Global - Technology - Review

Since its establishment in 1948, the modern state of Israel has fought a series of wars to maintain its independence, and the dispute about the status of Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza is continuing. The majority of the population live in the coastal plain on the Mediterranean. Inland the country is mountainous; while in the south is the Negev Desert and the salty Dead Sea, 420 metres below sea level. Eilat, on the short Red Sea coastline with its pristine coral reefs, is one of the world’s premier diving locations. Israel has an advanced economy with an intensively developed agricultural sector. Exports include diamonds, pharmaceuticals, and military technology. Tourism has suffered from the security situation, however three million visit each year. Sites of interest to Christian pilgrims include the Sea of Galilee, the House of Peter at Capernaum, the Garden of Gethsemane by the Mount of Olives, the River Jordan, Nazareth, childhood home of Jesus with the Church of the Annunciation. In Jerusalem there are sites sacred to three religions: the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre; the Western Wall of the Jewish Second Temple; and two Muslim holy sites, the Dome of Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.