Once upon a time, when Jerusalem was tiny still, there was a neighborhood init who wanted to found a state. It had a gymnasium, institutions and offices and the residents thought: This is where we build the Jewish state. In this tour we shall findout how Rehaviya was the center that conducted the state to be.
Ages: 6-14
Highlights: The Rehaviya neighborhood sites, Yeshurun synagogue, national institutions and more.
Time: 2.5-3 hours
Level of difficulty: easy.
On the top of a mountain not far away from the sky a weird thing happened. Dear young Walter had a jug of water but O poor Walter, the water is now over. What will the fate of Jerusalem be? We shall cross the forests, we shall walk down hills we shall overcome all obstacles and show the grownups – they will see.
Maybe just at the end of our Journey we shall find where Walter’s water may be.
Age: Children of 4 to 8 years.
Highlights: The Ein Kerem stream, the church of St. John the Baptist and Ein Kerem’s allies.
Time: approximately 2.5 hours
Level f difficulty: easy – we shall need comfortable walking shows
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The Jaffa Street is the center of modern Jerusalem. The new light rail and many coffee shops that opened lately create a European atmosphere with some Jerusalem spicing in it. Our tour will take us to Jaffa Street and its less known sites while listening to some of the stories.
Highlights: The Ger Rebbe tomb, Nebi Ukashal, The renewing Machane Yehuda market, The Abyssinian neighborhood and even the new Mashbir building in the Zion square.
Time: approximately 3.5 hours
Level of difficulty: easy to medium
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Stanley Lambchop was just another ordinary boy. One day, he was given a bulletin board for displaying postcards and pictures. The board was hung over Stanley’s bed. An unfortunate decision as in the middle of the night it fell on the unsuspecting sleeping Stanley. The event had grave consequences as Stanley, while surviving the accident, became flat! Stanley soon discovered the advantages of being flat: He could pretend he was a kite for his brother, he could sneak in and out under doors and most important – He could get inside an envelope and travel the world for free.
This is the synopsis of the book written by Jeff Brown and named “Flat Stanley“. The book was published in 1964. It was very successful and a series of flat Stanley’s adventures were published in the following years. An even bigger success was the project created and inspired by the Flat Stanley series. In 1995, a Canadian teacher named Dale Hubert decided to ask his third graders to prepare a cardboard Flat Stanley figure and send it by mail to friends and acquaintances in other cities and countries. The people who received Flat Stanley were asked to keep a log describing Stanley’s adventures and take some pictures of him in interesting places. The Flat Stanley project was an amazing success and today it is spread to over 7000 schools and 50 countries.
Flat Stanley eating Israeli Salad
In the summer of 2011 I was guiding a very nice family from Los-Angeles who came for a Bat Mitzvah tour in Israel. With the twelve-years-old girl came her parents, ants and uncles and her sister. We traveled the country, had interesting tours in Jerusalem, the Galilee, Massada and other sites. Over those ten days we bonded nicely. Two months after that tour I got Flat Stanley by mail from D., the Bat-Mitzvah’s younger sister and a fifth grader herself. At first I did not understand what I was supposed to do with this weird thing. It could easily be thought of as a joke, but after reading the “manual” I became quite enthusiastic – D. asked me to take Flat Stanley with me as I guide tours in Jerusalem!
I decided to treat Flat Stanley as an honorable guest. We fed him traditional Israeli salad, put him in a Succah we built in Kiryat Yovel neighborhood in Jerusalem and the next day, I took Stanley to a children’s tour with families that came to visit Jerusalem for the Succot holidays. We concluded our tours in the Kotel and the children who really liked Flat Stanley took him for some photo-ops near the wall. We had a small curious gathering around Flat Stanley – this is definitely what the project is for, though we still had another climax ahead.
Flat Stanley at The Kotel
The next day, we had in Jerusalem the annual Jerusalem parade. The parade includes traditionally a few options of tours around Jerusalem each made with different difficulty level. At the end of that part of the parade another more official and festive parade is held. This carnival takes place in the city center and draws participants from all over the world. During the past few years we have a lot of Christians who support Israel that take part in the parade as part of a project held by the ICEJ – International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem. The institute was established in the early 80′s of the previous century and it provides a spiritual home for Christians who support Israel and follow the need to comfort Zion according the command of the scriptures in Isaiah 40:1-2 “Comfort, comfort, my people says your god. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem…”. The people from ICEJ try to assist Israel and its citizens in any possible way and hold many charity events in the city of Jerusalem. In their main event in Succot they often invite the prime minister of Israel for a traditional speech.
Flat Stanley and Nir Barkat - the Mayor of Jerusalem
This year I decided to try and get a good place from which I will be able to watch the parade properly. I found my way to the closed sitting area watching the parade and of course I had Flat Stanley with me. As I was waiting patiently I met a friend – Hagit Zahi, a great lover of Jerusalem who never misses an interesting event. A few minutes later the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat arrived and sat in the row in front of us. Hagit spotted the chance, took Flat Stanley and introduced him to the Mayor who agreed to the amusing photo-op – It was really a historic event! The parade arrived and we could see groups from various Israeli companies like Bezeq, various banks soldiers and many Christians from all over the world wearing their traditional costumes. We could see the Chinese with their red flags, the Dutch with traditional dresses, Russians, Americans and even a delegation from Papua New Guinea with interesting and colorful outfits. Stanly was enthusiastic. He was passed on from one delegation to another and took a lot of pictures with everybody.
It was a hard day’s night for Flat Stanley. He got in his envelope and went back to Los-Angeles with numerous memories from a special tour in Jerusalem.
Flat Stanley and a friend from Papua new-Guinea
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“there are mountains round about Jerusalem” wrote king David in the book of Psalms. Indeed, all around the old city there are mountains with breathe taking views of the “city of God”. We will visit the mountain of olives, mount scopous, Mishcanot Shananim, the hill of the evil console and more. We will be able to experience the the beauty of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. This is a tour for those who love to see the city without walking too much.
Time: 3.5 hours.
Level of difficulty: easy.
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The renewed Israel museum in Jerusalem is one of the top museums in the world. 7800 miters of exhibit walls and plenty of world famous items will turn your visit to the museum in to an unforgettable experience. We will visit the shrine of the book, home to the dead sea scrolls, the famous model of Jerusalem at the time of the second temple and the different wings of the renewed museum. We will walk through the exhibition rooms stopping by the most interesting art works and archeological finds – those who have the most fascinating storeys to tell… you can always visit the museum on your own, but a visit with a guide that knows his stuff will, no doubt, provide you with a different experience.
Time: 3.5 hours.
Level of difficulty: easy.
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At least once a year a fascinating event takes place in Jerusalem. During the festival of Houses from within many private people and various institutions open the gates of their homes and buildings and let every curious visitor inside free of charge. For a whole weekend the city of Jerusalem fills with those of us who love the mysterious and magical corners which are closed to the public most of the year. Many organizations and private people cooperate with the event that is being produced voluntarily by the architect Alon Ben-Nun and Aviva levinson. They are the founders and the dreamers who, with a lot of enthusiasm and love of the profession, succeed every year to open the hearts of even the most stubborn landlords that hold in their possession the keys to secret gardens and unknown courtyards. The owners of the houses that are opened to the public often meet the public during the days of “Houses from within”, answer questions and guide them around the place voluntarily.
This year I was both a guide and a tourist in the events of “Houses from within”. As a tourist I was curious about a few open houses and institutions. I paid my first visit to the World center of the North Africa Jewry. I visited there on a Friday early morning hour. I have not visited there for a few years and rumors of extensive renovations made me wait at the locked gate for a quarter of an hour. Finally, right on time, came a man named Albert Gozlan to the gate. He is one of the leaders of the Moroccan community in Israel. As he opened the gate for the many curious visitors we found ourselves in the middle of a construction site. It was obvious there was still a lot of work to be done here (The Moroccan artists left for a while because of the Ramadan period, said Gozlan). Even the electricity was not working yet. However, even as it was the place was just beautiful. Magnificent mosaics decorate the walls and floors, interesting wooden Moroccan engraving and delicate stone engraving can be seen in every corner. In another room, wrapped and waiting for happy days to come were a few presents that King Hassan the Second of Morocco gave to Shimon Peres. An Andalusian style garden is being built near the front gate. No doubt, when the work is finished we shall have another wonderful site we can add to our tours in Jerusalem.
The World center of the North Africa Jewry
Another place I visited that day was the office of the Israel state archives. You can find the Israel state archive in Makor Haim, the back yard of Talpiyot. Millions of documents, certificates and diplomas are stored on about 40 Kilometers of shelves in a warehouse. In the office building where I visited we could only find the visitors center. Me and the others watched a nice presentation about the archives tasks. There was also a small exhibition of some documents of interest. I was especially enthusiastic about the picture album that was given in 1925 by Ragib Nashashibi, the mayor of Jerusalem to Herbert Samuel, the first British High commissioner in Palestine when he left his position. The album has some wonderful unique photos. I loved the series of pictures taken at the inauguration of King George Street during the year of 1924. I could recognize the yet unfinished street and Jews, Muslims and British people standing side by side smiling as a reminder for long forgotten days.
Apart for these two sites I had only a few minutes to enter the Templers Cemetery in the German colony and old community center in the neighborhood that was converted to an Armenian church long time ago. I also wanted to try and visit “Villa Lea” in Rehavia. This year was the first time the house has opened its gates. The building was built by Nasiv Avkarius Bay, A successful Greek, Christian lawyer, for his wife, Lea Tenenboim (who came from an ultra orthodox Jewish family). Lea left her husband for another, and the poor guy had no other choice but to rent the house. Many people had lived there since, including the exiled Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie and the chief commander of Jerusalem, Moshe Dayan. These days two Israeli families live in the house and most of the time, prefer to keep their privacy. That day Villa Lea was opened and an unbelievably huge crowd was waiting outside.
Israel state archive - Herbert Samuel's Album
As I couldn’t get inside “Villa Lea” I decided it was my turn to contribute a little of my knowledge. I arrived in Beit Shmuel, where I lead a few public tours. I showed the visitors Beit Shmuel and the adjacent Shimshon Center. I spoke of the architectural aspects of the place and the cultural events that are happening there. We went up to the roof of the impressive building to see the Blaustein hall, famouse for its glass dome. I think I guided at least 200 people. At the end of the day I thought these numbers were solid proof that “Houses from within” is an important event both for the citizens of the city and for people who love tours in Jerusalem.
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When a Jewish person prays he must turn his body, or at least his heart, to the direction of Jerusalem, and it is hard to think of the Jewish religion without this city. The Jewish Quarter, the Western Wall, the City of David, and of course Western Jerusalem are the center of Jewish life in the past and the present. Here are a few pictures that demonstrate this.
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Jerusalem is where Christianity was born, and the tours include encounters with Christian art, breathtaking churches, and believers of all kinds. As usual, it’s always best to see for yourself, but I still brought some pictures.
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They say that David the king of Israel is alive and well. If it is all true then where is he hiding and why has no one seen him lately? It is time to go tour Jerusalem and search for him. We will go through an underground tunnel flooded with water, go up a mountain with a mysterious site on top, and search for the palace in which the redheaded king resided. We will examine what happened, what people say that happened, and what may have happened in the capital David built.
Highlights: the City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Mount Zion, and David’s Tomb.
Time: 3.5 hours. The tour is not available on Saturdays.
Level of difficulty: moderate.
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