What visitors to Israel should be aware of before flying out, and landing in
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Israel?
Is it war, conflict and terrorism? As a tourist, you’re very unlikely to encounter any of that. We (not me, personally, but the authorities) work very hard and put all sorts of measures into place to keep you safe while you’re here. So, don’t worry about that.
What else comes to mind? Probably hot weather and a land of deserts. You might think you can leave coats and umbrellas at home. You might think: tropical.
Well, think again. It hardly ever rains… in the summer. But in winter, we have plenty of rain. Sometimes the heavens open and you can get drenched in minutes… seconds. You might be lucky – most winter days are dry and some are even warm and sunny. But come prepared for rain. Jerusalem, Safed and other parts of Israel can even get snow.
Why am I thinking of this now? Because a friend just came for a brief trip. During her three-day visit, rain poured down almost all the time. And she wasn’t prepared.
Another visitor once came for a ceremony, for which he had to stand outside in pouring rain, and the following day he was stuck indoors when snow fell.
When we lived in the beautiful area of Jerusalem called Yemin Moshe, we occasionally seemed to be standing in a river when we walked up and down its stairs.
Those deserts… they’re only in the south of the country.
You have been warned!
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Miriam Drori, Author 
4 replies on “SIM Talk 8: Tourists Beware!”
Never again do I visit Jerusalem without an ☔️ and might even have to dig out a top to toe Legoland plastic cape 😂but I still had a fantastic time and it was lovely to see you x
Lovely to see you, too, Katy. Glad you enjoyed it, despite the weather!
Hah! A bit like us in Downunder. People expect it to be summer all year round.
Oh yes! And some of them just don’t believe the warnings.