The Dead Sea is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.
The geography of Israel is very diverse, with desert conditions in the south, and snow-capped mountains in the north. Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in Western Asia. It is bounded to the north by Lebanon, the northeast by Syria, the east by Jordan and the West Bank, and to the southwest by Egypt. To the west of Israel is the Mediterranean Sea, which makes up the majority of Israel's 273 km (170 mi) coastline, and the Gaza Strip. Israel has a small coastline on the Red Sea in the south.
Eilat, or Umm Al-Rashrash, is Israel's southernmost city with a population of 52,299, a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The city is considered a tourist destination for domestic and international tourists heading to Israel.
Taba is an Egyptian town near the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. Taba is the location of Egypt's busiest border crossing with neighbouring Eilat, Israel. Taba is a frequent vacation spot for Egyptians and tourists, especially those from Israel on their way to other destinations in Egypt or as a weekend getaway. It is the northernmost resort of Egypt's Red Sea Riviera.
The Arabah, or Arava / Aravah, as it is known by its respective Arabic and Hebrew names, is a geographic area south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east.
Kadesh or Qadesh is a place-name that occurs several times in the Hebrew Bible, describing a site or sites located south of, or at the southern border of, Canaan and the Kingdom of Judah. Many modern academics hold that it was a single site, located at the modern 'Ain el-Qudeirat, while some academics and rabbinical authorities hold that there were two locations named Kadesh. A related term, either synonymous with Kadesh or referring to one of the two sites, is KadeshBarnea. Various etymologies for Barnea have been proposed, including 'desert of wanderings,' but none have produced widespread agreement.
Yotvata is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located on the Arabah road in the southern Negev, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Eilot Regional Council. In 2019 it had a population of 717.
Tourism in Israel is one of Israel's major sources of income, with a record 4.55 million tourist arrivals in 2019, and, in 2017, contributed NIS 20 billion to the Israeli economy making it an all-time record. For practical reasons, this article also covers tourism in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Golan Heights, since it is closely interconnected with the mass tourism in Israel. Israel offers a plethora of historical and religious sites, beach resorts, natural sites, archaeological tourism, heritage tourism, adventure tourism, and ecotourism. Israel has the highest number of museums per capita in the world. As of 2007, the two most visited Jewish religious sites were the Western Wall and the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; The most visited Christian holy sites are the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, and the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Israel. The most visited Islamic religious places are the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and the Ibrahimi Mosque at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank town of Hebron.
Highway 90 is the longest Israeli road, at about 480 kilometres (300 mi), and stretches from Metula and the northern border with Lebanon, along the western side of the Sea of Galilee, through the Jordan River Valley, along the western bank of the Dead Sea, through the Arabah valley, and until Eilat and the southern border with Egypt on the Red Sea. The central section of the road traverses the Israeli-occupied West Bank; while it passes near the city of Jericho, it runs through Area C and does not enter areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
The Jordan Valley forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to the lower course of the Jordan River, from the spot where it exits the Sea of Galilee in the north, to the end of its course where it flows into the Dead Sea in the south. In a wider sense, the term may also cover the Dead Sea basin and the Arabah valley, which is the rift valley segment beyond the Dead Sea and ending at Aqaba/Eilat, 155 km (96 mi) farther south.
Highway 12 is a single carriageway road in the South District of Israel. It surrounds the mountains of Eilat from the north and west, and it connects Eilat to Highway 10 and Highway 40, which lead toward central Israel. Highway 10 continues north toward the Gaza Strip, whereas Highway 40 proceeds to Beersheba via Mizpe Ramon.
Hevel Eilot Regional Council is a regional council in the Southern District of Israel, near the city of Eilat. It is the southernmost regional council in Israel.
Mata is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Jerusalem corridor near Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2019 it had a population of 896.
The Netafim Border Crossing is a border crossing between Israel and Egypt. It is located adjacent to Highway 12, about 12 km north of Eilat, 1 km north west of Ein Netafim. The control of the border crossing was handed over to the Israel Airports Authority in 1980; nowadays it is closed. Very seldom it is reopened under special circumstances. There are plans to reopen the border crossing passage as alternative during festivals, in coordination with the Egyptian authorities.
Ein Avdat or Ein Ovdat is a canyon in the Negev Desert of Israel, south of Kibbutz Sde Boker. Archaeological evidence shows that Ein Avdat was inhabited by Nabateans and Catholic monks. Numerous springs at the southern opening of the canyon empty into deep pools in a series of waterfalls. The water emerges from the rock layers with salt-tolerant plants like Poplar trees and Atriplexes growing nearby.
Ein Feshkha or Ain Al-Fashka is a 2,500 ha nature reserve and archaeological site on the north-western shore of the Dead Sea, about 3 km south of Qumran in the West Bank. ’Ain el-Feshkhah is located just north of the headland Râs Feshkhah, the "headland of Feshkhah". Within the reserve is a group of springs of brackish water. The nature reserve consists of an open section with pools of mineral water for bathing surrounded by high foliage and a section that is closed to visitors to protect the native flora and fauna.
Netafim (נְטָפִים) is a Hebrew word, meaning "drops of water". It may refer to:
Nekhel is the capital of Nekhel Municipality of North Sinai Governorate, Sinai, Egypt. It is located in the heart of Sinai Peninsula along the southern border of North Sinai Governorate with South Sinai Governorate. It is located at the skirts of El Tih Mountains and foothills at an elevation of 420.6 m (1,380 ft). Coordinates of the city is 29°54'N; 33°45'E. Nekhel city is divided into 10 Markazes: Ras Naqb, Contilla, Sedr Elhitan, Tamd, Bir Grid, Khafga, Boruk, Netila, Ein Twibah and Assalam.
Water conflict in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) primarily deals with three major river basins: the Jordan River Basin, the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin, and the Nile River Basin. The MENA region covers roughly 11.1 million square km. There are three major deserts in the MENA region:
On November 26, 1990 an Egyptian border guard crossed into Israel and attacked several vehicles along the Highway 12 road. The attack took place near Ein Netafim, a spring several miles northwest of Eilat. 3 Israeli soldiers and 1 civilian were killed.
