Budget Guide to Egypt : Israel, Egypt Travel Planner

Jordan Valley & Dead Sea - Getting Around
Jordan Valley & Dead Sea - Getting Around The greatest obstacle in reaching Deir Alia, Pella, and the Dead Sea is getting to the highway that follows the contours of the Jordan River along the length of the valley. Once there, hop on one of the many buses or service shuttling...

Minya & Mallawi
Minya & Mallawi In Minya, a provincial capital and a university city of half a million, children will shout "Hello" in the street and bantour drivers will beg for your business-but notfl every 10m as in many other places in Egypt. While accessible and welcoming tol travelers, Minya retains an aura...

Nathan's White House Hostel
Nathan's White House Hostel, 131/1 Rctamim St. (tel. 37 65 72), the first right after crossing Hativat haNegev St. from the bus station and go all the way down to the corner. A mural of Bill Clinton's residence beautifies the wall-God Bless America! Unadorned convened house. Simple, clean rooms with...

Accommodations
Accommodations You can find any of Cairo's many luxury hotels by looking for the nearest 30-story ink tower; finding a decent budget hotel is more of a challenge. You can stay in easonable comfort for as little as LE10 per night, but you will have to do some com-narison shopping. Most...

Food
Food There's lots of it, tasty and cheap. In Hadar, both HaNevi'im and HaHalutz St. are lined with falafel and sandwich stands, some open on Saturday. On HaNevi'im St., vendors hawk steamy ears of com (tiros), and restaurants offer an eclectic mix of cuisines, including Moroccan, Italian, and Romanian. The main...

Government and Politics
Government and Politics According to its 1971 constitution, Egypt is a "democratic, socialist state," but in effect it's neither democratic nor overly socialist. It is more of an election-legitimated authoritarian regime. The president serves a six-year term and can be reelected for additional terms. He appoints the vice president and ministers....

Orientation
Orientation Located in the center of Israel's Mediterranean coastline, Tel Aviv is 63km (bus ride 50min.) west of Jerusalem, and 95km (bus ride lHhr.) south of Haifa. The two main points of entry into Tel Aviv are Ben-Gurion Airport (at Lod) and its two bus terminals. Although there is frequent bus service...

Central Post Office : Practical Infrormation
Central Post Office : Practical Infrormation Central Post Office: 23 Jaffa Rd. (tel. 29 08 98). Open Sun.-Thurs., 7am-7pm, Fri. 7am-noon. Poste Restante here. Telegrams in the main building or dial 171-First 7 words NIS19.20, NIS0.95 each additional word. Fax service also available here (open 24 hrs, closed Sat.). Domestic Parcel...

Currency Exchange
Currency Exchange: Barclays Discount, 65 Ha'Atzma'ut St. (tel. 52 22 91); HaPoalim, 5 HaPalyam Blvd. (tel. 68 15 74); Israel Discount, 47 Ha'Atzma'ut St. (tel. 54 61 11); Leumi, in the new HaMeginim Tower at 21 Yafo St. (tel. 54 71 11). Branches located throughout city. General hours Sun.-Thurs. 8:30am-12:30pm...

Ajlun
Ajlun Atop the highest peak overlooking Ajlun is Qal'at ar-Rabadh, a huge Arab castle built between 1184 and 1185 by Azz ad-Din Ausama, a commander under Salah ad-Din. Crusader knights spent decades unsuccessfully trying to capture the castle and nearby village. The name Kafranjah, a town in the area...

Language
Language One of the earliest forms of writing was Egyptian hieroglyphics (sacred carvings). This script was used for 3000 years in all formal and decorative writing. In 1799 Napoleon's Egyptian expedition discovered the Rosetta Stone, which provided the necessary clues for interpreting ancient Egyptian. The slab contained a decree written in...

The Arts -Literature
The Arts -Literature The Arabic language is shared by many nations, and Arabic literature from these countries serves the whole of the Arab world. The Jordanian region itself has a long tradition of prose: the oldest example of a Semitic script, the Mesha Stele, was found in Karak. Unfortunately, few Jordanian...

Akhziv Anax
Akhziv Anax Akhziv beach (tel. 82 39 88), which begins about 4km north of Nahariya, is popular (and populated), with showers, shade, changing rooms, and kiosk (open 8am-2am; j admission NIS7, students NIS5). Two roads lead to the beach: the paved road along j the coast which ends here, and the...

The Smoking Dog
The Smoking Dog, 138 Dizengoff St. Psychedelic emblems on the outside, music to match inside. Low key and mostly Israeli crowd. Maccabees NIS8. Happy hour 8pm-10:30pm. Open until 5am....

Lower Galilee – Nazareth
Lower Galilee – Nazareth A vibrant center of Arab life in the Galilee, Nazareth (An-Nassira in Arabic, Natzratin Hebrew) is vastly different from the Biblical images of pastoral churches and convents. True, as the place of Jesus's early life and the traditional home of Joseph and Mary, Nazareth contains several holy...