...A treasure full of historic and archeologyc echoes ... Today, from one step of modern cities, in a cosmopolitan wheather. It's a colection of impressive contrasts inside a small frame. Hills and valleys, valleys and hills, deserts of wonder beauty and fascinant animal life.

The human landscape it's not less colored...All people of all the countries around he world come to Israel to live or to do turism.

Four seas, the Mediterranean, the Red, The Dead and the sea from Galilea...

For me, is the wonderfull country of the world.

Israel is located in the South West

corner of the Asian continent and at

the South Eastern shore of the

Mediterranean Sea. Geographically it

is at the crossroadesof the Europe,

Asia and Africa. It is bordered by

Lebanon to the North, Syria, to the

north East, Jordan to the East and

Egypt to the South West. Its Western

shoreline is on the Mediterranean Sea

and it occupies a narrow strip at the

extreme South along the Red Sea.

Geographical Features

Israel is a small country. It is ling and

narrow and stretches just under 450

kms from North to South and on

average is 60 kms from East to West.

The Mediterranean Coast comprises of a narrow plain (The Sharon

Plain) which is home to most of Israel's people and its largest urban

centre Tel Aviv. Israel's Eastern border is dominated by the Jordan

River Valley which drops down to the Dead Sea which is the lowest

depression on Earth at 400 metres below sea level.

Israel's southern region is dominated by the rugged and mountainous

Negev Desert. At Israel's Southern apex Israel's port of Eilat

dominates several kilometers of sparkling Red Sea coast.

The central spine of the country is hilly and. At one of the highest points

is the national capital Jerusalem.

The northern quarter of Israel is dominated by the hilly and fertile

Galilee region. Israel's largest body of fresh water, Lake Kinneret is on

the eastern part of the Galilee. Further to the North East is the Golan

Heights and Israel's highest point, Mt Hermon which reaches an altitude

in Israeli territory of 2,224 metres above sea and includes Israel's only ski slopes.

Climate

Israel enjoys long warm-hot dry summers from April to October and a

mild winter with substantial rainfall in the north of the country which

reduces as one goes further south between December-February. In

highland regions (including Jerusalem) there are occasional snowfalls in

winter. In March there is a brief spring season. After a rainy winter

Israel is carpeted with flowers in March and early April.

Israel's official languages are Hebrew . English and Arabic are widely

Spoken. English is a compulsory language for all Israeli school students.

Other languages frequently spoken include Russian, French, German

and Yiddish. Israel's cosmopolitan society guarantees that you can find

somebody to speak almost any language.

Government and Population

The state of Israel was founded in 1948. It is one of the few genuine

democracies in the Middle East. Israel has a population of 5.3 million.

The majority of its people, 83% are Jewish and many are either new

immigrants or the descendents of Jewish communities from 100

countries. Israel is home to over 750,000 Arabs, most of whom are

Sunni Muslims. they include 120,000 Christians and 60,000 Druze.

There are smaller minorities of Circassians, Europeans and other

Asians. Israel major cities are Greater Tel Aviv population 1 million ,

Jerusalem 530,000, Haifa 300,000, Beer Sheva (Beersheba) 130,000.

The Israeli Week

As Israel is a predominantly Jewish country the working week is quite

different to another countries. The official working week is

Sunday-Thursday. Some services are available on Friday morning.

Much of Israel closes down for the Jewish Sabbath which commences

on Friday afternoon and concludes on Saturday evening. During

(Shabat) Sabbath there are few transport services available and most

shops are closed. Muslim shops are closed on the Muslim Sabbath

which is on Friday and most Christian run businesses are closed on

Sundays. The religious week is most evident in Jerusalem. In Israel the

main public holidays co-incide with key Jewish religious festivals.