Culture in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is an energetic and somewhat gritty city, and traces its roots back only to 1909. That predates the establishment of the the State of Israel by a few decades, but still makes it virtually a new city and atmosphere-wise about as far away from the ancient walls of Jerusalem as you can get. Its early planners envisaged a garden city and the first Hebrew-speaking city, although today English and myriad other languages reverberate through its dense patchwork of streets.

Many visitors to Tel Aviv come and go with a stroll along the Tayelet Lahat (seaside promenade) or a dip in the Mediterranean as their chief souvenir, but the waters here run deeper than that: as a religious center the primacy of Jerusalem is beyond contention, but for most everything else, there's this city of 400,000 people that can sometimes feel much bigger than that.

Part of the reason for this is the outsized cultural life. The Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center is home of the Israeli Opera and world-class musical and dance performances. TAPAC, as it's also called, opened in 1994 and a newer wing houses the renowned Cameri Theater. Many productions feature screened simultaneous translation into English.

The Tel Aviv Museum of Art showcases works by greats like Picasso and Van Gogh and also has an impressive range of temporary exhibits featuring both Israeli and international artists. The main museum is located next to the TAPAC. The Helena Rubenstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art is a separate location.

Israel maintains something of a cultural edge where contemporary dance is concerned. If you have the opportunity to take in a performance of the Batsheva dancers or any other troupe at the Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre, don't miss it. The location in the heart of charming Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv's first neighborhood (not counting ancient Jaffa) alone makes it worth your time.

Yes, Tel Aviv is an international city and has the artistic muscle and Madonna moments to prove it. But it's also an Israeli city, and there are plenty of cultural venues that highlight both Israeli history and Jewish heritage. An excellent place to start is the Land of Israel Museum (Eretz Israel Museum), which has fascinating exhibits of ancient coins, less ancient postage stamps, archaeology, ethnography and more.

The museum is made up of a series of themed pavilions linked by walkways. Don't miss the pavilion dedicated to ancient glassmaking, and another that illustrates the role of the Baron de Rothschild in the history of Palestine and Israel.

The Beit Hatfutsot Museum of the Jewish People is located on the campus of Tel Aviv University in Ramat Aviv. A short taxi ride from central Tel Aviv but definitely worth the trip for the detailed exhibits which emphasize the continuity of Jewish culture throughout history.

Military history buffs will enjoy the Israel Defense Forces History Museum, located right next to the HaTachana marketplace.

Get an eyeful of Bauhaus architecture along Bialik Street and especially tree-lined Sderot Rothschild (Rothschild Boulevard) and catch a whiff of history at the Hagana Museum at no. 23. This small museum traces the early history of the Israeli military.

Beit Dizengoff, the simple home of Tel Aviv's founding mayor at number 16 Rothschild. It's where David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel and is now home of the Independence Museum.

Three unusual holidays in Egypt

A holiday to Egypt can be a truly breath taking, unforgettable experience; one that will make you want to go back every year! Here’s three very different holidays to Egypt that you can share with loved ones for a holiday that will leave you with memories that last a lifetime.

Cruising the Nile

You cannot visit Egypt and not have a Nile cruise as part of your holiday. The Nile – the longest river in the world – runs through ten countries! Since ancient times, the people of Egypt (and other countries) have depended heavily on this river.

As a tourist, if you wish to enjoy a calmer, more pleasant experience on the Nile, you could cruise the river in a small, wooden boat known as a felucca. It’s only capable of taking roughly a dozen people or so but it’s very popular with tourists. As part of the Nile cruise, you can (and should) arrange for a package that includes visiting the Great Sphinx of Giza and Egypt’s largest pyramid, the Pyramid of Giza.

How About Some Scuba Diving?

Yes, don’t be surprised. Most people associate the name of Egypt with the aforementioned pyramids but you’ll be surprised to know it’s a great spot to do scuba diving. For example, the Red Sea is a phenomenal place to do some scuba diving; perhaps one of the best places in the world to enjoy this activity. You’ll witness amazing reefs as well as be touched by wrecks and experience emotions at both ends of the spectrum.

The visibility and clarity is quite good as you witness the remarkable diversity of life in the waters. You may even catch a glimpse of the largest fish in the world – the whale shark. Don’t worry though, despite the name ‘shark’ and being absolutely colossal, they are gentle creatures that will glide effortlessly by and if you miss it, you’ll want to kick yourself! Try not to gasp if you see one; it’s not a very good idea underwater, but nobody can blame you if you do!

Romantic holiday for two

Egypt is a wonderful place to take a romantic break for two. Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula is just the place for a truly intimate experience. You could enjoy some fabulous weather during your stay and be treated like a king and queen! There are plenty of high-end hotels full of staff ready to cater to your every need. If it’s pampering you’re after you won’t have to look far.

No matter what you choose, these are three very different holidays to Egypt that will leave you wanting more, so much so that you’ll probably want to come back year after year.

Free Things to Do in Abu Dhabi

Standing its ground as the second most expensive city in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi can certainly be a costly place to visit. 

1. Explore the area - Abu Dhabi is rich in sites that allow tourists to gain an insight into the culture of the city. Free guided tours of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world.  The breathtaking mosque sits on land the size of five football fields, whilst the columns shine with marble panels and semi-precious stones.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

2. Shopping - If you can avoid buying anything, shopping in Abu Dhabi can be an interesting free experience, with plenty of souks to explore. The fish market at the mina end of the city can make for a great early morning walk, with the locally caught fish being on display. An Iranian souk can also be found near the fish market, which boasts an interesting range of plants, pots and other homeware items that are brought across the Arabian Gulf to be sold as they are unloaded by Iranians. The gold souk next to Madinat Zayed shopping centre, the carpet souk in the port area and the fruit and vegetable souk close to the Central Post Office on Airport Road give an insight into the daily life and culture of the city. 

Iranian souk

3. Get active - The Jebel Hafeet Mountain is the third largest in the United Arab Emirates, and whilst it has a road from the bottom to the top that you can drive up, it is also possible to walk all the way to the summit of the mountain too. The peak of the mountain offers panoramic views of the country and the walk up provides a mixed range of flora and fauna to admire.

Jebel Hafeet Mountain

4. Appreciate the art - Located in the middle of downtown Abu Dhabi, the Cultural Foundation is the artistic centre of the city. Open daily, the centre has a range of performances to catch with exhibitions and lectures being free. The Manarat Al Saadiyat is an arts and cultural centre that features four gallery spaces that often provide great free exhibitions as well. Showing works by flourishing national and international artists, the Ghaf Gallery is a villa-based gallery that is slowly becoming one of the most established in the city, which can also be explored for free. The Barakat Gallery specialises in ancient art, with displays including antiquities from Africa, Asia and Europe. Whilst every item is on sale for those who wish to make a purchase, the galleries can be explored at no cost. 

Manarat Al Saadiyat

5. Watch a camel race - Taking place in the revolutionary Al Wathba Racetrack stadium every weekend is the highly competitive camel race that locals flock to watch. If you have a 4x4 available, you can join in by driving alongside the camels for the best view. The race is one of the most traditional sports in the United Arab Emirates, however in recent times robots have replaced jockeys, giving the race a futuristic feel. Other races that can be watched for free are the annual dhow races in February, the Red Bull Air Race in March, the powerboating races in November and jet skiing races which take place throughout the year.

 Al Wathba Racetrack

6. Visit the museums - The Emirates National Auto Museum displays one of the world’s most diverse collections of vehicles from giant Range Rovers to Mercedes in every colour of the rainbow, providing a unique visiting experience. Whilst entry is free, occasionally you may be asked for a small donation to enter the museum.

The Emirates National Auto Museum

Damascus, Syria: Middle East luxury special

Damascus is the centre of the world. Just look at a map! It's exactly at the crossroads of Asia and Europe. That is why, in the days of the Arab empire, it was the richest city in the world. All the Silk Road traders stopped here. Everyone!

Modern Damascus looks very dull – all 1970s apartment blocks and scruffy electrical shops. The Old City, however, the ancient walled enclave around which it has grown, is something else. Dating back more than 4,500 years, it is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. It has the only street mentioned by name in the Bible – Straight Street, where Saul of Tarsus went after his famous conversion on the road to Damascus.

It exerts such an irresistible allure, you find yourself stopping every few steps just to drink in your surroundings: its cheerfully mingling Muslims and Christians, its Roman ruins and magnificent Great Umayyad Mosque, its winding alleys and anonymous wooden doors opening on to courtyards of lemon trees, its black-and-white tiled caravanserai inns, its steamy hammams, and its vast souk where men selling rosebuds, spices, silver and brocade stand behind the same wooden counters as their great-grandfathers did. It is mesmerising – and utterly safe, too, at any time of day. There is no irritating hassling from shopkeepers. It's another world – if no longer the crossroads of the world. And in  a few years it will, inevitably, have changed for ever.

A decade or so ago, there was nowhere for visitors to stay in the Old City – nowhere with any degree of luxury, anyway. Then, in 2005, five years after President Bashar al-Assad  came to power, extending a newly welcoming hand to tourists, the first boutique hotel opened. Exquisitely converted from a 19th-century house by the same Madame Fixit, May Mamarbachi, the eight-room Bait Al-Mamlouka, with its courtyard, fountain and enchantingly tiled bedrooms, attracted a stream of eager visitors from the start. Today you have to book months ahead. Of the dozen similar little hotels that have opened, the latest, where I am staying, is the delectable Al Pasha, a palace of birdsong, rosewood furniture with mother-of-pearl inlay, and the constant, cooling sound of trickling water.

Restaurants and cafés now dot Straight Street. Souvenir shops and art galleries have opened. Syrians who for years worked abroad have begun returning to capitalise on the city's blossoming as a tourist destination, among them an interior designer who has restored the sprawling Farhi palace to exactly how it looked when the artist Frederic Leighton painted it in 1874. That will open as a seriously luxurious hotel at the end of next year. And the most useful thing I can tell you is simply – go now, while you can walk streets that still look as they did when Agatha Christie, another eager visitor, stayed in the 1930s.

The National Museum alone could occupy a day. It is revelatory. There, I discovered whole civilisations I'd never heard of before. In a section about the Eblan, for instance, its entrance marked by an ancient life-size alabaster figure of an indignant-looking pop-eyed man in a woven skirt, are cuneiform tablets dating from 2,250BC.

I tear myself away to see the ancient Umayyad Mosque. Shrouded in the obligatory rented abaya (a garment which confers an interestingly self-righteous feeling), I enter a massive marble courtyard where, unexpectedly, people lounge around on the ground and children play. A group of Iraqi refugees, faces etched with trauma, pass. Inside, Muslim worshippers push prayers on slips of paper into the tomb that purportedly holds the head of John the Baptist. Also located here is the Treasury from Damascus's glory days a windowless room on stilts that could be accessed only by ladder.
Opposite the mosque, a ruined Roman Temple of Jupiter marks the entrance to a warren of shop-lined streets. Every step offers a vignette. Passing a barber's shop straight out of the 1950s, I see a man turn to his barber with the same pop-eyed gaze I saw on the alabaster figure at the museum. Bad haircut? In the Mustafa Ali art gallery, a cat lolls against an open-air sculpture to wash itself. On Straight Street, I descend to the Chapel of Ananias where Saul/Paul miraculously had his sight restored – underground now, but at street level in Roman times.
En route back to the hotel, I push at a wooden door and find myself in the latest outpost of the Dubai-based high-fashion Villa Moda group. On one floor, the brocade-makers who in 1952 made the fabric for our Queen's wedding dress have an outlet. "We still make designs we made 200 years ago," whispers an elderly weaver. Nearby, opposite the Hammam Ammouneh (women from 8am to 8pm, men from 8pm to 8am) is a stall piled with rather more affordable olive-oil soaps. Definitely go now.

Women's Travel in the Middle East

The Middle East can seem like an off-limits destination to some female travelers, but there’s no reason why women should miss out on visiting this fascinating country, rich with history, a unique culture and beautiful scenery.

Yes, there are vast cultural differences in attitudes to women, and these are countries where women are not usually seen travelling alone. But with a little common sense, and a respect for cultural and religious differences, you can still travel and stay safe in the Middle East.

The place of women in Muslim countries depends on the degree of Sharia Law operating in each country, but in general, it is unusual for women to be seen travelling alone without their families, and women have rigidly defined roles.

In Saudi Arabia, for example, women are covered up most of the time and are not allowed to drive cars. In general, women are held in high esteem, but their place is extremely regimented and conservative. Women are expected to be reserved and behaviour otherwise will make you stick out for all the wrong reasons. But this doesn’t mean that you will treated badly in Middle Eastern countries – just show some respect for local traditions and culture and you will be respected in return and left alone.

One shock most women will find is that in countries like Iran, women don’t go anywhere alone, and are never seen alone in public, only out with their families or in groups of other women. So you will stand out, and may feel a bit strange sitting alone in a café or restaurant, which are usually male dominated.

Safety Advice

• Firstly take the same precautions you would take in other countries – don’t go to isolated places after dark, and be wary of ending up alone with strange men.
• You will also need to be sensitive of cultural differences, and be careful not to be misinterpreted – a simple ‘western’ gesture such as fixing the gaze of a man or smiling could be seen as a sexual advancement. Of course if someone is talking to you, maintain eye contact! The best advice is to be more reserved than you normally would, and avoid being openly friendly.
• The chances are you won’t have to worry about being hassled or harassed by men – as it is considered rude to approach a woman sitting alone and force your company on her without invitation.
• If you do feel uncomfortable in any situation, feel free to be rude, and make a fuss – they will not want the attention and should leave you alone. Don’t don’t feel like you have to respond if someone starts talking to you, and do leave if someone makes you feel uncomfortable.
• If you are blonde, you will attract more attention than dark haired women, so maybe bring a hat or headscarf to cover up if you find yourself being hassled.
• Traveling alone or with another female will make you more vulnerable – sometimes it can help to make a male ‘buddy’ in your hostel if you don’t want to venture out alone. Be aware that if you are out with a man, you may be addressed through him, and that it will be assumed you are married. In many cases, it’s best to pretend that you are.
• Avoid public displays of affection.

Places to Avoid

There are no places that are off limits for women, but solo female travelers may be more comfortable visiting the countries that employ a less strict version of Sharia Law. Saudi Arabia employs one of the strictest interpretations of Sharia.

Women are not allowed to drive, they are under the guardianship of male relatives at all times, and must be completely covered in public. In Kuwait, Yemen and Iran women must also be completely covered.

Countries like Egypt may be more relaxed towards females travelling alone, but many women can still feel uncomfortable by the hassling they may get in Cairo and the more touristy areas - usually this will only be to sell you things, but some can be quite persistent, so try to ignore any unwanted attention, and show a fake wedding ring, or tell men you are married to try and stave off any unwanted advances.

If you have blond hair especially, you will be approached, so consider covering your head, wearing a hat and wearing your hair up. Even in the main cities, do not walk around alone at night.

Wadi Rum - The Valley of the Moon

The palaces of Jericho

The plate with the site plan of the Ministry of Tourism Palestinian Authority.

Attempt of reconstruction palace of Herod the the Great.

The ruins of a huge gazebo, above which stands the modern squatter.

Once upon a time it looked like this.

A terrace is located at the foot of the garden gazebo.

And here is the palace.

In ancient times, it looked like this.

All the palaces of Herod the most important facilities were baths

A few hundred meters to the left of the palace of Herod was another palace complex.

That's palace looked like initially.

There was a main hall is lined with a decorative stone tile floor.

And there was another room. In these lay-poster stone slabs under which circulates the hot air.

Ancient mosaic floors.

The pool, which by order of Herod, as if, by accident, drowned his wife's brother - the last of the Hasmonean

Such was the palace of the last decades before the onset of a new era. These two pools. Herod ordered to partially dismantle the bridge between them - and we've got a big reservoir.