Israel is an Eastern Mediterranean country, part of what some will call the Levant and others, the Near East. It is a sliver of a country bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and surrounded by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt to the north, west and south.

Israel is land of 20,770 square kilometers (7,992 sq miles). It stretches a mere 424 kilometers (263 miles) from north to south. The population is 7 million. Ancient names like Galilee, Nazareth, and Jerusalem reek with Biblical history. There are also the modern cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa built on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, which are fruits of modern Israel. The country boasts mountains like Mount Hermon on the Golan Heights, Mount Meron in the Upper Galilee and the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth.

The country may be divided into three distinct parts. There is the coastal plain, the hilly or mountainous region that runs down the spine of the country and the Jordan Rift Valley, which is part of the Syrian – East African Rift. There is also a semi arid area and the Negev Desert, which covers more than half the country.

Apart from the Negev Desert, the climate of Israel is typically Mediterranean. Dry, hot, humid summers and warm, wet winters. There is usually no rain in the growing season. Therefore drip feed irrigation, invented by Israelis and exported all over the world, is essential. There is usually a falling of snow in the winter on the higher grounds – particularly on the Golan Heights and in the Upper Galilee