First stop is Jerusalem, the spiritual center of the world’s greatest monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It’s all here for travelers to feast their eyes on, from the Western Wall to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa. The Dome of the Rock, which was constructed in the seventh century and dominates Jerusalem’s Old City, is located on the Temple Mount and is a sight to behold not only for its significance to all three monotheistic religions but for its sheer beauty.
In Haifa, travelers are awestruck at the Bahai shrine and gardens, the headquarters of the Bahai faith, with its golden dome, Italian marble walls and granite pillars, not to mention gardens that extend over 19 terraces—the highest of which contains the Persian Gardens. The gardens are so stunning that they’ve been nicknamed “The Eighth Wonder of the World” and are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
And for a different experience altogether, visitors can head to Israel’s highest city, Safed, with its magnificent mountaintop setting and fresh, clean mountain air. Safed, one of the four holy cities in Israel, is a picturesque place of spiritual people and artists, and steeped in sacred atmosphere. Visitors can wander about through its alleyways past charming stone houses with their artists’ studios and workshops.
