What it looks like
Before the borders and the agreements there are places: cities, desert, sea and mountains, and people who live in them. A few pictures from each country and area, for anyone who has never been. Select a picture to enlarge it.
Israel
Tel Aviv
A Mediterranean city of beaches, cafés and late nights, and Israel's main centre of business and culture.
Photo: Ynhockey · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Haifa
A port city on the slopes of Mount Carmel in northern Israel, known for its terraced Bahá'í gardens.
Photo: Michael Paul Gollmer de:Benutzer:Mipago · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Nazareth
A city in Galilee, northern Israel, with a mostly Arab population; in Christian tradition, where Jesus grew up.
Photo: Almog · Public domain · More about this place on Wikipedia
Sea of Galilee
A freshwater lake in northern Israel, fed by the River Jordan and lying below sea level.
Photo: This image was taken by the NASA Expedition 20 crew. · Public domain · More about this place on Wikipedia
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Dead Sea
A lake so salty you float in it, shared by Israel, Jordan and the West Bank; its shore is the lowest land on Earth.
Photo: David Shankbone · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims and its political status is disputed, so it is shown here as a group of its own.
The Old City
The walled historic heart of Jerusalem, with Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Armenian quarters inside its gates.
Photo: Peter Mulligan · CC BY 2.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Western Wall
A surviving retaining wall of the ancient Temple compound in Jerusalem's Old City, and Judaism's main place of prayer.
Photo: Golasso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Temple Mount / Al-Aqsa compound (Haram al-Sharif)
A raised compound in Jerusalem's Old City, holy to Jews and Muslims, home to the golden Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Photo: Godot13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
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Church of the Holy Sepulchre
A church in Jerusalem's Old City that Christians revere as the site of Jesus's crucifixion and tomb.
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jlascar/ · CC BY 2.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Mahane Yehuda Market
Jerusalem's big, noisy food market: fruit, spices and fresh bread by day, cafés and bars by night.
Photo: Sir kiss · Public domain · More about this place on Wikipedia
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The West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
A church in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, built over the grotto Christians revere as Jesus's birthplace.
Photo: Neil Ward · CC BY 2.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
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Ramallah
A city in the central West Bank, a hub of Palestinian commerce, culture and administration.
Photo: أمين · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Nablus
A city in the northern West Bank, between two mountains, known for its old market, olive-oil soap and knafeh.
Photo: Hadi Hijjawi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Jericho
An oasis city in the Jordan Valley, in the West Bank, one of the world's oldest towns.
Photo: Janusz J. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Hebron
An ancient city in the southern West Bank, home to the Cave of the Patriarchs / Ibrahimi Mosque, the tomb of Abraham in Jewish, Christian and Muslim tradition.
Photo: Oren Rozen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Port of Gaza
The small fishing harbour of Gaza City, where the Strip's fishermen set out into the Mediterranean.
Photo: Mahmoud Navash · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Egypt
Cairo
Egypt's capital and largest city, spread along the banks of the Nile.
Photo: Faris El-Gwely · CC BY 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
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Pyramids of Giza
Royal tombs built about 4,500 years ago on the edge of Cairo, beside the Great Sphinx.
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Aswan
A city on the Nile in southern Egypt, where the river flows between granite islands.
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Alexandria
Egypt's main Mediterranean port, founded by Alexander the Great and famed in antiquity for its library.
Photo: ASaber91 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Saint Catherine's Monastery
An ancient Christian monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai, in the mountains of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Photo: Berthold Werner · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Jordan
Amman
Jordan's capital, a city of pale stone houses spread across many hills.
Photo: David Bjorgen · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Petra
The ancient Nabataean capital in southern Jordan, with temples and tombs carved into rose-red rock.
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Wadi Rum
A desert valley in southern Jordan, with red sand and towering sandstone and granite cliffs that look like another planet.
Photo: Raya Sharbain · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Jerash
A city in northern Jordan, beside the well-preserved ruins of the Roman city of Gerasa.
Photo: The original uploader was Freedom's Falcon at Arabic Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 2.5 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Aqaba
Jordan's only seaport, on the Red Sea, known for its beaches and coral reefs.
Photo: Sana Janakat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Lebanon
Beirut
Lebanon's capital and largest city, a port on a headland jutting into the Mediterranean.
Photo: Yoniw · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Byblos
An ancient Phoenician port north of Beirut, with a small harbour, a Crusader castle and old markets.
Photo: Orient at de.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 2.0 de · More about this place on Wikipedia
Baalbek
A city in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, with some of the largest Roman temples ever built.
Photo: Saadedine AL SAIDI · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Cedars of God
A grove of ancient cedar trees high in the mountains of northern Lebanon; the cedar is the country's emblem.
Photo: BlingBling10 at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Tyre
An ancient Phoenician port city on the coast of southern Lebanon, with extensive Roman ruins by the sea.
Photo: RomanDeckert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Syria
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus
A great early Islamic mosque in the old city of Damascus, Syria's capital, built in the 8th century.
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · More about this place on Wikipedia
Citadel of Aleppo
A large medieval fortress on a hill at the centre of the old city of Aleppo, in northern Syria.
Photo: Memorino · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Palmyra
The ruins of an ancient caravan city at an oasis in the Syrian desert.
Photo: Quim Bahí from Catalunya · CC BY-SA 2.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
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Krak des Chevaliers
A well-preserved Crusader castle on a hilltop in western Syria.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Maaloula
A mountain village north-east of Damascus where a form of Aramaic is still spoken.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
The UAE and Bahrain
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi
A white marble mosque in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, open to visitors of all faiths.
Photo: PotatoWitch · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Dubai
A coastal city in the United Arab Emirates, known for its modern skyline and the world's tallest building.
Photo: Tim Reckmann from Hamm, Deutschland · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
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Bahrain Fort (Qal'at al-Bahrain)
An archaeological mound and fort on Bahrain's north coast, once the capital of the ancient Dilmun civilisation.
Photo: Peter from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · CC BY 2.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Manama
Bahrain's capital and largest city, at the northern tip of the island, with an old souk and modern towers.
Photo: B.alotaby · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Morocco
Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakesh
The main square of Marrakesh's old city, filled each evening with food stalls, musicians and storytellers.
Photo: Dániel Csörföly · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Fes el Bali (old Fez)
The walled medieval old city of Fez, a maze of narrow car-free lanes, workshops and markets.
Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen · CC BY-SA 3.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Chefchaouen
A small town in the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco, known for its blue-painted houses.
Photo: Ismailbrk · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca
A vast mosque on the Atlantic shore of Casablanca, Morocco's largest city, with a very tall minaret.
Photo: Milamber's portfolio · CC BY 2.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
Aït Benhaddou
A fortified village of earthen buildings on an old caravan route south of the Atlas Mountains.
Photo: Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0 · More about this place on Wikipedia
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The photographs were chosen to show places, not to rule on whom they belong to. Place names are written in each language as its speakers write them. Copyright and fair use