4.0 out of 5 stars
Jerusalem revealed - clear, to the point, informative, November 28, 2000
This review is from: Jerusalem Revealed: A Comprehensive Guide (Revelation Guides) (Paperback)
The 'typical' tourist (independant of the fact if he booked a package touror is a individula traveller) will visit Israel in a 10 days -- 2 weeks trip. On such a trip, he will sejourn in Jerusalem for 3-4 days, which normally boils down to ~2 days in Jerusalem and a daytrip to the surroundings (Bethlehelm!). For such a tourist, the chapter on Jerusalem in one of the numerous Israel guidebooks (e.g. Lonely Planet, Badaeker, ...) should be sufficient. However, if your stay in Jerusalem will be somehow longer, you will want some more thorough information. 'Jerusalem revealed' is an excellent choice for such a case.
One has the feeling that the author really lived in Jerusalem for a longer period, and that fact that he is not afraid of letting his own opinion shine through gives the book a fresh, personal touch. One might critisize him for treating the sites of (modern) West-Jerusalem a bit too off-handedly. The Israel museum, for example, was dealed with in one paragraph only. But then the author is right by stating that a complete description of the Israel museum would be out of the scope of the book, and he just refers to the excellent guides published by the museum itself.
The guides is well organized, segemented into chapters and subchapters with clear headings to eae the orientation of the reader. Clear maps are provided. As well the christian, muslim and jewish sites are treated on equal footing. To stress this point again: What makes 'Jerusalem revealed' outstanding is its wealth of information. Many other guidesbooks, I had the impression, just 'blow up' the number of pages by adding colorful pictures, and offer only meager information considering the weight you will have to carry around. Although 'Jerusalem revealed' contains some beautiful photos, too, the emphasis is definetly on the text and to provide the reader with information which go beyond the '30 pages on Jerusalem' in the typical Israel travel guide.
PostSriptum: Info for trips in Jerusalem's surrounding (Bethlehem, MarSaba) are also included.
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