It would be a shame to come to Israel and not to see her capital city, the city from which David reigned for 33 years and from which our Messiah will reign for a thousand years. Unfortunately, much of Jerusalem is 'trodden under foot of the Gentiles'; it is not advisable to go into the Moslem Quarter of Jerusalem without an experienced guide. We recommend taking a guided tour of the city with a believing tour guide, with whom you might like to make arrangements before you come to Israel (see 'Believing Tour Guides').

Bear in mind that if you are in Jerusalem on Friday, many things close shortly after lunch time and open again only on Sunday morning, or Saturday evening. The situation will be similar on most of the feast days which are considered 'shabbat'. Choose from a few of the sites to see in one day - the Herodian Tower of David (possible to see without a guide, or with the guided tour provided at the place itself), the Garden Tomb, Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives (recommended), the Pool of Bethsaida, walking around the walls of the ancient city, the Valley of Hinnom where child sacrifices were made in ancient Israel, the Western Wall and Hezekiah's Tunnel, a museum of Temple furnishings that are being rebuilt for the next Temple, and much more. Ask your guide for recommendations.

The bus tour of Jerusalem run by Egged is also very interesting and gives an overview with commentary of many areas in wider Jerusalem outside the Ancient City, including Mount Scopus (site of the Hebrew University), Yad VaShem, Mahaneh Yehudah (a large open market) and much more.

We can also recommend the Egged tours of Dead Sea, Ein Gedi and Massada. It takes one day and would be worth doing the day after your tour of Jerusalem. The Dead Sea is famously saline and with high mineral content, fed by the Jordan River but with no outlet.

Ein Gedi is a beautiful oasis in the desert, and one of the hiding places of David during his pursuit by King Saul. You can often see some of Israel's wilderness wildlife from this lovely spot.

This is the valley where David fought Goliath. Interesting to see only with a believing tour guide to explain to you where things are. The Valley of Eshtaol is nearby, where Samson grew up and a tour guide could show you where the Philistines lived at that time.

Masada is a plateu of rock overlooking the Dead Sea, on the top of which you can still see the ancient fortifications and palaces of the Jewish community that lived there before they were besieged by Roman Armies in the war of the Bar Kochba Revolt and committed mass suicide.

Eilat is about 5 hours drive from Jerusalem. From Eilat you can go diving in the Red Sea Coral Beach Nature Reserve, visit the amazing aquarium and Dolphin Reef. In the desert slightly, believers lead tours of a life-size replica of the Tabernacle (contact John Pex: email: pex@actcom.co.il or Tel 00 972 (0)8 6332868).

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