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August Highlights

Consider this Why are plane windows round?

Masada National Park has inaugurated a new challenge trail called the Masada Challenge. It’s a challenging 40-minute hike along the Masada cliff-side that offers new viewpoints onto the spectacular beauty of the archeological remains. The hiking trail, built by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority on the side of the cliff, has ladders handholds. Hikers are required to wear a harness and helmet and are secured to a cable throughout the entire hike. The challenge trail offers amazing views onto the 2,000-year-old Roman remains and passes through King Herod’s wall that seems as though it emerges from the mountain, a Byzantine A new challenge trail in Masada

It wasn’t always the case. The first

Photo: Avishag Ayalon, Israel Nature and Parks Authority

airplanes had square shaped windows and it was still possible to open them, but when planes could fly much higher, it became clear it was necessary to seal the passenger compartment to maintain air pressure. Apparently, the corners of the square-shaped windows were the weakest points in the effort to seal the cabin and tended to crack. So round, cornerless windows were deemed more suitable – for the exact same reason they are considered so on ships and boats. Nowadays, all planes have round shaped windows without corners, so that the danger of cracks appearing are practically nil.

cave where Byzantine monks lived 1,500 years ago, and more breathtaking sites and lookout points onto the Judean desert and the Dead Sea.

Photo: PR

Photo: Courtesy of NCL

A brand-new hotel in Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar The Ayala Resort has just opened in Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar in the north of Israel. The resort comprises 150 rooms and spreads across 25 dunams of land. NIS 150 million were invested into the project which has three different sections, including a business meeting area with seven conference rooms. There are two restaurants – the gourmet restaurant “Thelma” and the hotel restaurant “Noga” that caters for hotel guests, a health center with a spa that offers 9 treatment rooms, a Turkish hammam, two saunas, an indoor pool, a Jacuzzi, a gym, and for the first time in Israel, a hotel mikveh.

The biggest cruise ship in the world is almost ready The biggest cruise ship in the world has made its first foray into open water for sea trials. During her first set of sea trials, Icon of the Seas traveled hundreds of miles, during which the main engines, hull, brake systems, steering, noise, and vibration levels were all tested. When it sets sail on Caribbean waters in January 2024, it will comfortably hold some 7,600 passengers and 2,805 rooms. The boat’s piece-de-resistance will be the world’s largest waterpark at sea. Named Category 6, it’ll feature six record-breaking water slides, seven pools, nine whirlpools. The ship will count 15 restaurants, and dozens of cafés and bars.

Vienna has been named best city to live in Vienna has once again been named “world’s most liveable city” for the ninth consecutive year according to The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index which includes factors such as political situation, health system, social security, quality of infrastructure, etc. Other European cities like Stockholm, Rotterdam, and London who used to have a high rating lost points this year, whereas cities in Asia and the Mediterranean scored more points than in past years. Danish capital city Copenhagen is once again runner up, and the Australian cities of Melbourne and Sidney, respectively take third and fourth place.

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ATMOSPHERE AUGUST 2023