Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv-Yafo usually referred to as Tel Aviv, is the second-largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 393,900.The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of 51.4 square kilometres (19.8 sq mi). It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, home to 3.2 million people as of 2008. The city is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality, headed by Ron Huldai. Residents of Tel Aviv are called Tel Avivians.

Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa (Hebrew: יָפוֹ‎, Yafo; Arabic: يافا‎, Yaffa). The growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced Jaffa, which was largely Arab at the time. Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged into a single municipality in 1950, two years after the establishment of the State of Israel. Tel Aviv's White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world's largest concentration of Bauhaus buildi.

Since Tel Aviv is situated on a beach, the best way to get a geographic feel for the city is by using the Mediterranean coastline as a reference point. Head south along the beach from Tel Aviv and you will arrive in the ancient port town of Jaffa . Head north and you will arrive in the upscale neighbourhood of Ramat Aviv, where the university is located. There is a demographic split between Tel Aviv's north and south. North Tel Aviv is known for being affluent, European in outlook and a little snobbish.


Tel Aviv is the country's financial capital and a major performing arts and business center.The economy of Tel Aviv was ranked second in the Middle East, and 50th in the world by Foreign Policy's 2010 Global Cities Index. It is the most expensive city in the region, and the 17th most expensive city in the world