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BIBLE LANDS

ISRAEL AND PALESTINE: THE COASTAL PLAINS

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Palestine is small when compared with most other countries. It is 150 miles from north to south, and 70 miles from west to east at its widest point.
Despite its size it was always important because it lay in a strategic part of the world, straddling the major highway that joined ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt - these highways were called the Via Maris or Sea Road, and the King's Highway. There was a constant stream of travelers along the route - for trade, religious pilgrimage, military purposes, etc. So when something significant happened in that part of the world, the people of Palestine were affected.
There were four major regions: the Coastal Plain, the Central Hill Country, the Jordan Valley, and the Negev.

The Coastal Plain
The coastal plain is a narrow strip at the east end of the Mediterranean Sea, about 115 miles (185 kilometres) long, widening to a breadth of about 20 miles in the south. Though it had no natural harbors, the coastline was dotted with rich trading ports like Tyre and Sidon. This territory was not part of ancient Israel, which never had a maritime border.
Moving from north to south, the subregions of the Coastal Plain were:
The Plain of Sharon - originally covered with oak forests
The Plain of Philistia - densely populated during biblical times, because of its ports and its arable land. The people who lived there were the Philistines, from which the word 'Palestine' comes.

    SATELLITE IMAGE LOOKING SOUTH,
                                                                                         WITH COASTAL PLAINS IN UPPER LEFT HALF OF PICTURE

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Israel and Palestine: Lands of the Bible; Bible Study Resource
Central Hill Country: The Coastal Plain