Touring Israel with a tour guide

  A Taste of Biblical Israel Did you know the fig is one of the Seven Species of Israel? 🍯 The fig tree is mentioned 16 times in the Hebrew Bible, often alongside the vine as a symbol of peace & prosperity . "Every man under his own vine and under his own fig tree" (I Kings 5:5) became the ultimate vision of security. 🕊️ 🌱 The fig was cultivated in Israel as early as 7000 years ago - making it one of the world's first domesticated fruit trees! Archaeologists found evidence at Tel Tsaf in the Jordan Valley 🍃 Adam & Eve used fig leaves to cover themselves (Genesis 3:7) - the very first biblical mention of this iconic tree 🍯 The "honey" in "a land flowing with milk & honey" (Deuteronomy 8:8) - according to some Jewish sages, it refers to fig honey! 🐝 💫 Some rabbinic traditions believe the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden was actually a fig tree The fruit was eaten fresh, dried into cakes (develah) & even used as a healing pou...

#ImagineIsraelTours 3,000 Years of Jewish History in One Day. Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter brings together some of the most significant sites in Jewish history, archaeology & worship, spanning the First Temple period to the present day. Highlights of this tour include: 🕍 The Western Wall (HaKotel) - The surviving western retaining wall of the Second Temple, & Judaism's holiest place of prayer. 🕍 The Western Wall Tunnels - A 485-metre underground route revealing the full length of the Wall, including the enormous Western Stone, one of the largest building stones ever used in antiquity. 🕍 The 1948 Independence War Memorial 🕍 The 'City of David' - still under excavation 🕍 The Hurva Synagogue - Originally established in the early 18th century, destroyed & rebuilt several times, most recently reopened in 2010 following meticulous reconstruction. 🕍 The Four Sephardic Synagogues - A remarkable complex dating largely from the 16th century, reflecting the traditi...

#ImagineIsraelTours #SimonOsterTourGuideIsrael Sea Bream ( Diplodus levantinus) When you order sea bream (denise / gilt-head bream) in Israel, you're taking part in a story that goes back centuries - way before it became a modern Mediterranean favourite. Let me take you back to the year 300 CE... In 1996, a spectacular Roman mosaic was discovered in Lod, Israel, during highway construction. Dated to approximately 300 CE, the Lod Mosaic is the largest mosaic ever found in Israel - a stunning floor that once belonged to a luxurious Roman villa. And guess what's featured in the marine scene? 🐠 Bream 🐟 Tuna ⚔️ Swordfish 🐚 Scallops & sea snails Yes - sea bream & other fish from our very own waters were being celebrated in Roman-era art nearly 1,700 years ago! The mosaic's nautical scene shows ships, sea life & marine creatures, symbolising Greco-Roman culture entering the region. It's a snapshot of what the Mediterranean meant to ancient civilisations: life ...

#ImagineIsraelTours #SimonOsterTourGuideIsrael The 'Cave of Letters' in Nahal Hever, in the Judean Desert Discovered by Bedouin of the Ta'amireh tribe in 1953, the cave was excavated during 1960–61 by archaeologist Yigael Yadin & his team, who made an astonishing discovery in what appears to have been a refuge for Jewish families fleeing the Romans during the Bar Kochba Revolt (132–135 CE). Almost 2,000 years ago, the items pictured were hidden in the cave. Sealed with bitumen, this basket was packed by a Jewish family with the hope of returning home. They never did. The proof they were hidden by a Jewish family? The items belonged to a Jewish woman named Babatha; her marriage contract, property deeds & legal documents were hidden in the very same cave. Her stepdaughter Shelamzion's ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) confirms their identity beyond doubt. Alongside the basket, archaeologists found sandals, combs, keys, coins & personal correspondence. There ...

#ImagineIsraelTours #SimonOsterTourGuideIsrael The desert hedgehog ( Paraechinus aethiopicus)   Simon says: "Did you know that one of Israel's smallest desert creatures has been quietly roaming these lands since biblical times?" Known in Hebrew as קיפוד (qíppôdh), it is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in Isaiah & Zephaniah. It's a tiny survivor that has witnessed this land's entire history. The species was first described by the German naturalist Ehrenberg in 1832, & its name is recognized in modern taxonomic databases . The "aethiopicus" part of the name refers to Ethiopia (the species was once called the Ethiopian Hedgehog) . These little creatures are perfectly adapted to Israel's harshest desert environments. The desert hedgehog is found in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia & across the Sahara. What makes them so special? 🦔 They can survive in dry scrublands, stony plains & mountainous desert country. 🦔 Their dark spines h...