Explore Israel

I put together this site to keep you informed and up to date on some great cities in Israel. On the left you will find a list of cities and when you click on the link you will be taken to a brief description of the city. Also if you want to listen to music or learn about Israeli History don't miss the other links.

If you want a more detailed description of the city you will find an embedded link to take you to the city description on wikipedia.org

Cities :

Nazareth is the capital and largest city in the North District of Israel. It also serves as an Arab capital for Israel's Arab citizens who make up the vast majority of the population there.[2] In the New Testament, the city is described as the childhood home of Jesus, and as such is a center of Christian pilgrimage, with many shrines commemorating biblical associations. more info

Netanya is a city in the Centre District of Israel and is the capital of the Sharon plain. It is located between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north. Its 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) of beaches have made the city a very popular tourist resort. Today the city houses a notably large population of English-speaking immigrants from the United Kingdom, USA, and Canada. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2007 the city had a total population of 176,500.[1] The city mayor is Miriam Feirberg. The city is expected to reach a population of 350,000 by 2020.[2] The city name has sometimes been spelled Nathania.[3] more info

Hadera is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel approximately half-way between the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city has grown from its foundation in 1891 by Eastern European members of the Zionist group, Hovevei Zion, to one of a population of 77,100.[1] In the city center is a synagogue, along with remnants of an Arab inn, which was purchased with the land and served as the first house of the pioneers. more info

Tel Aviv [2], usually Tel Aviv, is the second-largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 390,100.[1] The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of 51.8 square kilometres (20.0 sq mi). It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, home to 3.15 million people as of 2008.[3] The city is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality, headed by Ron Huldai.[4] Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa (Hebrew: ??????, Yafo; Arabic: ?????, Yaffa). The growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced Jaffa, which was largely Arab at the time. Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged into a single municipality in 1950, two years after the establishment of the State of Israel. Tel Aviv's White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world's largest concentration of Modernist-style buildings.[5][6][7] Tel Aviv is Israel's economic hub, home of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and many corporate offices and research and development centers.[8] Its beaches, cafs, upscale shopping and secular lifestyle have made it a popular tourist destination.[9] It is the country's cultural capital and a major performing arts center.[10] In the 2008 Mercer cost of living survey, Tel Aviv was ranked as the most expensive city in the Middle East and the 14th most expensive in the world.[11] more info

Jerusalem is the capital[iii] of Israel and its largest city[2] in both population and area,[3] with 732,100 residents in an area of 125.1 square kilometres (48.3 sq mi) if disputed East Jerusalem is included.[1][4][iv] Located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern tip of the Dead Sea, modern Jerusalem has grown up outside the Old City. The city has a history that goes back to the 4th millennium BCE, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.[5] Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual center of the Jewish people since the 10th century BCE,[6] contains a number of significant ancient Christian sites, and is considered the third-holiest city in Islam.[7] Despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometer (0.35 square mile),[8] the Old City is home to sites of key religious importance, among them the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque. The old walled city, a World Heritage site, has been traditionally divided into four quarters, although the names used today the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters were introduced in the early 19th century.[9] The Old City was nominated for inclusion on the List of World Heritage Sites in danger by Jordan in 1982.[10] In the course of its history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times.[11] Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem has been repeatedly condemned by the United Nations and related bodies,[12][13] and Palestinians foresee East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.[14][15] In the wake of United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 (passed in 1980), most foreign embassies moved out of Jerusalem. more info

Ashdod located in the South District of Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea coast, is a city of over 200,000 people located approximately 70 kilometers (43 mi) from Jerusalem and Beer Sheba. Ashdod is an important regional industrial center. The Port of Ashdod is Israel's largest port accounting for sixty percent of the country's imported goods. The first documented settlement in Ashdod dates to the Canaanite culture of 17th century BC,[1] making the city one of the most ancient in the world. Ashdod is mentioned thirteen times in the Bible. During the history the city was settled by Philistines, Israelites, Byzantines, Crusaders and Arabs.[2] Modern Ashdod was established in 1956 on the sand hills near the archeological site, and incorporated as a city in 1968, with a land-area of approximately 60 square kilometers (23.2 sq mi). Being a planned city, expansion followed a main development plan, which facilitated traffic and prevented air pollution in the residential areas, despite population growth. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, Ashdod had a population of 207,000 at the end of 2007, the fifth largest city in Israel and had an area of 47,242 dunams more info

Arad is a city in the South District of Israel. It is located on the border of the Negev and Judean Deserts, 25 kilometers (15.5 mi) west of the Dead Sea and 45 kilometers (28.0 mi) east of the city Beersheba. The city is home to a diverse population of 23,300,[2] including Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, both secular and religious, Bedouins and Black Hebrews, as well as native-born Israelis and new immigrants. The city is notable for its clean, dry air and serves as a major attraction to asthmatics worldwide.[3][4] Although attempts to settle the area have been made as early as 1921, the city was founded only in November 1962 as the last development town to be established and the first pre-planned city in Israel. Arad's population grew significantly with the Aliyah from the Commonwealth of Independent States in the 1990s, and peaked in 2002 at 24,500 residents. The city has seen a decline in population ever since. As the second-largest city in Israel in terms of jurisdiction, Arad contains a number of large public places and facilities, such as the ruins of Tel Arad, the Arad Park, an airfield serving domestic flights, and Israel's first legal race circuit. It is also well-known for its annual music festival, which was one of the most popular annual music events in the country until 1995. more info

Dimona is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, 36 kilometres (22 mi) to the south of Beersheba and 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. Its population at the end of 2007 was 33,600.[1] more info

Mitzpe Ramon is a town in the Negev desert of southern Israel. It is situated on the northern ridge at an elevation of 2,400 feet (800 m.) overlooking an enormous erosion cirque known as the Ramon Crater. This crater, or makhtesh, as it is called in Hebrew (a term also used by geologists around the world) is 28 miles long and five miles wide. It is a formation unique to Israel and the Sinai, some say.[who?] Others[attribution needed] argue that there exist other similar phenomena in Turkestan and elsewhere in Central Asia's deserts. Makhtesh Ramon is the largest such crater in the world. As of 2008, Mitzpe Ramon has a population of 4,500 residents. The mayor is Flora Shoshan, sister of former Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz. Her husband, Sami Shoshan, was the previous mayor.[1] more info

Eilat is Israel's southernmost city, a busy port as well as a popular tourist destination, located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Eilat. Home to 46,900 people,[1] the city is part of the Southern Negev Desert, at the southern end of the Arava. The city is adjacent to the Egyptian village of Taba, to the south, and the Jordanian port city of Aqaba, to the east. Eilat's semi-arid desert climate is moderated by proximity to a warm sea. Temperatures often exceed 40 C in summer, and 18 C in winter, while water temperatures range between 20 and 26 C. The city's beaches, nightlife and desert landscapes make it a popular destination for domestic and international tourism. more info