Mont Carmel
According to ancient belief, it is nature that brings peace to the soul and disposes the body to receive its benefits. Different times, different ways to achieve relaxation and pampering. I decided to begin my adventure at Mount Carmel where, as night falls, you discover the lights twinkling around the bay. Here you find the Golden Dome Mausoleum, the most sacred site of the Bahai religion, set in the midst of exotic gardens. It was also here in the forest that I discovered the Carmel Forest Spa Resort.

Haïfa is the departure point for excursions to Galilee. Invigorated by my spa stay, I was ready to travel through 2000 years of civilization.

We traveled along the Mediterranean and its acres of manicured lands and fertile soil where fruit trees and vines grow. I passed through Tel Aviv, the city that never sleeps, and stopped at Jaffa.

According to the Bible, it was here that Jonah set off onto the Mediterranean to flee divine demands before being swallowed up into the belly of a whale. After repenting, God delivered him, and the prophet landed on one of the beaches south of Jaffa. It's a romantic city where it's lovely to stroll: the ancient port, minarets, picturesque alleys, Yafo park, the old quarter built in the Turkish style, fish restaurants, the flea market...

Jerusalem
I closed my eyes to better recall my childhood history lessons. Jerusalem, the city of David, built at an altitude of 800 m on the hills of Judea, has existed for 3000 years. The eternal capital of the Jewish people and of the capital of the State of Israel, it bears a spiritual message. Its name means PEACE. Whether you approach the city from the coastal plain to the west or from the desert expanses of Judea to the east, the contrast is visible and spectacular. Even the air becomes purer and sharper. According to legend, when God created the earth, ten measures of beauty were allotted to it: nine were given to Jerusalem and the other one spread over the rest of the world. 

The city of Jerusalem is surrounded by walls, through which you can enter by seven gates: the eighth is called the Golden Gate, also known in Hebrew and Arabic as the "Gate of Mercy," and has been walled up for several centuries. According to Jewish tradition, this is the gate through which the Messiah will enter the city.  

I decided to stop to buy myself a woven blanket not far from a kibbutz. On the Mount of Olives overlooking the Kedron Valley, facing the walls of the old city, I spread out my blanket on the grass that the sun had bleached... I opened up my basket and prepared to enjoy my picnic, admiring the sea below that the sun was sprinkling with golden sparkles.

My basket empty, I stretched out and revisited in my memory my visit to Bethlehem. Built on two hills 9 km south of Jerusalem, the town is entered through a playful landscape of vines and fig and olive trees. As Mary once did, I came into Bethlehem on the back of a donkey... though Joseph, obviously occupied elsewhere, was nowhere to be found! I crossed the town where the scents blended according to the the whims of a warm but soothing breeze - the sun was beating down. Time seemed to be suspended. The aroma of unknown spices wafting from the stalls tickled my nose and reminded me of Christmas. I stopped my mount who, happy to be divested of his passenger, dropped a steaming brown pile as a sign of his relief. Bethlehem means "house of bread." It was here that Jesus was born, but it's also the cradle of King David. I went into the basilica built over the Navitity Grotto. As I walked down the large steps carved into the stone, a rabbi tapped me on the shoulder and held my camera out to me: I had dropped it near the donkey enclosure. I thanked him with a smile since words would have echoed in the vault. This holy place attracts people of all beliefs, I thought.

A woman always being a woman, I then allowed myself to be tempted in the main square by a piece of mother of pearl jewelry, one of the region's specialties. While I played with my ring in the sunlight to make it sparkle, music seemed to come out of nowhere - perhaps it was simply the wind playing in the leaves. I slipped into a comfortable nap.

I then continued in the direction of the Dead Sea, the "sea of salt" as it is known in Hebrew, and the one-time site of Sodom and Gomorrah which, according to the Bible, were destroyed by divine wrath. Imagine a desert in tones of ochre, red and gold, edged here and there by mountains or unexpected oases, their paths fringed by date palms. Imagine a vast expanse of turquoise and opal water from which imposing blocks of salt emerge like marble statues. This is the Dead Sea, 400 m below sea level: the lowest point on earth, and the saltiest ocean in the world. What's more, you can't sink here, you can only float! No fish, no mollusks... and so I floated lazily in these ancient waters, the naturally-filtered sunlight playing on my skin. A pleasure to be enjoyed to excess - or at least to a state of bliss! I then immerged myself in the sulfur baths and allowed myself to be painted with black mud. I looked vey strange at the time, but the results are amazing. My skin was smooth and satiny. To learn more about the benefits, see our article on the Dead Sea.

Not far from the shores of the Dead Sea, I contemplated the ruins of ancient cultures, the fortress of Massada where King Herod chose to build his residence in 35 BC. No cable car for me. Instead, I headed up the cliffs on foot to visit the palace, taking the same route as that taken by the Jewish Zealots who fled the Romans in 70 AD following the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem to find refuge in this arid land. I have a memory like a fine painting of its ochres and beiges mixed with the gold of the sand. Massada is a city of contradictions. Even though there are a lot of people, you could say it's a silent city. Noises, footsteps are muffled. I hear the murmur of the crowd, the tinkling of the bells hung from market stalls, the rustle of women's dresses against objects all like far-off whispers. It's a gentle city surrounded by mysteries.

Next is the Negev desert, bordered by the Mediterranean, the Sinai, the Moab mountains and the desert of Judea. Steep mountains and hidden wadis, crater-shaped canyons and sand dunes -  for millennia the Negev was crossed by the spice road taken by the camel caravans bringing the riches of the East back to the empires centered around the Mediterranean.

I made the quasi-obligatory stop at the Yotvata kibbuta, 40 km from Eilat, famous for its dairy products, to sample a yogurt after my desert crossing. I had chosen a yogurt with grapes in a big rectangluar dish. But I was astonished to see a woman pass a spoon over the dish and take away all my grapes at once! Then, indifferent, she filled a paper cone with ygourt, using the same wooden spoon.

Before leaving this country that one would like to keep inside forever, I decided to press on to Eilat on the shores of the Red Sea. The town is inextricably linked to the pages of the Bible and the meeting between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (now Yemen). From their union are descended the black Jews of Ethiopia, most of whom now reside in Israel. This is an essential excursion for visitors to the Holy Land who, after taking in so much history and mysticism, are looking for some refreshment and reinvigoration at an unexpected and unusual stop. I went into the Herods Vitalis Spa to take a third treatment, just to wash off some of the dust of so much accumulated history.