Until today, 812 sites have been recognized by the United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In Israel there are 11 sites. How exactly does a place get chosen to be a World Heritage Site? The criteria for receiving such recognition is:

1) The site represents an example of human creative genius.

2) The site expresses a meeting point of human values in culture areas, such as architecture, technology, art, city planning and landscape.

3) There is unique evidence in the present or past cultural tradition.

4) The site presents an example of building, architecture, landscape or technology that expresses significant stages in human history.

All sites are extremely interesting for filming. For most of the locations you will need permission and payment to the sites in order to shoot.

The first site recognized in Israel was the Old City which was proposed by Jordan.

1981 Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls
As a holy city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Jerusalem has always had great symbolic importance. Jerusalem’s 220 historic monuments can be classified into 4 types: Christian Jewish, Moslem and Armenian. And, of course, the Dome of the Rock stands out. Built in the 7th century, the Dome of the Rock is decorated with beautiful geometric and floral motifs. The site is recognized by all three religions as the site of Abraham's sacrifice. The Wailing Wall is the holiest of the Jewish sites in Jerusalem, and the Resurrection Rotunda in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher houses Christ's tomb. For us the Old City is definitely the most stunning place to shoot in Israel, however I would advise that you obtain permission to all the places you wish to visit. Although some are free, others will ask for payment or donations. We give advice on best shoots in the Old City in our production advice section on our web page. I especially like to start shooting very early before the sun goes up. You will be amazed to know that 4 o’clock in the morning is the best time to shoot inside the Holy Sepulcher.

2001 Masada
Brief Description
Masada is a rugged natural fortress, of majestic beauty, in the Judaean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. It is a symbol of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, its violent destruction and the last stand of Jewish patriots in the face of the Roman army, in 73 A.D. Masada was built as a palace complex in the classic style of the early Roman Empire by Herod the Great, the King of Judea (reigned 37 – 4 B.C.). The camps, fortifications and attack ramp that encircle the monument constitute the most complete Roman siege works that have survived until the present day. For further orientation, there are beautiful aerial shots of Masada in our Dead Sea Scrolls’ film clip on our home page. It would also be worthwhile to have the advice of experts who really know Masada’s history and importance.

Justification for Inscription
Criterion iii: Masada is a symbol of the ancient Jewish Kingdom of Israel, its violent destruction in the later 1st century CE, and the subsequent Diaspora.

Criterion iv: The palace of Herod the Great at Masada is an outstanding example of a luxurious villa of the Early Roman Empire, while the camps and other fortifications that encircle the monument constitute the finest and most complete Roman siege works to have survived to the present day.

Criterion vi: The tragic events during the last days of the Jewish refugees who occupied the fortress and palace of Masada make it a symbol both of Jewish cultural identity and, more universally, of the continuing human struggle between oppression and liberty.

2001 Old City of Acre

Brief Description
Acre is a historic walled port-city with continuous settlement from the Phoenician period. The present city is characteristic of a fortified town dating from the Ottoman 18th and 19th centuries, with typical urban components such as the citadel, mosques, khans and baths. The remains of the Crusader town, dating from 1104 to 1291, lie almost intact, both above and below today's street level, providing an exceptional picture of the layout and structures of the capital of the medieval Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Justification for Inscription
Criterion ii: Acre is an exceptional historic town where the substantial remains of its medieval Crusader buildings are preserved beneath the existing Moslem fortified town dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Criterion iii: The remains of the Crusader town of Acre, both above and below the present-day street level, provide an exceptional picture of the layout and structures of the capital of the medieval Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Criterion v: Present-day Acre is an important example of an Ottoman walled town, with typical urban components such as a well-preserved citadel, mosques, khans, and baths. These structures have been partially built on top of underlying Crusader structures. This location is really unique and next month we are publishing a special article on filming in Acre.

2003 The White City of Tel-Aviv - the Modern Movement
Brief Description
Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 and developed as a metropolitan city under the British Mandate in Palestine. The White City was constructed from the early 1930s until the 1950s, based on the urban plan by Sir Patrick Geddes, reflecting modern organic planning principles. The buildings were designed by European-trained immigrants who created an outstanding architectural ensemble of the Modern Movement in a new cultural context.
We can set up interviews with leading architects for interviews and get the Tel Aviv Municipality to cooperate with the shoot. Also, it is recommended that you visit the Bauhaus Center. The information center is located at 155 Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv :
"Surprisingly, Tel Aviv has more Bauhaus buildings than any other city in the world - so many indeed that it has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. The buildings, designed by Bauhaus architects who immigrated to Israel from Europe in the 1930s reflect the work of Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. Notable among them were Erich Mendelsohn, and Genia Averbuch, designer of the famed Dizengoff Circle. Approximately 4000 Bauhaus buildings were built in the 1930s – a development that turned the city center into a quasi "open-air Bauhaus museum" and earned Tel Aviv the nickname of “the White City.”

Justification for Inscription
Criterion (ii): The White City of Tel Aviv is a synthesis of outstanding significance of the various trends of the Modern Movement in architecture and town planning in the early part of the 20th century. Such influences were adapted to the cultural and climatic conditions of the location and complemented local traditions.

Criterion (iv): The new town of Tel Aviv is an outstanding example of how new town planning and architecture in the early 20th century could be adapted to the requirements of a particular cultural and geographic context.

2005 Biblical Tels: Megiddo, Hazor, Beer Sheba

Brief Description
Tels, or pre-historic settlement mounds, are characteristic of the flatter lands of the eastern Mediterranean, particularly Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Eastern Turkey. Of more than 200 tels in Israel, Megiddo, Hazor and Beer Sheba are most representative because they contain substantial remains of cities with biblical connections. The three tels also present some of the best examples in the Levant of elaborate Iron Age towns where underground water-collecting systems were created to serve dense urban communities. Their traces of construction over the millennia reflect the existence of centralized authority, prosperous agricultural activity and the control of important trade routes.
It is suggested that research be carried out to discover whether there are any digs in these locations; interviews with the archeologists who are experts on the tels can be scheduled.

Justification for Inscription
Criterion (ii): The three tels represent an interchange of human values throughout the ancient Near-East forged through extensive trade routes and alliances with other states. The building styles that merged Egyptian, Syrian and Aegean influences created a distinctive local style.

Criterion (iii): The three tels are a testimony to a civilization that has disappeared – that of the Cananean cities of the Bronze Age and the biblical cities of the Iron Age. Their expressions of creativity were expressed in town planning, fortifications, palaces, and water collection technologies.

Criterion (iv): The biblical cities exerted a powerful influence on later history through the biblical narrative.

Criterion (vi): The three tels, mentioned in the Bible constitute a religious and spiritual testimony of outstanding universal value.

2005 Incense Route / Cities in the Negev - Haluza, Mamshit, Avdat and Shivta

Brief Description
The four Nabatean towns of Haluza, Mamshit, Avdat and Shivta, along with associated fortresses and agricultural landscapes in the Negev Desert, are spread along routes linking them to the Mediterranean end of the Incense and Spice route. Together they reflect the hugely profitable trade in frankincense and myrrh from south Arabia to the Mediterranean, which flourished from the 3rd century B.C. until to 2nd century A.D. With the vestiges of their sophisticated irrigation systems, urban constructions, forts, and caravanserai they bear witness to the way in which the harsh desert was settled for trade and agriculture.

Justification for Inscription
Criterion (iii): The Nabatean towns and their trade routes bear eloquent testimony to the economic, social and cultural importance of frankincense to the Hellenistic-Roman world. The routes also provided a means of passage not only for frankincense and other trade goods but also people and ideas.

Criterion (v): The almost fossilized remains of towns, forts, caravanserai and sophisticated agricultural systems strung out along the Incense Route in the Negev Desert display an outstanding response to a hostile desert environment and one that flourished for five centuries.

sources: www.unesco.org
Bauhaus Center Tel Aviv
and Biblical Productions (www.biblicalproductions.com)