Yom HaShoah is a national memorial day in Israel. Known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, the full name of the holiday is Yom HaShoah Ve-Hagevurah, translated as the “Day of (remembrance of) the Holocaust and the Heroism.” The day was selected in a resolution passed by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, on April 12, 1951. The Observance...Read More

The festival of Pesach, known as Passover, holds multiple layers of meaning, particularly in Israel. Within the Jewish faith, Pesach marks the Israelites’ journey from slavery to freedom, unified, as a sovereign nation, after suffering 400 years of harsh slavery under Egyptian rule. The story of the exodus from Egypt is ultimately a celebration of...Read More

The Middle East offers a visual feast for travelers keen on seeing very old and very impressive architecture—particularly in those areas that have been populated for centuries. Perhaps no place offers the most well-preserved ancient archaeological ruins than the Beit She’an National Park in Israel. Beit She’an, one of the oldest regions in Israel, the...Read More

Who is buried in the Sphinx’s tomb? No, it is not the Sphinx or anyone for that matter—either mythical or human. Even though the 4,500-year-old part-lion, part-human Great Sphinx is positioned between two actual tombs, namely, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Sphinx is not a tomb. Rather, this imposing 65 ft. tall x...Read More

Masada Perched atop a rugged plateau overlooking the Dead Sea in Israel, Masada is an ancient fortress steeped in history and legend. Masada gained international renown for the dramatic events that unfolded during the First Jewish-Roman War in the 1st century AD when the site served as a refuge for Jewish zealots who resisted Roman...Read More