Mini Israel Theme Park - "See It All...Small!"

We had some free time while staying in Jerusalem and were looking for something to do.  My wife's aunt recommended we check out "Mini Israel," which is...wait for it...Israel in miniature!  Some of you may remember a place where the Old City is in miniature, which I think is somewhere near Jerusalem.  Well, this is substantially bigger.  13 acres (60 dunams) of miniaturized Israel!

Wait a second, I thought David had already killed Goliath!

I felt like a miniature Peeping Tom snapping this photo of the mini-Israeli hotties.

It is near Latrun, and we got lost trying to find it.  The exit for Latrun off Highway 1 is not marked as "Latrun," so after a sign telling us the exit for Latrun was approaching in 1000 meters we kept looking for Latrun...and looking...and driving...and we totally missed it!  My wife, the superb navigator she is, put us back on the right track, and out of the dusty haze we saw the signpost for Mini Israel!

Like so may of these tourist attractions in the Israeli desert, not everything was 100% intact, what with the 100+ degree heat pounding the displays day after day after day.  However, I'd say 90% of the displays were fully funtional, and there appeared to be several new displays under construction...so this place is only going to get bigger (ironic, huh?).  There is something for everyone - all of the major Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Bahai sites are presented

Giant lizards were taking over Tel Aviv...wait...oh, this is a pic from Mini Israel.

It was surprisingly expensive, though.  79 NIS for the wife and me, and 59 NIS for our 7 year old.  Throw in another 10 NIS per person for the new 3D movie at the entrance, some ice cream and beverages, and we spent around $75 for the afternoon, which is actually a lot of money for an afternoon in Israel.  That said, now that we have been to Mini Israel, we don't have to go the next time!

If you have a few extra hours on your way to or from Jerusalem and are driving on Highway 1, check out Mini Israel.  The kids will think it's cool, and that's what is most important, right?