Israel is a Middle Eastern country situated on the shores of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Officially, the State of Israel is bordered with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian territories (West Bank and Gaza Strip). Despite its diversity, Israel is quite a small state, covering the area of only about 20 square kilometres.
The population of Israel is around 8.5 million people. The nation has two official languages: Hebrew and Arabic, and also plays an important role for all Abrahamic religions (those include Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Druze and Bahá’í Faith) due to the fact of being the main part of the Holy Land. Although, majority of the population is Jewish.
The capital city of Israel is Jerusalem – not only the largest, but also one of the oldest cities in the world and it is considered the Holy City with significant important for all three major religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam).
However, the technological and financial centre is another city – Tel Aviv. Israel today is a developed country with highly educated population in term of tertiary education. Compared to the rest of the Middle East, Israel has relatively high living standard of its population and also a great living expectancy (worldwide).
With history of its people tracing back to Abraham and believing that there is only one God, the country is surely one of the most mythical and charming places. The land came through the rule of Persians, the Roman Empire rule as well as the Byzantine Empire at early stages.
Followed by arrival of crusaders from Europe and Ottoman era and British capturing the neighbouring Palestine (which influenced the Jewish population), there was a period of several Arab-Israeli wars (straight after the declaration of independence of the new nation in 1948 when Brits left the country).
Israel eventually won in each one of those four wars and showed a great will to maintain peace, even though the peace process can be a long and complicated walk.
Indisputably, one of the biggest appeals of the nation is its incredible history and religious face. This can’t really be compared to any other country in the world and that makes Israel so unique. The Mediterranean coast and the city of Tel Aviv, which is a cosmopolitan metropole are also popular attractions for visitors.
It is like being in a completely different world, the sacred Holy Land. Israel also has a number of magnificent biblical and historical sites (including Jerusalem’s Tempe Mount) and stunning natural highlights (Israeli National Trail or Makhtesh Ramon – a multi-coloured sandstone canyon).