For most of us, Ma'ale Adumim is yet another town on the way from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. But since the design mall DCity and the Magic Kass amusement park were opened there, Ma'ale Adumim has become a tourist destination in itself with a hotel, museum, park and plenty of restaurants. The proximity to tourist attractions and natural sites in the area and the Dead Sea completes the experience and allows one to spend a full vacation there.
DCITY
The DCity design
mall was opened about a year ago near the Industrial area of Ma’ale Adumim and spans
over 180,000 square meters of a styled boulevard of streets and shops. It is a
huge mall inspired by the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. It contains a hotel,
shops, restaurants, cafes, entertainment and leisure facilities enabling
shopping for the home or gifts, or just enjoying some fun time. Parking is
covered and is free of charge.
Walking the streets of DCity is like going abroad thanks to the special concept of the place, similar to major design centers in Europe and the USA. The complex includes more than 200 brand stores for furniture and home design, among them huge showrooms of flagship branches. Even when not planning any shopping, the mall has a variety of eye-catching galleries.
DCity has three lovely squares - Rome, San Marco, and the Piazza food court. The Piazza is air-conditioned and is covered with the largest sky ceiling in the Middle East, Venetian-style buildings with balconies and a large clock that chimes every hour, in the center of the Piazza is a small Venetian "canal" where toy gondolas sail and a variety of restaurants are located around.
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| DCITY |
DINING
The piazza
houses restaurants and coffee shops, including leading ones such as Meatos,
Basher fromagerie, Shipudei Tzipora, Luciana, etc. We had lunch and breakfast
at Luciana. It is a dairy Kosher l’Mehadrin Italian restaurant. Luciana
has two seating areas, one on the Piazza and one inside, which serves also as
an event venue. The menu includes salads, Italian starters, Focaccia, pizza,
fish, risotto and different types of pasta. All the dishes were tasty and made
of fresh quality ingredients. We picked cakes from the large variety on the cake
display and drank very good espresso and cappuccino. On Fridays, Luciana offers
an “all you can eat” brunch buffet.
Luciana
Dcity, instagram: @luciana_dcity,
+972-2-534-3211,
Events: - +972-58-637-0407 – Nitzan.
DHOTEL
Dhotel is a modern boutique hotel situated on the third floor of DCity above the Piazza. It has 47 rooms in three styles designed by the architect Daniel Hasson: modern rooms with clean contemporary style, classic rooms in a soft luxurious style and urban rooms that have a New York eclectic style. All the hotel rooms are furnished with luxury brands and include a private bathroom, access to a spacious terrace with an outdoor seating area, some with a view of the Piazza.
The
beautiful modern lobby offers self-service complimentary espresso or cappuccino
and meals that are available at the DCity Piazza, accessed directly from the
lobby using the hotel’s elevator. During weekdays, breakfast is served a la
carte at Luciana restaurant and there is an arrangement for dinner at the very
good restaurant Shipudei Tzipora, including a refilled table-top buffet of 18
salads (!), a starter, main course and soft drink.
DHOTEL, Dereh Yamit 15, Ma’ale Adumim (DCity center), +972-2-677-4040
MAGIC
KASS
For those looking for action and wild entertainment, or those who come with children, the Magic Kass is the place for you – it is the largest indoor amusement park in Israel! Magic Kass is spread on 13,000 square meters and offers advanced amusement and extreme facilities, some of which are the only ones of their kind in Israel. In the park there are also a games Arcade, gaming rooms and Gymboree.
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| MAGIC KASS |
As soon as
we entered the complex, we looked in amazement at the Looper, the Discovery and
the Sky Tower that rotate, rise and fall to the rhythm of the screams of the
brave who took the ride. When the Discovery is at its peak, it stops for a
short pause between heaven and earth where the riders are hung on it with their
heads down. In terms of the extreme level, the facilities here are at the
highest level. And despite the first impression of a small place, the complex
extends over 3 floors. On the second and third floor there is a selection of
facilities for smaller children so that spending time in the park is suitable
for almost the entire family.
On the top
floor there is a selection of fast food restaurants of all kinds - hamburgers, pizza,
Asian, Israeli, etc. The food court’s design draws from the parks abroad and
has jungle corners, Alice in Wonderland area, and more. On the roof awaits a 20
meters roller coaster facility and a performance stage.
At the
entrance to the park you get wristbands with a QR code, you can charge the
wristband with money for use in simulators, arcades and restaurants. This makes
it easy to walk around the complex without a wallet and provides independence to
children who can freely enjoy themselves.
Magic
Kass, Dikla 6, Ma’ale Adumim, https://magic-kass.co.il/en, +972-2-544-1919
MUSEUM OF
DAVID CASTEL
For those of us like me who are interested in culture, the Moshe Castel Museum is located in the city Ma'ale Adumim, which is a few kilometres drive from DCity. It is a small and well-designed museum overlooking a spectacular view of Jerusalem from the east. The museum building looks like a synagogue, probably due to the inspiration Castel received from Judaism. The museum integrates his works, including magnificent renderings of carpets, and changing exhibitions. The museum was established using the funds of the artist, who died before the construction of the museum was completed, and today it belongs to the municipal company.
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| Moshe Castel Museum |
Moshe Castel is one of the most prominent Israeli artists. Already at the age of 12 he was accepted into 'Bezalel' for art studies and at the age of 16 he continued to Paris to study at the Académie Julian affiliated to the Louvre and was greatly influenced by Picasso, Juan Miro, Chagall, Modliani from the Parisian art movement. In the 1940s, following the Second World War, Castel returned to Israel and opened a studio in the basement of the artist Zaritzky's house, where he taught Israeli artists to paint in oil colors and in 1948, together with a group of artists, he founded “New Horizons”, a movement in art whose influence is continuing to this day.
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| Moshe Castel Museum |
Museum of Art Moshe
Castel, eng.castelmuseum.co.il, info@castelmuseum.co.il
+972-2-535-7000, +972-50-580-9596 – Eli,
FRESH AIR
ACTIVITIES
For those
looking to spend time in the fresh air, Ma’ale Adumim Lake Park is not far from
the museum. While a small park, there is a playground and some restaurants and
cafes and it is quite romantic during sunset. Further, Ma’ale Adumim’s area is
rich in viewpoints, hiking trails, natural springs and monasteries. Local tour
operators offer Jeep, buggies and EZ-Rider trips.
The
writer was a guest of the local businesses mentioned in the article.
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