The first thing I like to do when I go on a trip is to find out what the מֶזֶג אֲוִיר (weather) is like over there at the time of year I plan to go. Since this is the middle of August, I went over to the Israel Meteorological Service’s website to check it out. Here’s what I found out:

From the beginning to the end of הֵקִיץ (summer) hot, dry desert winds called “hamsin” (חַמְסִין) occur anytime from March to November. This means I can’t go rushing around a lot. No problem, I’ll most likely be visiting air-conditioned מוּזֵאוֹן (museums), מִסְעָדָה (restaurants), do some browsing in a שׁוּק (bazaar) somewhere, And since I’ve lived in the deserts of the Southwest USA, I know to drink plenty of מַיִם (water), and use קְרֶם שִׁזּוּף (sunscreen).

Okay, now that I got that…what if I stay longer than expected? חֹרֶף (winter) in Israel is cold and גָּשׁוּם (rainy), so I better pack something for then, or maybe I can just buy something there when I absolutely need it. It’ll help with my shopping practice.

Where Am I Going?

Israel may be a small country, but there are so many places to go and explore. I decided to keep it to the most well-known places and go in this order (click the map to enlarge it and find these places):

1. Tel-Aviv – (תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ) 2. Netanya – (נְתַנְיָה‎‎) 3. Haifa – (חֵיפָה‎‎) 4. Nazareth – (נָצְרַת‎‎) 5. Jenin* – (ג’נין‎) 6. Ramallah* – (رام الله‎) 7. Jericho* – (יְרִיחוֹ‎‎) 8. Jerusalem – (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם‎‎) 9. Bethlehem* – (בֵּית לֶחֶם) 10. Hebron* – (חֶבְרוֹן) 11. Beersheba – (בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע‎‎) 12. Ashdod – (אַשְׁדּוֹד‎‎)

I don’t know how long this will take as I plan on giving each city a couple of weeks to explore and report back to you. I hope you’ll be excited enough to possibly take a trip in the future to any one of these places and experience it yourselves.

Booking the Trip

In order to go, I’ll visit my סוֹכְנוּת נְסִיעוֹת (travel agency) and see what they have for me to check out. Hopefully I can find some great deals and הֲנָחָה (discounts).

I made sure my דַּרְכּוֹן (passport) is current. And because I’ll be passing through the West Bank, I’ll get a וִיזָה (visa) in Tel-Aviv and I’ll talk more about that when I arrive. I got the addresses and phone numbers to the שַׁגְרִירוּת אָמֶרִיקָנוֹת (American Embassy) just in case I need to get in touch with them.

Okay, what am I forgetting? Oh yes! My כַּרְטִיס טִיסָה (plane ticket)! Can’t forget that. I’ll put it in my carry-on bag so I’ll be sure to have them.

Coming Next

לְאָרוּז (packing) for the trip is something I really don’t like too much, but it has to be done. So I’ll end this post and start on that. Don’t forget to download the PDF I attached to this article so you can learn the vocabulary and new phrases.

See you later!

Download PDF: Exploring Israel – Planning and Packing

Vocabulary

American Embassy – שַׁגְרִירוּת אָמֶרִיקָנוֹת
bazaar – שׁוּק
cold – קר
deal – הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד, הָמוֹן
discount – הֲנָחָה
hamsin – חַמְסִין
museum – מוּזֵאוֹן
to pack – לְאָרוּז
passport – דַּרְכּוֹן
plane ticket – כַּרְטִיס טִיסָה
rainy – גָּשׁוּם
restaurant – מִסְעָדָה
summer – הֵקִיץ
sunscreen – קְרֶם שִׁזּוּף
SPF – עם מקדם הגנה
travel agency – סוֹכְנוּת נְסִיעוֹת
travel agent – סוֹכֵן נְסִיעוֹת
visa – וִיזָה
water – מַיִם
weather – מֶזֶג אֲוִיר
weather forecast – תַּחֲזִית מֶזֶג הָאֲוִיר
winter – חֹרֶף

Cities to Visit

Ashdod – (אַשְׁדּוֹד‎‎)
Beersheba – (בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע‎‎)
Bethlehem – (בֵּית לֶחֶם)
Haifa – (חֵיפָה‎‎)
Hebron – (חֶבְרוֹן)
Jenin – (ג’נין‎)
Jericho – (יְרִיחוֹ‎‎)
Jerusalem – (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם‎‎)
Nazareth – (נָצְרַת‎‎)
Netanya – (נְתַנְיָה‎‎)
Ramallah – (رام الله‎)
Tel-Aviv – (תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ)