ISRAEL
​I visited Israel in 2014.

Buskers frequent the Mamilla Mall just outside Old Jerusalem's Jaffa Gate.*

First, there's Mizrahi, or Eastern, music with its roots in the Arabic melodies of Yemen and North Africa.  Usually sung in Hebrew, it has unmistakably Arabic undertones.*
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A "musician" entertains on Mamilla Mall just outside Old Jerusalem's Jaffe Gate.*




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A beautifully preserved site, this ancient city upon a hill dominates the surrounding desert skyline.  Named after a Nabataean monarch, Avdat was built in the 3rd century BC as a caravan stop on the road from Petra to the Mediterranean coast.  The ruins include a Roman bathhouse, a burial cave with 21 double catacombs, several 45h century churches, a pottery workshop and an elaborate Byzantine winepress.*

Mara Saba Monastery is a phenomenal cliff-clinging copper-domed hermitage, founded in AD 439.  Residing here are the remains of 5thcentury ascetic Saint Sabas, whose body lies in the church's second chapel, and the skulls of some 120 monks massacred here in AD 614.*

An artist sketches passers-by on Mamilla Mall just outside Old Jerusalem's Jaffa Gate.*

All walks of Jerusalem life converge at the bustling Mahane Yehuda Market crammed with fresh fruit, oils, nuts, and vegetables.  Spices abound and the smell of cinnamon, pesto, paprika and black pepper fills the air.  There is also imported coffee and teas, not to mention fresh fish hauled up from the Mediterranean.* 
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The first is the ancient city of Avdat. A beautifully preserved site, this ancient city upon a hill dominates the surrounding desert skyline. Named after a Nabataean monarch, Avdat was built in the 3rd century BC as a caravan stop on the road from Petra to the Mediterranean coast. The ruins include a Roman bathhouse, a burial cave with 21 double catacombs, several 45h century churches, a pottery workshop and an elaborate Byzantine winepress.


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A young musician plays outside a mall in Mitzpe Ramon.*

Second, there's Israel rock, the same as rock the world over but with Hebrew lyrics.*

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The term 'Bedouin' is Arabic for 'desert dweller' and refers to the nomad-pastoralist groups that reside in the Negev Desert.  The desert abounds with 'unrecognized' Bedouin villages -- ramshackle conglomerates of homes, tents and corrugated shacks lacking even basic infrastructure, and subject, at any moment, to demolition by the Israeli authorities.*

A Bedouin guide feeds his camels outside of Mitzpe Ramon.*




  

Herodium is King Herod's spectacular fortress-palace, built between 23 and 15 BC, and known through the centuries to Arab inhabitants as the Mountain of Paradise.*


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For such a small region, Israel churns out a surprisingly varied assortment of films, books and musical styles, many of which make it to the international arena.*

Adama in Mitzpe Ramon runs regular workshops on dance, meditation and the language of movement.*



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The Vanishing Bedouin

Preserving cultural diversity helps not only those whose traditions we protect. But it also preserves philosophies and ways of thinking about which we can learn.

Bedouins are facing a number of challenges: the erosion of traditional values, unemployment, and various land issues. They live with the constant threat of eviction and home demolitions, under enormously stressful conditions that have a serious effect on their health and well-being.

Around half of what you'll hear on the radio in Israel is home grown Israeli fare, which can be divided into several distinct categories.*

Third, and most prevalent, there's the mainstream, anthemic music that Israelis really love.*

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The Western Wall is the most important religious shrine for the Jewish people.  It became a place of pilgrimage during the Ottoman period and Jews would come to mourn and lament their ancient loss -- hence the term the Wailing Wall.*

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The Maktesh Ramon is 300m deep, 8km wide and 40km long and features multicoloured sandstone, volcanic rock and fossils.*





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A sheer-sided plateau 400 meters above the Dead Sea, Masada was fortified sometime between 103 and 76 BC.*

The Muslim Cemetery lies just outside Old Jerusalem's Lions Gate.*

The fortress of Masada figures prominently in the Israel psyche.  It often is the setting for such activities as swearing-in ceremonies, school excursions and barvitzvahs.*  


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Jerusalem is situated on a plateau in the Judean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and a place of pilgrimage and worship for Jews, Christians and Muslims since the biblical era. 

Jerusalem's Old City retains significant religious sites concentrated around the Temple Mount compound, including the Western Wall, sacred to Judaism, and the Dome of the Rock, the Church of Nativity, and a 7th-century Islamic shrine with a gold dome.

*These captions are from Israel and the Palestinian Territories - Lonely Planet's travel guide.