For a culture-focused trip to Tel Aviv, MUZA – Eretz Israel Museum offers several different ways to explore: archaeological artifacts, a wide range of collection areas and the facilities of a cultural center. Tell Qasile is located at the heart of the museum grounds. The Catholic Church of St. Peter in the Old City of Jaffa adds a distinct architectural and religious note. This makes it possible to explore different topics according to your interests: early settlement history, museum collections or church art.

MUZA: Grounds, Collections and Cultural Center

The MUZA grounds include a park with a pond, ancient mosaics, a reconstructed olive press, a reconstructed grain mill and a sundial plaza. Around the gardens, archaeological exhibits feature mosaic floors from across Israel and ancient wine presses. An arts and crafts passage complements these features. The mosaic floors and wine presses provide archaeological highlights, while the press and mill explore the processing of olives and grain. The park with its pond and the sundial plaza are other clearly identified parts of the grounds.

MUZA houses archaeological, ethnographic, photographic, folkloric and local history collections, which are among the largest and most significant in Israel. These areas extend beyond a single discipline: archaeology and local history sit alongside photography, ethnography and folklore. MUZA also operates event spaces, a theater and a planetarium as a cultural center. The collections and facilities give the institution a range of cultural focuses. You can choose between an interest in specific museum areas and other cultural formats.

Tell Qasile: Archaeological Site at the Heart of MUZA

Tell Qasile, the first archaeological site excavated in the State of Israel, is situated on a hill at the heart of the museum grounds. The site contains the remains of ancient settlements dating back more than 3,000 years. This date refers to the settlement remains and makes the site’s historical time frame tangible. Tell Qasile is therefore distinct from the museum’s broader collection areas: the focus here is a specific archaeological site and its settlement history. The reference to the first excavation concerns the history of archaeological research, not the age of the settlement remains.

Church of St. Peter in the Old City of Jaffa

The Catholic Church of St. Peter is located in the Old City of Jaffa and was built by the Franciscans in 1888. It is designed in the Neo-Baroque style and adorned with paintings depicting scenes from the New Testament, as well as stained-glass windows featuring saints. The architecture and decorative art provide distinct highlights: the paintings depict scenes from the New Testament, while the windows show saints. For a chronological comparison, the church built in 1888 contrasts with the settlement remains of Tell Qasile, which date back more than 3,000 years. Depending on your interests, you can explore either a specific church building or an archaeological site with an ancient settlement history.

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