when the Assyrians conquered. The scholars of the Middle Ages were convinced that the "Path of the Sea" was a road through the lower Galilee linking Damascus to the Akko harbor, which was then of great importance. Hence the logical conclusion was to be called "The Way of the Sea" and the route between Damascus and Egypt as a whole. It was believed that the "Way of the Sea" was a trade route one of the trinity of the most important in ancient Israel. Starting from Galilee, it ran along the valley of Jezreel, extending southward to Samaria. Reaching the Philistine plain, the path branched out in two. One branch led away to the coast, and the opposite to it along the Jezreel valley deepened to the Sea of ​​Galilee and Dan. Further merging of these two extended, separated sites occurred no earlier than in Megiddo. Such peculiarities of the mutual localization of this city with Via Maris make it clear about its great importance for trade and travels in Israel of that ancient era. The "Way of the Sea" acted as an important link between the Red Sea and Mesopotamia (Egypt and the territory of modern Iran with Iraq, Turkey and Syria). The road ran as the main road from north to south, along the plain that is off the coast, along Jezreel Valley, through Beit Sheine, to Damascus. Where Megiddo is located in the modern world, there was once a place of the ancient city, which in the Old Testament lines is spoken of as a strong and important one, who made a considerable contribution to the Israeli history of biblical times. Regarding the reason why this field is given preference in choosing the battlefield of the forces of Good with the forces of Evil, a number of the following points deserve attention. Neighborhoods Megiddo with the mountains of Carmel / Manasseh has always been in the circle of interests of both the Kingdoms of the South (Egypt) and the North (Akkadian, Assyria, Babylon). These border territories between them repeatedly became a line of disagreements and large-scale military actions. About Megiddo's connection with the meaning that presupposes indispensable use as a battlefield, another version of the origin of such a name can speak. This is assuming that the word is based on GDD or Gdud, that is - the battalion (and here was the location of the great army). Or, relying on the assumption that it originates from the root, which means the embankment (as the city occupied an impressive hill). This high 60-meter-high mound has now undergone a strong excavation and archaeologists have been able to identify at least two dozen cities each built on top of the previous destroyed. The reasons for the destruction became very diverse, but each time a new restructuring took place and this place remained almost uninterrupted, beginning from about 6 thousand years BC. e. and to the middle of the first millennium before the birth of Jesus Christ. On a plot of land with an area of ​​6 hectares, towering above the desert desert surrounding it, there was a place for luxurious palaces, massive fortifications, private houses. There was also a granary in the form of a huge circular bunker for 7 meters dug into the ground and 11 meters across. The capacity was such that it allowed him to put 1 thousand tons of grain. Inside down you can get on a pair of stairs, located on both sides, and covered with a dome-shaped roof. The time of creation dates back to the 7th century BC. e. In ancient Megiddo, there was also a well-designed water supply system. What is most likely to impress the imagination of visitors is its underground structures. To ensure the flow of water from the source, which was at the foot of the south-western slope, a vertical shaft was dug 25 meters down. And after that they stretched 70 meters of the tunnel under a slope to the source. Work was carried out, starting from opposite ends, however, only a minor amendment was required to allow the two groups of workers to meet. Then, at the place of the external entrance of the source, a massive stone wall was installed, thereby sealing it. And they hid the earth, so that the besieging enemy could not find it. The creation of such an architectural structure took place, obviously, during the period when King Ahab reigned. That is, a hundred and fifty years earlier than the water tunnel of King Hezekiah appeared in Jerusalem. Modern visitors, with sufficient endurance to step 187 steps down and 77 steps up, can view this engineering miracle of the ancient world from its inner side. Visit the ancient city of Megiddo during the excursion Day of bread and circuses Beit Shean-Hamat-Gader