View over Wailing Wall at Dome of the Rock

Photo credit: PhotoDisc

Is there another country in the world so small yet bearing the international impact of Israel? The short answer is no. Birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, holy to Islam and the world center of the Baha'i faith, Israel never disappoints and always amazes the visitor. Every step taken in Israel has the traveler's feet resonating with a sense of the eternal.

Just ten hours flying time from the East Coast, twelve hours from California, Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. For three thousand years it has been the goal of pilgrims, adventurers and travelers, of the faithful, of the curious, of the pleasure-seeker.

Despite the constant headlines, Israel is one of the safest places on earth. Israelis send their children to school unescorted, and serious crime is dramatically lower than in other Western countries. Millions of tourists come to Israel. In 2006, some two million came, and all two million went home again safe and sound.

Israel: Who knew?

Israel is a lot more than the Holy Land. Did you know that:

1. More Israelis own personal computers and buy books per capita than any nationality on earth.

2. Israel is known as the Jewish State, but more than 20% of its population is Muslim, Christian, Baha'i and Druze.

3. The ancient Land of Israel is also new. In 2008, the modern State of Israel will celebrate its 60th birthday.

4. The Mediterranean city-resort of Tel Aviv will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2009. Tel Aviv is the heart of Israel's largest metropolitan area, home to some three million Israelis.

5. Israelis love to drive - north, south, east, west; on small country lines and on ten-lane expressways. Israel was the first country in the world to ban drivers from using hand-held cell-phones.

6. There are eleven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Israel: the Old City Of Jerusalem, Masada, Akko, Bauhaus Tel Aviv, the Desert Cities Of HALUZA, MAMSHIT, AVDAT and SHIVTA in the Negev Desert and the BIBLICAL TELS Of MEGIDDO, HAZOR and BEERSHEBA.

7. No bigger than New Jersey, Israel has four seas: the Med., the Red, the Dead and Sea of Galilee.

8. Israel has six micro-climates, all at the same time. In February you can ski on Mount Hermon and water ski in the Sea of Galilee. Israel grows and exports hundreds of varieties of fruit, vegetables and flowers.

9. The Dead Sea is lowest and driest place on the planet. Its oxygen filtered sunlight cures skin diseases and tans but doesn't burn.

10. Israel is for the birds. Hundreds of millions of birds make best use of Israel's warm thermal air currents to help them navigate their arduous bi-annual journeys north and south.

11. Seventy airlines fly into Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport. Five airlines operate as many as ten flights a day from North America to Israel.

12. You don't have to be Jewish to be Israeli. 25% of Israel's population is Baha'i, Christian, Druze and Muslim.

13. Israel has three official languages: Hebrew, Arabic and English. Indeed, almost everyone speaks English - a great boon for travelers.

Featured Israel Destinations:

Jerusalem

Tel Aviv

Photo credits: (left) Israel Tourism; (right) PhotoDisc

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