Tel Aviv, Israel is the second largest city in Israel, just behind Jerusalem at number one. The city and its immediate neighbors are a mixture of massive and modern along with old and rustic.
Tel Aviv has a population of 438,818 residents. It even has its own Silicon Valley known as Silicon Wadi, which is another name for Gush Dan. The so called valley area is filled with high tech companies, much like the Silicon Valley in California.
It is known as the “Party Capital” of the Middle East with a lively nightly that includes 2.5 million visitors annually, a 30,000 student university,
Prostitution is fully legal in Tel Aviv in the form of brothels. However, to so called act of “Pimping” is illegal. Human trafficking is a big problem for the area, but little is being done to solve the issue. Organized crime is reportedly behind much of the legal and illegal forms of prostitution in Israel, according to a past HAARETZ news article.
While driving into ultra-Orthodox Jewish areas on the Sabbath in Jerusalem are discouraged by the officials due to past cases where cars have been stoned as they pass through, it is not an issue in Tel Aviv. Nor is the need to dress modestly.
The legal age to buy alcohol in Israel is only 18 and there are no set closing times for bars. As for the cost of a stiff drink, expect to pay an added tax of 25%.
OUT Media has called Tel Aviv the “most gay-friendly city” in the Middle East. Other cities throughout Israel are not as open with such activity, even though laws regarding homosexuals were removed from the books in the 1980s.