Ideas for spending a weekend in Leeds

Leeds is deemed the "capital city" of Yorkshire and Humber, and with a growing population of more than 750,000 it is no wonder there are so many exciting things to see and do. Easily accessible by train or bus, and served by Leeds Bradford International Airport, the city is the perfect destination for a weekend trip for a lone traveller, couple, group or family.

Culture

A creative city, Leeds is home to the UK's only opera and ballet companies outside London. West Yorkshire Playhouse and Leeds Grand Theatre are good starting points for performance art aficionados. The city also hosts various festivals throughout the year such as the International Jewish Performing Arts Festival and the new Leeds Fringe Arts Festival launching in summer 2012.

Contemporary art lovers will enjoy Leeds Art Gallery, renowned for its stunning collection of modern British art. The Royal Armouries museum houses Britain's national arms and armour. With an impressive amount of weapons and armour from around the world on show, you can schedule a full day out at the museum, which is free for all. An award-winning attraction, Leeds City Museum tells the story of the city and takes a look at the natural world too.

Shopping

With over 1000 shops, Leeds has been repeatedly named one of the UK's best shopping destinations. Unique vintage boutiques nestle in among high street and designer brands. For high-end names head to the glamorous Victoria Quarter, a shopping centre with a history, lovingly restored to its former splendour. High street names are dotted throughout the city. The Light is a shopping centre complete with a cinema and array of eateries so if the weather makes a turn for the worse, it provides a good shelter from the storm.

Outdoors

Leeds is less than 20 miles from the Yorkshire Dales National Park where the local countryside and wildlife have been left untouched. For an excellent look at life on the Dales throughout history, visit the dedicated Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes. If you are a nature lover, take a wander along one of the many paths with incredible views all around. Kids will appreciate the chance to run wild and try to spot animals. The Snaizeholme red squirrel trail starts just outside the museum.

Accommodation

There are many opportunities for quality accommodation in Leeds. For a relaxing weekend, look for somewhere that will not require you to use transport during your stay. A top Leeds hotel should be close enough to the heart of the city's action yet just far enough to provide peace and quiet for a good rest.
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הובלות

הובלות הם היום דבר שבשגרה ואנשים רבים נעזרים בשירות זה לצרכים שונים. זו יכולה להיות הובלה של דירה, של בית עסק, של משרד או של חפץ יקר ערך כמו כספת או פסנתר – שירות הובלות הוא הפתרון המושלם והחסכוני העומד היום לשירותינו. כיוון שהובלת חפצים עשויה להיות משימה לא קלה, גוזלת זמן ואנרגיה, שכן עלולה לגרום נזק לתכולה אותה רוצים להעביר. לכן, פנייה לחברת הובלות מקצועית, כמו חברת אילן הובלות בעלת 17 שנות ניסיון בתחום וכמות רבה של ממליצים, תהפוך את החוויה למהנה, מהירה ופרודוקטיבית. עם זאת, כדי שההובלה אכן תהיה כזו רצוי להיערך אליה בהתאם ולחשוב היטב כיצד בדיוק תרצו לבצע את ההובלה.

הובלות – חפשו ממליצים

שירות הובלות הוא כאמור דבר נפוץ ומקובל במחוזותינו ובכל העולם. עם זאת, חשוב לציין כי זהו פרויקט לכל דבר אליו יש לגשת בכובד ראש. הכוונה היא לעבודה מקדימה שיש לערוך בטרם מזמינים חברת הובלות. העבודה הזו מתחילה בסקר שוק במהלכו תחקרו חברים או בני משפחה לגבי חברת הובלות עליה הם ממליצים. אפשר גם לקרוא ברשת האינטרנט באתרים הקשורים להובלות סיפורים ובתגובות של ממליצים אחרים. חברת אילן הובלות היא החברה בעלת ממליצים רבים, הן עסקיים והן פרטיים, הכל בזכות המסירות, המקצועיות והאמינות שאנו מעניקים ללקוחותינו.

הובלות – ערכו רשימות

בטרם מזמינים חברת הובלות, כדאי לערוך רשימות של התכולה אותה תרצו להעביר, פרטים מדויקים של יעד העברה, כולל כל האילוצים שלו (קומה, גדול, נגישות וכו'). הדבר יקל עליכם בעת סגירת המחיר וקבלת השירותים הרלוונטיים מחברת הובלות. אפשר למשל להזמין הובלה סטנדרטית ואפשר להזמין מנוף הכולל הרכבה ופירוק של הרהיטים – הדבר תלוי בסוג התכולה עצמה, בקומה ובמיקום אליהם צריכים להעבירה.

הובלות – מיינו חפצים

במקביל לחיפושי ממליצים על חברת הובלות זו או אחרת מאוד מומלץ לבצע סינון ומיון של כל התכולה אותה רוצים להעביר. הדבר מאוד יקל עליכם בעת ההובלה שכן יפנה לכם המון מקום. תמיד תוכלו לתרום בגדים או רהטים לאנשים הנזקקים או לחלופין למכור מה שאתם לא צריכים. במקרה הכי גרוע אפשר גם לזרוק – העיקר שלא תוסיפו להובלה חפצים מיותרים ותיהנו ממקום פנוי. לאחר מכן תוכלו לבחירתם לארוז לבד או להיעזר בשירות אריזה של אילן הובלות. אנו מעניקים שירות של אריזה החוסך ללקוח זמן יקר ויחד עם זאת גם עושה סדר בבלגן עם כל הקרטונים. 

About of Israel

 Hebrew, the language of the Bible, and Arabic are the official languages of the State of Israel. Hebrew (and Arabic too) is written from right to left. It was less than a century and a half ago that Hebrew was still considered a language solely for prayer and completely obsolete on a day-to-day basis. The restoration of Hebrew was a vastly significant factor in the success of the Zionist dream. Updating a “dead” language was a task led virtually in its entirety by one man, Russian-born Eliezer ben Yehuda, and it is a story of extraordinary vision and drama. His biography, Tongue of the Prophets, by Robert St. John, is utterly fascinating and a perfect read for visitors to Israel.

All Israeli school children learn Hebrew, Arabic and English, and good English is spoken by virtually everyone in the country. Israel, a country peopled by many who have come from some 120 countries, is a multi-lingual country, with vast numbers of Israelis also speaking Russian, French, Spanish, Yiddish and tens of other tongues.Almost every highway and street sign is in English as well as Hebrew (and Arabic), and English language newspapers, magazine and books are available everywhere.

Israel – Small and Amazing

Israel is a tiny country­­––only about 29,000 square kilometers––and yet, it is a place of amazing variety, with globally unique contrasts. For example, central Israel is the most populous place on earth, and yet, having planted over 240 million trees, it is the only country that ended the 20^thcentury with more trees than it started with! Israel’s location, bridging Africa, Asia and Europe, has blessed it with four bio-geographical zones––Mediterranean, steppe, desert and African – make it unique worldwide in terms of its combination and variety of climate, flora and fauna. For comparison’s sake, Israel has 2,600 species of wild plants. Great Britain, into which Israel can fit almost 10 times, has a “mere” 1,756. And a whopping 500 million birds fill Israel’s skies on their spectacular semi-annual intercontinental migration.  

Israel has virtually no rainfall for some eight months of the year, which has spurred it to develop alternative water sources. Seventy-five percent of Israel's water is recycled after use, and the world's largest desalination plant is located in Ashkelon. Israel has pioneered arid land agriculture, and has hosted more than 200,000 people from 130 developing countries for training in agriculture and other fields.

Israel’s achievements in hi-tech go back to its early days: In 1954, WEIZAC, one of the world’s first computers, was designed and built at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. Twenty-four percent of the members of Israel’s work-force have university degrees, the third-largest number in the industrialized world. It also has the world's highest count of engineers per capita, and 4,000 high-tech startups, the most per-capita in the world.

Israel has produced a number of outstanding sportsmen and women––in tennis, windsurfing, judo and track and field, the latter mainly thanks to the influx of newcomers from the former Soviet Union. In the 2007 Special Olympics, Israel’s team of 39 competitors garnered 42 medals: 11 gold, 22 silver and 9 bronze! 

On the medical front, two out of the top three medications to treat multiple sclerosis were developed in Israel; Israeli microbiologists developed the first passive vaccine against the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, and an Israeli company developed the first ingestible video camera to help diagnose cancer and digestive disorders, so small it fits inside a pill! Israel also developed the world’s first pill to deliver a daily dose of insulin to diabetes sufferers.Perhaps most meaningful of all, some say it is the variety of Israel’s people that makes it unique in so many other ways––only around 7.3 million, but hailing from over 30 regions and countries the world over.

Israel Past & Present

The traveler to Israel walks through history: from windswept crusader castles to ports where seamen, pilgrims and famous travelers spent some time and then moved on; from desert landscapes that were home to traveling tribes, half forgotten armies and merchants in camel caravans, to sheikhs’ tombs with whitened domes, silent monasteries and ancient synagogues decorated with colorful mosaics.

The State of Israel was created in the Land of Israel which was promised to the People of Israel according to Jewish tradition. It was where Jesus, the Christian Messiah, was born and the place where Mohammed, the Moslem Prophet, ascended to heaven. The meeting place of three continents and two seas, the country is a skein of cultures, customs and traditions, a country that was home to many people, cultures and changing religions. On the crossroads of ancient routes of commerce, the land also saw waves of conquering armies: the Canaanites, Hebrews, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders Ottoman Turks and the British made this much-desired small country into a battlefield where they strove for eminence, built fortifications, castles and royal palaces.

The dead sea The Surrounding Area

It is a truly priceless national treasure. The western shore (inside Israel’s borders) is dotted with organized beaches and bathing areas that provide convenient access to the water. Beside two of the therapeutic beaches (Neve Zohar and Ein Bokek) large tourism centers have been established, providing the most pampering tourism services.You will find dozens of hotels, hostels and guest houses, restaurants and shopping centers, as well as surprising tourism enterprises that offer a wide range of challenging activities (jeep and bicycle tours, camel tours and Bedouin hospitality, rappelling and more), alongside art and cultural activities (galleries and artists’ studios), and of course the unique agriculture, adapted to the local climate.

The Dead Sea is on the edge of the Judean Desert, a hot, barren region at the foot of Ha-He’etekim cliff, which has also become an important center of desert tourism. The coastline is dotted with many springs, surrounded by wild plant life. The special combination that has formed in this place, between desert landscapes and oasies with plentiful water, plants and animals, attracts both the eye and the heart and draws many tourists to sites such as Mt. Sdom, Nakhal Darga, the Ein Gedi nature reserve and the Einot Tsukim (Ein Fashkha) reserve.

Alongside these breathtaking natural sites there are also some purely historic sites of considerable importance in Israel’s past, which preserve the ancient charm of this area. Among the most prominent sites are the Massada fortress, ancient Ein Gedi and the Qumran cave site where ancient scrolls were found, including the Dead Sea scrolls, which offer some insights into early Christianity and the Essenes sect that lived at the site and is considered the beginning of Christian monasticism.  The northwestern region of the Dead Sea is also a pilgrimage site for Christians who have visited here over the centuries especially during the Easter season. From here they go to the Jordan (the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism), and many still follow this tradition in our times.

A tour of the Dead Sea region would not be complete without a visit to the amazing monasteries built on the cliff walls. In the fourth century ascetism became popular among Christians, who wanted to live their lives as Jesus had. Many believers wanted to devote themselves to God and the Judean Desert became a ideal destination for monks, who built phenomenal monasteries, some of them carved into the stone faces of the desert cliffs. Among these monasteries are St. George, Quruntul, Khozeba and Mar Saba. Some of the monasteries are still operating and even welcome visitors, who can gain their own impressions of the intensity of the desert and its wild beauty.

The White City

Tel Aviv hosts a wide range of architectural styles which were influenced by various schools of architecture - among which was the International Bauhaus style. The central portion of Tel Aviv - which is known as “The White City" - contains the largest group of buildings in the world built in the International Bauhaus style. For this reason the White City has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO. This style originated in Germany and was based upon clean geometric shapes and asymmetry, and flourished from the 1930s until the establishment of the State. It soon attracted other city architects as well.  

The White City extends from Allenby Street to the south to the Yarkon River to the north, and from Begin Boulvard to the east to the sea. There are large concentrations of buildings of this style on Rothschild Boulevard and in the area of Dizengoff Center. Park HaYarkon is in the northern part of the White City on the banks of the Yarkon River and the Tel Aviv port lies at the northwest corner and has a large concentration of entertainment centers, nightclubs, and restaurant.

Culture and Entertainment

Tel Aviv is Israel’s center for culture and entertainment. The city has more than 20 museums, the most important of which are the Land of Israel (HaAretz) Museum and the Tel Aviv Art Museum. Other Tel Aviv museums include theMuseum of the Diaspora, the Israel Defense Forces History Museum, the Etzel Museum, the Haganah Museum, the Palmach Museum, The Lekhi Museum, and the Nachum Guttman Museum.  

The city hosts the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Israeli Opera Company, as well as most of the national dance and theater companies. Tel Aviv is also the national center for night life and entertainment and is filled with night clubs featuring music of all types, dancing, restaurants, pubs, coffee houses, discotheques, movie theaters, auditoriums, and concert halls.The beachfront of Tel Aviv has bathing beaches and a romantic waterfront promenade.  

Tel Aviv’s important historical sites include Bialik House, Ben Gurion House, Dizengoff House, the old cemetery on Trumpeldor Street, and Reuven House. Nature lovers can visit the garden at Abu Kabir, HaYarkon Park, and the Botanical Gardens near Tel Aviv University. Families with children can enjoy an action-filled amusement park. 

The city has several plazas, the best known being Rabin Square, HaMedina Square, and Dizengoff Circle. Eleven of the city’s churches, monasteries, and mosques, such as Saint Peter’s Church and the Franciscan Monastery, are located in Jaffa. Vacationers in Tel Aviv can lodge at any of the dozens of hotels, boarding houses, and youth hostels scattered throughout the city. These offer every type of accommodation ranging from luxurious rooms to simple, pleasant lodging.  

Tel Aviv is also a business and trade center. There are colorful and bustling markets such as the flea market in Jaffa, the Carmel market, the HaTikva Market, and Levinsky market. There are also modern shopping malls such as Dizengoff Center and Azrieli Center, and important business centers for high-tech companies, realtors, and the stock market. All these have made Tel Aviv the business capital of Israel and an international center for conventions, exhibitions, and conferences. 

Events in Israel

Israel is a country of conferences and congresses too. We might even say that the first convention in the land of Israel took place some 3000 years ago, when, as the Bible relates (I Kings: 8, 1-2), “King Solomon summoned to his presence in Jerusalem, the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families.”

Israel has developed quite a bit since those ancient times, and large, important congresses and conventions in Jerusalem have been hosted royally in the country, at the ICC Jerusalem - International Convention Center, the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center Tel Aviv and in hotels with congress & convention facilities that are as modern as those in most any hotel in the world.

Not too many years ago, the annual survey of the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) ranked Jerusalem in 5th place - and 1st from among all non-European cities - on the list of cities hosting international congresses and conventions. This was due in very large measure to the ICC Jerusalem’s marvelous facilities. Israel as a whole ranked 25th on ICCA’s list of 65 countries that held international congresses and conventions then. Now, when visitors from all over the world are discovering Israel once again as a viable and exciting tourism destination, organizers of international meetings and gatherings are certain to follow suit, offering their clients and members a unique and exciting tourism destination that can also supply them with everything they need to hold successful deliberations and also have an enjoyable and meaningful stay.

Facilities

Israel’s first international event in modern times was staged about 50 years ago, Since then, the country’s convention industry has been striding forward with dedication and foresight, developing a sophisticated and manifold infrastructure for meetings and conventions.
 

The ICC Jerusalem Conventions Center, which was upgraded recently, is Israel’s largest convention center, housing nearly 30 meeting halls of diverse dimensions, suitable for the requirements of conferences hosting anywhere from 100 to 10,000 participants. This unique flexibility imbues each and every gathering with the same sense of focus and fulfillment of purpose. The ICC Jerusalem offers the highest quality of technical equipment - amplification and lighting; excellently equipped translation booths, and whatever else may be required, including video conferencing and computerized presentations. Press rooms linked to all corners of the world by means of advanced computer systems, permit international video conferences and direct access to all major television networks.

The Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center Tel Aviv, which was renovated and expanded a few short years ago, spans an area of more than 75 acres, of which 25,000 square meters are exhibition space. Approximately 15,000 square meters of the center's exhibit center are under cover and are divided up into 10 air-conditioned halls of different sizes, complemented by 40,000 square meters of outdoor exhibition space on the lush green-grassed areas. The combination of modern buildings on the one hand and the open exhibition areas on the other gives the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center a different and special appearance in the exhibitions and events industry and imbues the venue with a pastoral and unique atmosphere.

The International Conventions Center Haifa, a facility about 13 years old, is located at the southern entrance to the city. In addition to the thousands of square meters it offers of open spaces and modern halls, suited for conventions, exhibits and similar events, it features a central logistical system for technical support on a high professional level.

Aside from these major complexes, meetings and convention facilities exist in major tourism centers all over Israel, either as facilities standing in their own right, or as part of hotels, educational centers and convention complexes - and often with the cooperation of a number of facilities situated within a short distance from one another, for extremely large events - designed and equipped to meet just about every need. Excellent hotel facilities for conventions large and small can be found in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Eilat in particular. In other areas of the country too, such as in the Dead Sea region and in the Galilee, modern facilities exist for large gathering and these have been held there for many years.