Israel & the Palestinian Territories

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Introducing Israel & the Palestinian Territories

Israel, or Palestine depending on your politics, is one of the world’s oldest travel destinations. Everyone from Moses to Mark Twain has dreamed of going there. The appearance of prophets seems to be dwindling and the Crusaders have long since hung up their swords and shields, but travellers still come in droves, almost magnetically, to this land still considered holy by countless millions.

Like the patchwork of new arrivals at Ben-Gurion airport, Israel is an amalgamation of peoples who arrived over centuries of time, each one staking their claim to the land. Territorial disputes led to violence, which in turn made for some epic accounts in the Bible – not terribly dissimilar to what is playing out on nightly newscasts where you are today. But contrary to popular belief, Israel is not a war zone to be avoided, and it has such rigid security that travel is surprisingly safe.

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Aerial of Church of the Annunciation.
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Aerial of Church of the Annunciation.

Lonely Planet photographer
  • Greg Johnston
  • Lonely Planet photographer
  • Full moon rising above the Old City and the Mount of Olives.
  • Dome of the Rock, Old City of Jerusalem.
  • Men pray by the Western Wall (Wailing Wall).
  • Bahai shrine and garden on Mount Carmel.
  • Night time fun at Trumpeldor beach.
  • Detail of Cymbalsita Synagogue at  Tel Aviv University.
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