Northern Africa and the Middle East - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 123

monasteries. Other trips run by ATG include
a visit to the Dead Sea to float in its buoyant
waters and a trip to the first Palestinian
brewery. By visiting the region's small-scale
enterprises, you'll not only help contribute to
their local economies, but you'll gain a balanced
insight into the culture and varied landscape of
this ancient land that has endured for thousands
of years.

153 A rEAlITy Tour of THE Holy
lAnd

The Sea of Galilee, the Mount of Olives,
Solomon's Pools…these famous names are so
well-documented in the pages of history that
they sound almost mythical. Nowadays we tend
to hear their names portrayed only in terms
of war and attrition, yet here remains a land
of beautiful alleyways and bazaars, age-old
art, ancient ruins and mountain wilderness.
Despite the occupation, it's
possible to visit many of the most
historic places in the region on
a “spiritual” or “political” tour
arranged by the Alternative
Tourism Group, a Palestinian
NGO that takes guests into the
heart of the region.
Guests walking the “Nativity
Trail”, an eleven-day, 160km-
long journey from Nazareth to
Bethlehem, are taken to meet
Franciscan priests on Mount
Tabor and Muslim clerics at
village mosques, while staying
in an assortment of locally
owned accommodation, including
villagers' homes, local B&Bs and

Need to know Arrangements for each tour differ.
Groups meet at Jerusalem's Old City gates or
East Jerusalem's Ambassador Hotel ( W www.
jerusalemambassador.com). Visitors coming from
Israel are escorted by a guide to checkpoints
where they are met by a Palestinian guide; those
coming from Jordan will be met at the border
crossing. For more details see W www.atg.ps;
T [phone].

On the trail from Tiberias to
Nazareth; Ruins at Galilee

154 rElAx In THE dESErT SEA AT
AdrèrE AMEllAl, EgypT

After a sweaty ten-hour ride from Cairo
- for the most part spent gazing out at the
undulating sands the Egyptians call “the grand
sand sea” - the taxi stops deep in the Sahara
desert, not far from the border with Libya, on
the edge of the Qattara Depression. There's no
doubt about it - Siwa is an oasis
town.
It's always been an arduous
journey - locals like to remind
visitors that the Persian army
lost fifty thousand men when
they attempted to cross the
Sahara in 500 BC - but Siwa
now has a treasure that's worth
the effort. The Adrère Amellal
ecolodge is enchanting, especially
when it's awash with the golden
light of dusk. A mini-medina, its
traditional mud houses huddle
cosily around the base of the
colossal chalk- and apricot-coloured
rock that gives the boutique