World Travel Sweden: Israel and the Palestinian Territories

Tel Aviv ( תֵּל־אָבִיב ). A voyage to Tel Aviv, Israel ( מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל ) & the Palestinian Territories ( الأراضي الفلسطينية ), Middle East.

Jerusalem may only be 80km up the road, but culturally, socially and psychologically it may as well be a million miles away. While Jerusalemites flock to the holy sites, Tel Avivans hit the clubs. Kippas are swapped for sun visors, gefilte fish for sushi and quarried stone for poured concrete. If it’s 3000 years of history you’re after, head for the hills, but if you’re dead set on partying by the Med shores, pack your volleyball and bathing suit and visit the city by the sea.

After a few days in Tel Aviv (or TA as it’s affectionately known by expats) you may start to wonder if there is such thing as a weekend. The city seems to be on permanent holiday and at any time of day or night you can saunter down a main street and find crowded cafés, joggers, beach bums and dog walkers. Business is casual and no-one owns a suit.

The city combines its liberal, laissez faire attitude with low-level development and interconnected neighbourhoods. A short walk leads you from the glamorous beachside hotels to the exotic Yemenite Quarter to fashionable Rothschild Blvd.
While you could spend weeks sightseeing in Jerusalem, the main attractions of Tel Aviv can be done in a couple of days. The real reason to visit might be to escape the tourist hordes and enjoy a city that boasts fantasic cuisine, a heaving nightlife and pleasant tree-lined streets that spill into the Mediterranean Sea. Tel Avivans will tell you it’s the greatest city on earth, so spend a few days and find out why.Show in Lonely Planet

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AN Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Middle East, Tel Aviv

Nazareth ( נצרת ) ,( الناصرة ). A voyage to Nazareth, Israel & the Palestinian territories, Middle East.

A cacophony of market vendors, blaring car horns and church bells, modern Nazareth will come as quite a shock if you’re imagining the bucolic Christmas-card images of the Annunciation and Jesus’ childhood home. The largest Arab city in Israel, Nazareth is swallowing up the surrounding olive groves, farms and pine forests at an ever-increasing pace; where there’s a view, there’s a house on the hillside and where there’s a one-way street, there’s sure to be a kilometre-long traffic jam heading the other way.
But the disappointment does not last long. Nazareth is a vibrant city, with the feel of a small village, and offers much more than its Christian pilgrim history. While the myriad of churches are certainly worth a visit, come to explore the cobbled streets of the Old City with its crumbling mansions, authentic souq and excellent restaurants specialising in local dishes.

While the controversial Nazareth 2000 project (a joint project of the Israeli government and the local municipality for restoration of the Old City to celebrate the Millennium in the Holy Land) – unfortunately much of the money was squandered or spent on Upper Nazareth, the Jewish section of the city) has stalled since the start of the second intifada, tourists can take advantage of the early success: the winding alleyways of the Old City beautifully lit at night, preservation of some of the historical homes, and investment into a range of interesting new accommodation options.

With its proximity to nearby Christian sites such as Mt Tabor, Nazareth makes an ideal base for a few days’ touring the lower Galilee, especially on Shabbat when everything is open for business, unlike the rest of the country.