2 Best Sights in Around Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, Israel

At this parched patch of the West Bank, beside the settlement of Alon, families can imagine Biblical life through the eyes of Jewish actors. Visitors ride camels, bake pita, and drink coffee in a tent that mimics the Bedouin style. Travelers have said this site is fun if campy.

About 2,000 years ago, thieves ambushed a man traveling the Jerusalem–Jericho road, and only one passing Samaritan bothered to help him, dragging him to a nearby inn (Luke 10). Today, on what may be the same spot, this museum is housed in a restored Ottoman inn in the West Bank, about 22 km (14 miles) west of Jerusalem. It's run by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and has an extensive collection of intricate mosaics scraped off the floors of churches, synagogues, and Samaritan houses of worship in Gaza and the West Bank. When you visit, ask to see the silent film about the parable; it dates from the 1920s and was shot amid the very same arid hills that stretch for miles from the museum. Audio guides for the museum are available in English, and the staff has plenty of information and maps about nearby sites and trails as well.