Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SWIMMING
themed seasons
and retrospectives.
Israel's biggest
movie theatre
complex is
Cinema
City
, which has 21
auditoriums and
three 3D screens.
There are several
modern
cinemaplexes in
Amman offering
recent releases, including the
Century Cinemas
in the Zara
Centre behind the Grand
Hyatt and
Galleria
. Films are
shown in their original
language with Arabic subtitles.
Almost all the large hotels
have outdoor swimming
pools; the YMCA in Jerusalem
A
also has an indoor pool. You
can also swim all year round
at the
Jerusalem Swimming
Pool
, in the German Colony
district, south of the centre.
The Red Sea is warm
enough for year-round
swimming, although most
resort hotels also have
swimming pools. Swimming
in the Mediterranean is fine
in summer but it's too cold
from around October to April.
Tel Aviv's Ha-Bima Theatre
THEATRE
Plays in Israel are almost
always performed in Hebrew
(or, less commonly, Arabic),
although some of the
b
igger
theatres such as Tel Aviv's
A
Ha-
Bima Theatre and New Cameri
Theatre
(and Jerusalem's
Sherover Theatre,
see p151
)
have headphones providing
English-language translation
for some performances,
though there are a lot of
performances in English as
well. Productions, in all cases,
range from revivals of the
classics of world drama (both
old and modern) to first-run
stagings of new Israeli plays.
There are several theatre
festivals throughout the year
in Israel
(see pp36-9)
, the
most exciting of which is the
Acre Fringe Theatre
Festival
, which stages some
performances in the city's
subterranean Crusader halls.
In Amman, theatre takes
place at the
Royal Cultural
Centre
and
King Hussein
Cultural Centre
. However,
the premier theatrical event is
the
Jerash Festival
(see p37)
,
which brings together
performers from all over the
world to present their work
amid the ancient ruins.
SPECTATOR SPORTS
CHILDREN
Football is by far the most
popular sport throughout the
Holy Land. Two teams from
Jerusalem play in Israel's
premier league, Beitar and
Ha-Poel, and
matches take place
in the new
Teddy
Stadium
at Malkha in West
Jerusalem.
Basketball is the
next most popular
sport. The Jerusa-
lem team,
Ha-Poel, plays in
the Sports Arena
near the Teddy
Stadium, while
t
he
Maccabee Tel Aviv
A
plays at the
Yad
E
li
ahu Arena
just off the
Ayalon highway.
A
For information on Jerusalem
for children, se
e
page 150. In
northern Tel Aviv, the
A
Ramat
Gan Safari Zoo
makes a good
outing for children. You can
drive through and
observe the wild-
life in its natural
habitat. The
Children's Museum
in Holon, a shor
t
drive from Tel Aviv,
A
has lots of fun,
interactive exhibits.
Mini Israel
, which is
just off the main
highway that runs
between
J
erusalem
and Tel Aviv, has
A
over 350 miniature
models of the Holy
Land's most important
landmarks.
On the shores of the Dead
Sea, just south of Jericho,
Attraktsion
is a large aquatic
amusement park with water
slides and splash pools.
However, it is only open
from April to October.
A basketball match at
the Yad Eliahu Arena
Football is also followed
religiously in Jordan. The two
main teams in Amman are
Wahadat and Faisaly. Games
are mostly played at the
Jordan
International Stadium
, in the
Shmeisani district.
CINEMA
Foreign films shown in
Israel are not dubbed, but
carry Hebrew subtitles. Cine-
mas are
plentiful, especially
in Tel Aviv, where complexes
A
such as the
Rav-Chen 1-5
are
modern, comfortable and
air-conditioned. They tend
to screen first-run Hollywood
fare. The
Cinematheques
,
of which there is one in
Jerusalem
(see p150)
and
one in Tel Aviv, specialize in
A
art-house and independent
films, as well as holding
Tel Aviv's beach, starting to attract swimmers in spring
