Jerusalem: One of the Best Small Cities in the World.

Israel's beautiful cities and countryside continues to win accolades from travel journals and visitors alike.  Jerusalem, the capital of Israel recently made Conde Naste's short list of "Best Small Cities " in the world.

From Conde Naste: The Best Cities in the World: 2018 Readers Choice Awards

Not too long ago, you'd make the trip to Jerusalem for a handful of reasons: to seek out monuments of faith, like the Western Wall or the Dome of the Rock; to celebrate history and culture. But the city just didn’t have the cachet of Tel Aviv or Eilat; it couldn’t offer visitors fusion cuisine, or hot hotel rooftop bars—until now. You can feel the changes in the winding alleyways of Machane Yehuda Market, an open-air labyrinth of food stalls near Jerusalem's city center that was once, the chef says, “where people would buy dried fruit and discount underwear.” Now you’ll find one of the buzziest places in Jerusalem: People crowd market bars, drink Israeli wine, and eat dinner at Crave's, a kosher take on Western comfort food, or Steam Kitchen & Bar, home to freshly steamed Chinese-style buns and American-style smoked meat sandwiches.

Check out Noam Chen's images of our beautiful city of light, Jerusalem.

Photo by Noam Chen

Photo by Naom Chen

Photo by Noam Chen

Stunningly beautiful photographs of Israel

From Bored Panda

Photographer Noam Chen writes:

My country is arguably one of the smallest in the world. With little over 8000 sq. miles (20,000 sq. km) in size, it can fit 19 times inside California. Even more so, 60% of it is desert.

Nonetheless, it is one of the most successful and thriving countries on earth.

See if you can guess which country it is, by these interesting clues:

1. Here you can find the lowest point on earth, the world’s oldest continuously inhabited town and the oldest continuously used cemetery.

2. It is only 70 years old as an independent state, even though its history dates back more than 3000 years.

3. It has a major influence on the world’s advancements in science, technology and medicine, and has produced 12 Nobel Prize winners so far.

4. It is the only liberal democracy in a region of ongoing political turmoil.

5. The nation’s official language had not been spoken for centuries and was revived when the country was established.

6. All major religions consider this country to be the birthplace of the world.

These clues may have helped you understand that the country I’m referring to is of course, Israel, also known as the Holy Land.

I was born and raised in Israel, and that’s where I lunched my career as a professional photographer. I’ve been shooting my country’s incredible landscapes for over 10 years now.

For more spectacular photos of the land of Israel, check out Bored Panda  or noamchen.com