EL AL | Atmosphere

Photos: Courtesy of the Magdala Tourist Center and the Magdala Hotel

Music, wine & cheese The Magdala Hotel offers a rich and diverse program of classical music concerts. During our stay, we got to see to the Alma Ensemble, a female voice and percussion musical collective, that performed an enchanting homage to Balkan music in the Duc in Altum center. The concerts are free for hotel guests and non-guests can buy tickets online with which they can also enjoy a culinary experience at the hotel. A wine and cheese bar has recently been inaugurated in time for the holiday season. Gorgeous cheese platters are served with homemade bread, tapenade, sundried tomato paste, and top-quality olive oil. The cheese and wine menu has been composed together with an expert Spanish-born sommelier and it includes recommendations for what cheese to pair with which specific wine that significantly upgrade the experience. magdalahotel.co.il

the hotel pool (beautiful though not particularly big), is located beside the hotel’s “Duc In Altum” spiritual center. The literal translation of this Latin phrase is “lead into the deep” and it has come to mean: “go deeper into your spiritual life”. There are spectacular views of Lake Tiberias from the center’s semicircle-shaped central window, and it has six small chapels where Mass is celebrated, as well as an additional bigger one with a big boat-shaped stage at its center, where concerts are regularly organized, as well as conferences and lectures. With a gourmet restaurant soon to open, the hotel’s current culinary focal point, Tarichaeae (the village of Magdala’s Greek denomination), offers generous Israeli and international breakfasts, and bountiful buffet-style dinners on Fridays. The hotel also includes several conference and event halls and a well-equipped gym.

The lawns of the internal garden are peppered with palm trees, seating areas, and fountains, and the menorah, the oil lamp, etc. The stone was consigned to the Israel Antiquities Authority where more research has been undertaken. Since its discovery, the stone has been exhibited across the world. It is eventually expected to return to its original home, but until then, a replica is on show in the visitors’ center. The Magdala archeological park There are guided tours here every day of the week, and we were lucky enough for ours to be led by Wassim Bashara, the hotel’s chief security officer who has been part of the hotel team since the very beginning, when the archeological remains were first discovered and thus deeply knowledgeable about the site. Magdala’s synagogue is one of the seven 1 st century synagogues to have been discovered in Israel, with its special stone, the “Magdala Stone”, upon which the symbols of the Temple of Jerusalem have been etched:

35

ATMOSPHERE OCTOBER 2023