Posts from — December 2008

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As reported in the major Hebrew language newspaper Haaretz, a British tourist working in an archaeological dig in Jerusalem on Sunday unearthed a treasure of 264 gold coins from 1,300 years ago.  Israel leads the world with the highest per capita rate of archaeological excavations and expeditions.

The Lands of the Bible have attracted the attention of visitors interested in archaeology for more than two hundred years.  Israel’s archaeological riches from the Neolithic Revolution and the Bronze and Iron Ages to the Classical and Medieval Periods are showcased in Jerusalem’s archaeological sites, the outstanding museums and the major Christian, Jewish, and Islamic holy places. [Read more →]

Tel Aviv declared #1 must see destination of 2009: This headline from the It List 2009 released this month by Concierge.com.
If anybody’s traveling in 2009- and we know you are, although there have been (un)popular reports saying you are staying home next year- it is a great idea to check out concierge.com before you head out the door.  While there, you will be happy to see Tel Aviv at the top of their list!  After all, these are “the places that will make you feel all right about the world again.”

Tel Aviv, Israel. Just in time for its 100th birthday, this newly hip city has plenty to celebrate, with a spate of new hotels and redevelopment, a happening contemporary art scene, and vibrant nightlife.

Grant Martin of gadling.com says,  “Israel’s second largest city and economic hub sounds glorious.”  A local blogger in the city raves [and took the picture as seen above], “Tel Aviv is magical. Its incredibly alive, full with outrageousness and busy. Its chic, vibrant, colourful, full on and well… I simply adore it.” [Read more →]

Unlimited sums of local and foreign money may be brought into Israel as cash, travelers’ checks, credit cards or State of Israel bonds*.  Most American tourists who are in travel groups have prepaid their arrangements and have little need to exchange funds.  Dollars are widely accepted in Israel; nevertheless, storeowners and service providers are not required to accept foreign currency and are permitted to give change in shekels even if payment was made in foreign currency.

1 Israeli shekel = $0.25 U.S. dollars

  Money can be exchanged at any of the street exchange bureaux, ATMs or any of Israel’s major banks (i.e.- Hapoalim, Leumi, Discount bank, FIBI and Hamizrahi).   You may change dollars into shekels legally by going to a bank, or by patronizing a money changer located throughout the main shopping areas of the large cities. Another convenient option: you can withdraw up to 1,000 shekel a day from the ATM’s (in Israel they are outside most major bank branches throughout the country) with a credit card or ATM card. It’s a good idea to have some cash on hand before you arrive — we suggest about $100 worth, depending on the cost of transportation and how soon you think you’ll be able to reach an ATM. You can either bring U.S. dollars to use at the airport’s exchange bureau, or change your money before you even leave home.

Change Place provides a variety of financial services all over Israel, including Ben Gurion Airport and in all other border crossings. Services provided by the company include conversion of any foreign currency, ordering of foreign currency online, VAT refunds for tourists, payment of fees for passage of border crossings, and more. [Read more →]

The beautiful, fertile land of Israel - and the new irrigation technologies– has become noted for the prolific and abundant fresh flower sales.  You could say that business is blooming!

Israel’s flower, plant and propagation-material export brings upward of $200 million into the economy annually. The country is third only to the Netherlands and Kenya.

Israel’s average of 300 sunny days a year and relatively warm winter temperatures, especially in the Negev Desert, are excellent for growing Europe’s summer flowers, when that continent is experiencing cold weather; advantageously, off-season flowers bring higher profits. [Read more →]

Israel Dairy Delicacies from the land of milk and honey.

“I’m a huge fan of cheese, and when I discovered the amazing cheeses from Israel - I was sold on them!” says Jeffrey Nathan, celebrity cookbook author and television personality, caterer  and restaurateur.

Today people who eat kosher- or want to - follow food trends like everyone else. They want the same culinary experiences that other Americans enjoy. They want access to Mexican, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Greek, Italian, and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Israel is not new to cheese production, the land of milk and honey has been producing diary products for thousands of years and today is known for its multitude of world class artisanal cheeses. The dairy industry is one of Israel’s agricultural pillars and the country’s farming system of Kibbutz collective farms and Moshav family cooperatives provide Israeli dairies large and small with milk to create these cheeses as well as Israel’s famous yogurts, diary desserts and drinks.

The Kibbutz Yotvata, for example, situated 42 kms. north of the town of Eilat, has one of the largest dairy production branch. The name “Yotvata” is found in the Bible, in Deuteronomy, chapter 10, verse 7, as being the name of one of the way stations used by the children of Israel in their wanderings from Egypt to the land of Canaan.