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Last summer my cousin Sam came from London to visit us in Haifa for the first time. He had only one week in Israel, and he asked me a difficult question: "Which places should I see?" Israel is a small country, but it has mountains, deserts, lakes and seas. In the end, we chose three places which show three very different sides of the country.

Our first stop was Masada, a high, flat mountain which stands above the Dead Sea. More than 2,000 years ago, King Herod built palaces on top of it. Later, a group of Jewish rebels lived there until the Roman army reached the top in the year 73 or 74. We got up at four in the morning and climbed the Snake Path in the dark, because in summer the desert gets very hot by nine o'clock. It took us almost an hour. When the sun came up over the mountains of Jordan, Sam was silent for the first time all week. Then we took the cable car down, which was much easier!

Two days later we drove north to the Galilee, where everything is green. We stayed with friends near the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a lake. It is the largest lake of fresh water in Israel, and for many years it gave the country a large part of its drinking water. In the morning we hiked up Mount Arbel. From the top you can see the whole lake, the town of Tiberias and, on a clear day, Mount Hermon in the far north.

Our last stop was Eilat, the city at the southern tip of Israel, on the Red Sea. From the beach you can see Jordan on one side and Egypt on the other. Sam, who had never swum with fish before, put on a mask and went snorkeling at the Coral Beach Nature Reserve. Under the water there were coral reefs full of colorful fish. "It's like swimming inside an aquarium," he said.

On his last evening, I asked Sam which place he liked best. He thought for a long time. "Masada was the most amazing, the Galilee was the most beautiful, and Eilat was the most fun," he said. "I'll have to come back to decide."

Last summer my cousin Sam came from London to visit us in Haifa for the first time. He had only one week in Israel, and he asked me a difficult question: "Which places should I see?" Israel is a small country, but it has mountains, deserts, lakes and seas. In the end, we chose three places which show three very different sides of the country.

Our first stop was Masada, a high, flat mountain which stands above the Dead Sea. More than 2,000 years ago, King Herod built palaces on top of it. Later, a group of Jewish rebels lived there until the Roman army reached the top in the year 73 or 74. We got up at four in the morning and climbed the Snake Path in the dark, because in summer the desert gets very hot by nine o'clock. It took us almost an hour. When the sun came up over the mountains of Jordan, Sam was silent for the first time all week. Then we took the cable car down, which was much easier!

Two days later we drove north to the Galilee, where everything is green. We stayed with friends near the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a lake. It is the largest lake of fresh water in Israel, and for many years it gave the country a large part of its drinking water. In the morning we hiked up Mount Arbel. From the top you can see the whole lake, the town of Tiberias and, on a clear day, Mount Hermon in the far north.

Our last stop was Eilat, the city at the southern tip of Israel, on the Red Sea. From the beach you can see Jordan on one side and Egypt on the other. Sam, who had never swum with fish before, put on a mask and went snorkeling at the Coral Beach Nature Reserve. Under the water there were coral reefs full of colorful fish. "It's like swimming inside an aquarium," he said.

On his last evening, I asked Sam which place he liked best. He thought for a long time. "Masada was the most amazing, the Galilee was the most beautiful, and Eilat was the most fun," he said. "I'll have to come back to decide."

Last summer my cousin Sam came from London to visit us in Haifa for the first time. He had only one week in Israel, and he asked me a difficult question: "Which places should I see?" Israel is a small country, but it has mountains, deserts, lakes and seas. In the end, we chose three places which show three very different sides of the country.

Our first stop was Masada, a high, flat mountain which stands above the Dead Sea. More than 2,000 years ago, King Herod built palaces on top of it. Later, a group of Jewish rebels lived there until the Roman army reached the top in the year 73 or 74. We got up at four in the morning and climbed the Snake Path in the dark, because in summer the desert gets very hot by nine o'clock. It took us almost an hour. When the sun came up over the mountains of Jordan, Sam was silent for the first time all week. Then we took the cable car down, which was much easier!

Two days later we drove north to the Galilee, where everything is green. We stayed with friends near the Sea of Galilee, which is actually a lake. It is the largest lake of fresh water in Israel, and for many years it gave the country a large part of its drinking water. In the morning we hiked up Mount Arbel. From the top you can see the whole lake, the town of Tiberias and, on a clear day, Mount Hermon in the far north.

Our last stop was Eilat, the city at the southern tip of Israel, on the Red Sea. From the beach you can see Jordan on one side and Egypt on the other. Sam, who had never swum with fish before, put on a mask and went snorkeling at the Coral Beach Nature Reserve. Under the water there were coral reefs full of colorful fish. "It's like swimming inside an aquarium," he said.

On his last evening, I asked Sam which place he liked best. He thought for a long time. "Masada was the most amazing, the Galilee was the most beautiful, and Eilat was the most fun," he said. "I'll have to come back to decide."