A many-faceted country, full of treasures and contradictions
Israel is a land of contradictions. It is a very young country, having only existed since 1948, and yet its capital of Jerusalem is some five millennia old. It is considered to be a holy land by three of the world's major religions and yet is known internationally for secular pursuits, such as its high-tech industry and vibrant nightclub scene. It is known as "the Jewish State," yet Muslim, Christian, and Druze communities are integral to its culture. The country is mostly desert, yet it boasts rolling green hills, olive groves, and vineyards. It is a decidedly Middle Eastern country, and yet in many ways very Western. And all of this exists within a small land of barely 8,500 sq mi. You can toil on a hardscrabble kibbutz in the wind-swept Negev desert one day and find yourself sipping local wine in the beautiful Golan the next. You can spend all afternoon in Jerusalem, exploring sights such as the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and make it to Tel Aviv in time for a late night trance party. You start off in the morning, and only God knows what people, sights, and situations you will encounter by nightfall.
