Timeless, majestic and captivating, the Middle East remains the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, the crossroads of religion and politics.  The Arabian Desert, Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean shores all played a role in shaping the Middle East, and indeed the West, and gave us the religions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

Bible stories, ancient cities, the Promised Land, beaches and sun, Israel is old and new.  A modern country, global leaders in technology, a nation full of opinions, and people filled with passion.

Israel, at various times throughout history was a province of far away empires which sought to develop this strategic piece of real estate.  The influence of these great empires, exogenous cultures, and exotic kingdoms is evident everywhere throughout the land.  To say that beneath every stone in Israel there is a story is not exaggeration!

Geography:
The Dead Sea Rift is an elongated depression, stretching more than 1000 km from Syria to the Red Sea.  It is a part of the great Syrian-African rift system stretching from Turkey to Mozambique in the south.  In Israel, this rift system created the Jordan Valley and the Sea of Galilee in the north.  In the middle we find the Dead Sea itself at 400 meters below sea level flanked by cliffs of the Judea desert plateau which rise steeply more than 1000 meters above. Awesome sinuous canyons begin their journey at this plateau and plunge unrelentingly in a series of high falls until they are united with the Dead Sea.  In the south, we find the Arava Valley, the red mountains of Eilat, and the Red Sea.  This relatively young sea continues to grow wider as Arabia drifts away from Africa.