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

The name Latrun is thought to derive from "La Toron de Chevaliers" (The Tower of the Knights), the French name of the Crusader castle that occupied the crest of the hill in the 12th century. Eight centuries later, in 1940, the British erected the concrete fortress that, in the 1948 War of Independence, Israeli forces attempted five times to capture from Jordanian soldiers. Today, the structure houses a museum, called Yad Lashiryon in Hebrew, that honors Israeli armored corps soldiers who have died in battle from 1948 until the present. Items on display include a collection of more than 160 tanks, and children can explore sturdy vehicles outfitted with steps for them to climb. 

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.

Russian funding has given a glorious status to the gnarled sycamore that tradition identifies as the Tree of Zacchaeus, which the chief tax collector climbed to get a better look at Jesus (Luke 19:1–4). The Russian Museum was built as a Greek-style palace just behind the tree and explores the history of the Russian church and Russian pilgrims in the Holy Land. It also houses an extensive collection of archaeological finds unearthed on the site during construction. The entrance fee includes access to a sprawling garden complex with lush green lawns and towering palm trees.