Tel Aviv-Yafo (Hebrew: תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ; Arabic: تَلْ أَبِيبْ يَافَا), usually referred to as Tel Aviv, is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 382,500. Tel Aviv is located on Israel's Mediterranean coastline over an area covering 50.6 km². It is the main city of the largest and most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the Gush Dan (Dan Bloc), whose population numbers 3.04 million as of 2005. Tel Aviv is recognized as a strong candidate global city, and has been named the most expensive Middle Eastern city to live in.
The City of Tel Aviv was originally founded in the 1909 by Jewish immigrants as an alternative to expensive housing in the neighbouring historic port city of Jaffa (Hebrew: יפו, Yafo; Arabic: يافا, Yafa). Tel Aviv's extensive growth eventually overtook its Arab-majority neighbor, and the two towns were united into the municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo in 1950, two years after the establishment of the State of Israel. Tel Aviv is today considered the center of Israel's globally oriented economy, and is the anchor of the area popularly known as "Silicon Wadi". It is also considered Israel's cultural capital due to its vibrant, modern, cosmopolitan character. The city's Bauhaus architectured White City was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.