Suliman is an elder statesman in the Negev Desert’s Azazme, Bedouin tribe. It’s not clear exactly when he was born or how old he is, but his sagacity and understanding of the area is unmatched.

Although the nomadic lifestyle in the Negev has nearly disappeared, there are still pockets of Bedouin communities that rely on this lifestyle and the age-old traditions that have carried them from the Arabian peninsula to the Sinai, Hejaz and Negev regions.

Yefet Hacohen is a priest and the official historian of the Holy Land’s Samaritan community, the smallest ethno-religious group in the world – numbering under 800 members today.

Samaritans trace their routes to the original, northern tribes of Israel before the Babylonian conquest in 586 BCE and maintain their own version of the Pentateuch (Five Books of Moses). Samaritans have been living in the area around Nablus in the northern West Bank (Palestinian Territories) since the time of King David and been an integral part of the area’s social, religious and cultural fabric.

Bilal Abu Khalaf is a third-generation fabrics trader in Jerusalem’s Old City – in the heart of the Christian Quarter. His family traces its roots to Kurdistan his family moved from Hebron to Jerusalem.

He is one of four traders in the world that imports high-end fabrics from Syria, including certain silks with pure 24 carat gold threading. Abu Khalaf provides fabrics for all of Jerusalem’s different religious communities including the priestly vestments for the array of Christian communities, and robes for Israel’s chief Sephardic Rabbi. When the Pope comes to town, this is where he gets dressed.

Diana has been traveling with Finjan since we started taking both local and foreign travelers across the land. She is a lawyer in Tel Aviv who moved to Israel from Hungary years ago.

You can often find her biking on Tel Aviv’s wide boulevards or hiking her way across the land with Finjan. She is a vibrant part of an ever-growing community of Hungarian Jews who have immigrated to Israel over the last decade!

Dave a.k.a the Prof is a professor of Economics at Tel Aviv University and a Tel Aviv socialite. It seems like there isn’t anyone between the age of 25-40 who hasn’t met Dave!

When you come to Tel Aviv, there is a good chance your path will cross with his. You may even find him wandering around the deserts of southern Jordan and drinking plenty of Finjan’s finest java!

Zohar is a high-school Biology teacher in Israel and a frequent traveler with Finjan. She has a special love for her homeland and is always looking to get out and explore even though she’s spent her entire life in Israel

She always says there is something new to learn, even about your own country, no matter how many times you load up your backpack.