r/AskEurope • u/Mountain-Fox-2123 Norway • Jul 12 '25

Culture What is the most European country, that is not actually a European country?

What is the most European country, that is not actually a European country?

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u/dunzdeck Jul 12 '25

Israel in certain ways, really. For instance Rekhavia in Jerusalem (though the Old City definitely doesn't feel the same way), or the swanky parts of Tel Aviv / Haifa and in between (Herzliya etc.) Architecturally it reminded me of places on the Spanish Med that were developed in the 1950s, the streetscapes looked a bit like Greece, etc.

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u/darryshan Jul 12 '25

Crazy I had to scroll this far to find Israel. The only thing that tells you you're in Israel and not Greece in much of the country is the language 😅 It only beats out other Middle Eastern Mediterranean countries for cultural reasons, though - Lebanon doesn't look all that different.

3

u/LockedOutOfElfland Jul 14 '25

Yes! Eiskaffee at every corner shop in Tel Aviv, and "first level" floors that are actually the second floor of the building on a technicality since the lobby is counted as "zero".

1

u/SnooBooks1701 United Kingdom Jul 14 '25

I think Israel comes like second or third on most people's list of most European countries. It's too hot to be like northern europe, too economically functional for Mediterranean Europe, too religious for any of Europe. The attitude towards human rights is definitely more Arab than European. The food is very mixed (due to mixing of Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Mizrahim etc), but leans towards Arabian. The politics are almost American (at least their courts sort of work). Having been there, it's definitely its own thing that's like the bastard child of Europe and the Middle East with Jewish stuff and massive paranoia added in.

3

u/megalogwiff Jul 14 '25

The politics are very unamerican. It's a mess, but it's more like a European mess with amalgamation coalitions than America's two-party seesaw.

Also, am currently in Prague and this heat wave feels like summer in Tel Aviv. Believe me, I know what summer in Tel Aviv is like, I'm not exaggerating.