Author Archives: Shmuel Browns

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About Shmuel Browns

I am a tour guide, licensed by the Israel Ministry of Tourism. I do tours throughout Israel, personalized to your interests, time and budget.

You might be wondering if this photo was shot on a different planet but in fact it is in Israel (like all these photos), a shot of sinkholes on the shore of the Dead Sea with the cliffs above En Gedi in the background. You can click on the image for a larger view (which may take some time to load depending on your Internet connection). Please share this post with your friends by clicking on the icons at the end of this message.

Dead Sea Sinkholes

The technical details – the photo was taken with a Nikon D90 (digital SLR) camera with a Nikon 18-70mm lens on July 2 (ISO 200, 29mm, F11 at 1/400 sec).

For more information about the Dead Sea check out my post at https://israeltours.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/dead-sea/.
I’ve uploaded a set of sinkhole photographs to Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/27944012@N06/sets/72157621040678204/

Photographs on this website are © Shmuel Browns (unless marked otherwise) – if you are interested in purchasing one of my photos or using one of my photos for your own project please contact me.

Related articles

Photo of the Week – Golan

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I’ve posted 4 Photo of the Week articles, a photo from the Red Canyon, Makhtesh HaGadol, Dead Sea and Nahal Og, all from the south of Israel. It’s Sunday again and time for another photo. This week I chose a photo from the north of Israel. You can click on the image for a larger view (which may take some time to load depending on your Internet connection). Included is information about the photo – where it was taken, the technical details of the photo, etc.  Please share this post via email, on Facebook or Twitter by clicking on the icons at the end of this message.

This photo was taken with a Nikon D90 (digital SLR) camera with a Nikon 18-70mm lens over Pesach, a sunny morning on April 21 (ISO 200, 34mm, F4 at 1/3200 sec).

The photo was taken while hiking the Golan trail. For additional photos and a description of our hike check out the blog post at https://israeltours.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/wind-turbines-on-golan-trail/

Photographs on this website are © Shmuel Browns (unless marked otherwise) – if you are interested in purchasing one of my photos or using one of my photos for your own project please contact me.

Israel 10 day tour

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I guide a lot of 1 day tours but it is a very different experience to create a multi-day tour for a family or group and then be with them guiding for a week or more – it’s an opportunity to go deeper, to get to know each other and this land. For people planning a trip to Israel I would like to share a 10-day tour that I created for a small group. In general, hotel accommodation in Israel includes a buffet breakfast; this tour also included dinner except for Saturday night. The group got to experience a lot and visit some places less travelled.

Some participants’ comments:

Thank you for all your efforts to arrange a trip as diverse as Israel itself. You were always there for us and that allowed us to focus on the subjects at hand. Because of you we learned much more than we could have expected and your personal touch enriched all of our lives. We will think of you and your family every time we recall our experiences in Israel. A.B. Irvine, CA

It was much much more than we ever expected. Thank you for taking the time, preparation and sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm, history, variety of both places and people. Thank you again for a wonderful picture of Israel. Much love. EB and RG. San Rafael, CA

Here is the itinerary I worked out with them. I am happy to do the same for you.

Day 0 airport pickup and transfer to hotel in Tel Aviv

Day 1

  • drive to Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Nature Reserve
  • drive to Tel Aviv-Jaffa and walk along the beach
  • explore Old Jaffa and the neighborhood of Neve Tzedek
  • dinner in Neve Tzedek and dance performance at Susan Delal center
  • overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 2

  • morning walk in Yarkon park
  • visit the Eretz Israel museum in Ramat Aviv
  • Palmach museum
  • Tel Aviv port
  • Holon Design museum
  • overnight Tel Aviv

Day 3

  • travel north along the coastal highway
  • explore Akko: underground Crusader city, multi-media presentation in old Turkish hamam, tour of British prison
  • Lohamei HaGetaot Holocaust museum
  • Bahai gardens and tomb of Bahá’u’lláh outside Akko
  • overnight Kibbutz Ein Gev guest house

Day 4

  • watch video of famous battle of 1973 Yom Kippur War on Golan Heights, Oz 77 and Emeq HaBacha
  • visit the site and monument to the battle
  • Hula Nature reserve for bird watching
  • overnight Kibbutz Ein Gev

Day 5

  • drive to Katzrin and visit Museum of the Golan
  • wine tasting tour at the Golan Heights winery
  • drive the Jordan Rift valley to Jerusalem
  • Mahane Yehuda market before Shabbat
  • overnight Jerusalem

Day 6, Shabbat

  • day of rest
  • afternoon visit to the Israel museum
  • Israeli folk dancing
  • overnight Jerusalem

Day 7

  • walking tour of the Old City:
    • Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque
    • Davidson Archaeological park
    • synagogues in the Old City: Hurva and Ohel Yitzchak
    • panorama from roof top
    • Church of Holy Sepulcher
  • overnight Jerusalem

Day 8

  • Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found
  • desert botanical garden at Kibbutz Ein Gedi
  • Masada
  • Dead Sea spa
  • overnight Ein Gedi

Day 9

  • visit the Joe Alon Bedouin Culture museum
  • Bedouin life and hospitality (lunch) at Women’s Center in Lakiya
  • Ben Gurion’s hut at Sde Boker
  • evening walk to edge of makhtesh
  • overnight in Mitzpe Ramon

Day 10

  • jeep tour in Makhtesh Ramon
  • Ayalon Institute
  • tour of Weizmann Institute
  • farewell celebratory dinner in Tel Aviv-Jaffa
  • depart for airport

How much do you estimate a 10 day tour in Israel costs? Of course it depends on the size of the group, hotel accommodations chosen, itinerary and meals; it also depends on the expertise of person doing the arranging. I can organize and guide a tour like this (not including airfare), customized to your interests from $2500. per person.

This week has flown by as we celebrated our daughter Tiferet’s wedding to Boaz last Sunday and enjoyed the time with friends and family. So it’s Sunday and time for this week’s photo. I chose a place in the Judean desert, less than a half hour from Jerusalem on the way to the Dead Sea, a great place to hike. You can click on the image for a larger view (which may take some time to load depending on your Internet connection). Included is information about the photo – where it was taken, the technical details of the photo, etc.  Please share this post via email, on Facebook or Twitter by clicking on the icons at the end of this message.

This photo was taken with a Nikon D90 (digital SLR) camera with a Nikon 18-70mm lens in the early afternoon of November 27th,  (ISO 400, 18mm, F9 at 1/125 sec).

The photo was taken while hiking Nahal Og. For additional photos and a description of our hike check out the blog post at https://israeltours.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/hiking-nahal-og/

Photographs on this website are © Shmuel Browns (unless marked otherwise) – if you are interested in purchasing one of my photos or using one of my photos for your own project please contact me.

It’s Sunday so here is this week’s photo from one of the unique places in Israel. You can click on the image for a larger view (which may take some time to load depending on your Internet connection). Included is information about the photo – where it was taken, the technical details of the photo, etc.  Please share this post via email, on Facebook or Twitter by clicking on the icons at the end of this message.

Sea, Salt and Sky, Dead Sea

This photo was taken with a Nikon D90 (digital SLR) camera with a Nikon 18-70mm lens in the afternoon of November 27th,  (ISO 250, 18mm, F10 at 1/250 sec).

The photo is at the Dead Sea near Nahal Qedem when we went to find the hot springs.

Photographs on this website are © Shmuel Browns (unless marked otherwise) – if you are interested in purchasing one of my photos or using one of my photos for your own project please contact me.

It’s Sunday so I am posting another photo that I’ve taken somewhere in Israel. You can click on the image for a larger view (which may take some time to load depending on your Internet connection). I write something about the photo – where it was taken, the technical details of the photo, etc. If I don’t tell you where the photo was taken, I’m asking you to guess and add the location of the photo as a comment (in the end I’ll tell you). Please share this post via email, on Facebook or Twitter by clicking on the icons at the end of this message.

This photo was taken with a Nikon E4300 camera just after noon on January 3rd,  (ISO 100, 8mm, F7.6 at 1/219 sec).

Where was this photo taken? What is the subject of the landscape?

Photographs on this website are © Shmuel Browns (unless marked otherwise) – if you are interested in purchasing one of my photos or using one of my photos for your own project please contact me.