Jerusalem travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Whether you call it Bauhaus or International Style architecture, Tel Aviv is still the only city in the world that houses such a large collection of buildings designed in this style. It evolved in Germany in the 1920′s, came to an abrupt end (in Germany) with the Nazi’s rise to power and continued to develop in the U.S. and elsewhere. In Tel Aviv of the 1930′s, Bauhaus architecture flourished, as is evidenced by many of the wonderful buildings that line the city’s streets. Since the initial publication of this issue, the “White City of Tel Aviv” has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.When UNESCO added Tel Aviv’s White City to the World Heritage List of sites designated for preservation, it made white fashionable and desireable. Thanks to the White City’s historical designation, that default color of Israeli architecture is now identified with quality.

“This is a trend that began about 15 years ago as part of Tel Aviv’s branding as the White City,” says architect Sharon Rotbard, author of the books “White City, Black City” and “Avraham Yaski: Concrete Architecture.” “In the mid-1990s, Ram Carmi began to talk about white architecture at the same time that architects began whitewashing raw concrete structures in conjunction with Brutalist architecture – for example, the planned Amal School. Eldar Sharon also painted white the Coor Building – now the Beit Amot Hamishpat Building – which he planned with his father, Arieh Sharon.

Continue reading White City of Tel Aviv

<The Holy City of Jerusalem, built in the 7th century, decorated with beautiful geometric and floral motifs, it is recognized by all three religions as the site of Abraham’s sacrifice. It consists of four ethnic and religious sections — the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City of Jerusalem is an approximately one square kilometer area of the modern day Israel city of Jerusalem. The Old City is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is visited by tourists from around the world.

Continue reading The Holy City of Jerusalem

Temple of Karnak in Luxor What a breathtaking place it is… This vast temple complex is dedicated to god Amon and was spiritual center of the Ancient Egyptians. It now amaze us with it’s really impressive architecural achievements and the atmosphere it stills holds.

Karnak is the biggest temple complex in the world, covering an area of 100 hectares and there is nowhere more impressive to the first-time visitor. In ancient times, Karnak was known as Ipet-isut, The most select of places. It is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world, and is probably the second most visited ancient site in Egypt, second only to the Giza Pyramids near Cairo.

It took millennia to build and enhance the massive Karnak Temple, though most of the work was done by the pharaohs of the New Kingdom (1570-1100 BC). Approximately 30 pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity and diversity not seen elsewhere. Few of the individual features of Karnak are unique, but the size and number of features is overwhelming.

Continue reading The Astonishing Temple of Karnak in Luxor, spiritual center of the Ancient Egyptians