Raphael Kessler

The following photos are from my most recent visit to the country.

We flew into Tel Aviv. These photos are actually from when we left, but it's the same city, as seen from the air.

After just one night in Tel Aviv, we headed south to Eilat and diving. En route we stopped at the Dead Sea. We did the mud thing, had massages and swam in the extremely salty water.

Towards twilight, the colours in the sky and on the water were lovely.

When we got to Eilat we spent three nights there, doing some unexceptional diving. There was an excellent Brazilian restaurant too.

On the way back from Eilat, we decided to visit Masada, an ancient Herodian fortress. It was used by some Jews as a stronghold during the Jewish Revolt in the first century C.E. I hadn't been for sixteen years, since my first visit to the country. On the road north, I woke and asked my co-pilot whereabouts the turning was for Masada, as we had been along the side of the Dead Sea for a while now. She checked the map and told me I'd missed it, so we turned around and then drove towards Arad. There was only one sign for Masada, which said 4x4. We looked further along the road, but to no avail. There were busloads of kids walking from the start of the 4x4 road we had seen. I made the executive decision to try that road, after all how far can it be if the kids are walking there? The most important point in our favour was our car - it was a rental.

After negotiating some pretty bumpy tracks and some downright dangerous bits we found ourselves stuck on a precipitous loose shale road, not able to climb higher. I managed to slowly back the car down and turn it around. We then went for a walk to see where we were and the views were excellent. It transpired on the way back, at the fork in the road we had travelled along and decided to keep left, there is an Israeli sign that means "Take this turning". Something my Israeli companion forgot to mention at the time. In photos 2&3, you can see the car in the middle of nowhere.

We got back on the road and drove north. We then came across the turning for Masada, on a nice sealed road. It was only a short bit north of where we'd turned around earlier. Due to our earlier adventure, we didn't have as much time as we would've like to explore. Still, it was worth the visit.

After Masada we went for another dip in the Dead Sea, then headed north to Jerusalem and after some problems, finally found my family there, whom we stayed with.

The Western Wall is undoubtedly one of the symbols of Jerusalem and Israel. People go to pray at actually what is a retaining wall, holding up the temple mount. It is the closest point to where the Temples once stood and when the second temple was destroyed by the Romans, they attempted to destroy the wall too, but it was too large. These days most of it is either obscured by buildings or is underground. Unfortunately, due to the proximity to the Arab part of Jerusalem and constant security threats, everyone is screened as they enter the area (photo 1).

Inside the excavations under the Arab part of Jerusalem, there is much more of the Western Wall to see. It is also possible then to start to appreciate the massive engineering feat Herod undertook, building a wall around the Temple Mount, which levelled the area, with the temple stood on top. There is a useful diorama that helps understand what one is looking at. In the photos, you can see towards the right, the currently exposed part of the wall, compared to the entirety of the incredibly immense wall that is there. Some of the blocks are unbelievably massive. The one in photos 4&5 is thirteen metres long and ways approximately six hundred tonnes. How it got there is a matter for speculation. As can be seen in photo 6 the blocks are all slightly indented as they go up. This was not a structural device, but was actually to make the wall not appear as though it were going to topple for those looking up from below.

The church of the Holy Sepulchre is shared by various Christian denominations and is one of the holiest sites in Christendom. They unfortunately have occassional fights amongst the priests there. Thankfully, it seems peaceful on the outside.

There are archaeological sites all around the area, the first in King David's Tower. The next is an archaeological park where one can see thousands of years of history.

This block has some carved graffiti thousands of years old. It is a biblical quote.

Jerusalem has some great little alleyways to walk along. There are interesting bits on both sides of this divided city. The Via Dolorosa is where Jesus supposedly did his last walk, before being crucified (photos 3-5). There are markets selling tourist tat as well as some nice stuff.

The ancient city of Jaffa is very near to Tel Aviv. It has some very attractive views, as well as a nice bohemian atmosphere. The clock tower is a centrepiece to the town.

The streets in the old town are named after the signs of the Zodiac.

I don't know the significance of these arches.

For some reason, there is a full size tree suspended above the ground. It's quite impressive, though I don't know what point it is trying to make.

These are the pictures from my first visit to Israel, when I was just sixteen years old.

Israel is certainly an interesting place both historically and politically. When I first visited the country I toured all over the place from the northern tip to the gulf of Eilat in the south. Most of these pictures are from that trip

Jerusalem is not only near enough the geographical centre of the country, but is the centre of the three dominant monotheistic religions. It has a wealth of historical sites as well as problems. The first couple of pictures here show Jerusalem's old town and the Western Wall.

These next pictures show the Negev desert in Israel's south.

This picture shows Masada, the mountain fortress that the Roman's spent huge resources on conquering.

In the Negev desert can be found several interesting things. Firstly, Bedouins (invariably performing for the tourists) making the traditional coffee ceremonies. The Dead Sea, the world's lowest point on the surface. Famous for being extremely salt rich, so anyone can float. Be warned though not a good place too bathe if you have open sores or grazes, although it will clean them, they will sting like hell. Then there is Ein Gedi an oasis just next to the Dead Sea, where there are some nice waterfalls and Ibex can be found. Also if you are lucky you will come across a sixteen year old Englishman wielding an M-16 whilst riding a camel. Or perhaps come across the same person riding a little donkey up a mountain.

Security is unfortunately an overwhelming issue in Israel. The first picture shows an armoured car, from the Six Day War (1967) in the Golan heights, in the north of the country. Next is shown a border watchtower keeping an eye on the Syrian - Lebanese - Israeli border, right on the northern tip. The next two pictures show a watch post in the south keeping an eye on the Egyptian - Israeli border. The last picture shows a man who was accompanying our group as a guide and factotum, but as can be seen wore his gun at all times. Whenever there is a larger group of people moving around it is generally prudent to have armed people with. As most of the population has done national service they are all militarily trained and as such are equipped to escort groups, without having to rely on the police or another security force.

These next photos are from my hotel room window, when I was staying in Jerusalem when I was twenty, road blocks and snipers sprang up in moments and within a relatively short time disappeared again. I don't know exactly why they appeared on this occasion, but it is unfortunately an all too common occurrence in Israel.