Although we've been in Israel for over a year now (!), there are still many places on our "must see" list. Last week we finally checked another one off. The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is the largest museum in the country and houses some 500,000 objects from contemporary art and sculpture to ancient artifacts and everything in between.
We spent six hours at the museum and saw perhaps half of the exhibits. There is no way you can see the whole thing in one day unless you just walk through without stopping to read anything at all. We focused our visit on the Shrine of the Book, the Jewish life exhibit, the archaeology wing, and the scale model of Jerusalem.
Originally constructed in 1962 at a hotel in Jerusalem in memory of the owner's son (who died during the War of Independence), the 50:1 scale model was transferred to the museum in 2006. It is impressive to look at, but also very helpful. After seeing it, we have a much better understanding of the geography of the Old City and how it was built up in layers over the years.
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| Scale model of Jerusalem during the 2nd Temple Period |
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| Jason conquering Jerusalem |
One of the most impressive exhibits is the Shrine of the Book - a separate wing of the museum that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient manuscripts such as the Aleppo Codex. Considering the scrolls are ~2000 years old, it is impressive that the parchment is as well-preserved, and the writing as legible, as it is.
Inside the museum is just as impressive. The exhibits are well laid out and informative. We took a free tour of some of the Jewish life wing and although we doubled-back to see things that were skipped over, the tour covered most of the highlights of the collection and our guide gave excellent background on the stories behind some of the objects. Among the more impressive pieces are four synagogues that were dismantled, brought to Israel, and reconstructed in the museum. From Suriname (South America), India, Italy, and Germany, the synagogues represent a wide range of architecture and traditions from around the world.
One of my other favorite exhibits was the ancient manuscripts. There were all kinds of books, from an enormous mahzor (prayer book) to several Passover haggadot all decorated with beautiful illuminations. There was also a video detailing the processes to produce the stunning colors and gold embossing. Having read The People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks, seeing how these manuscripts were decorated was all the more interesting.
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| The Shrine of the Book |
Inside the museum is just as impressive. The exhibits are well laid out and informative. We took a free tour of some of the Jewish life wing and although we doubled-back to see things that were skipped over, the tour covered most of the highlights of the collection and our guide gave excellent background on the stories behind some of the objects. Among the more impressive pieces are four synagogues that were dismantled, brought to Israel, and reconstructed in the museum. From Suriname (South America), India, Italy, and Germany, the synagogues represent a wide range of architecture and traditions from around the world.
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| Chanukiot from around the world |
One of my other favorite exhibits was the ancient manuscripts. There were all kinds of books, from an enormous mahzor (prayer book) to several Passover haggadot all decorated with beautiful illuminations. There was also a video detailing the processes to produce the stunning colors and gold embossing. Having read The People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks, seeing how these manuscripts were decorated was all the more interesting.
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| An illuminated manuscript |
Our last stop was the archaeology wing. Vast and covering pretty much everything there is to cover, the exhibit starts with the dawn of civilization and ends with fairly modern history. It was a lot to take in, and we skipped around a bit since we'd just been to several other museums that covered history from the Romans-present day. We did spend quite a bit of time in the glass exhibit, which I loved. We probably could have spent another hour or two in that wing alone, but there is only so much you can take it at once.
If you are in Israel, we highly recommend a trip to the Israel museum. Get the map, the free audio guide and spend a few minutes planning your visit over coffee at a museum cafe. There's a lot to see and you probably won't get through everything. We did learn that you can save your ticket and use it to get 50% off your next visit (within 3 months) so you can go back and see what you missed. There are free tours of different exhibits during the day if you want a more in depth look at anything in particular.
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| Glass in all colors |
If you are in Israel, we highly recommend a trip to the Israel museum. Get the map, the free audio guide and spend a few minutes planning your visit over coffee at a museum cafe. There's a lot to see and you probably won't get through everything. We did learn that you can save your ticket and use it to get 50% off your next visit (within 3 months) so you can go back and see what you missed. There are free tours of different exhibits during the day if you want a more in depth look at anything in particular.
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