Palestine is the name the Romans gave in the second century C.E.to a region of the present-day Middle East situated on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea west of Jordan. The name is derived from the GreekPalaestina,or "Land of the Philistines," a seafaring people who settled a small coastal area northeast of Egypt, near present-day Gaza, around the twelfth century B.C.E.
Palestine first competed at the Summer Olympics in 1996. The Palestinian National Authority is represented on the International Olympic Committee by the Palestine Olympic Committee, which has sent teams to compete at each Summer Olympics since 1996 under the IOC country code PLE. Palestine has been recognized as a member of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) since 1986, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1995.
Palestine has been represented at the Summer Olympics with a small team since 1996 competing in athletics and swimming.
They have competed in the Asian Games since 1994 with only one entrant and won their first medal in 2002 with a bronze in boxing at the games in Busan.
Football is also an extremely popular sport in the region with the Palestinian Football Association created in 1928, joined FIFA the year after and attempted to qualify for their first world cup in Italy 1934.
The country has a temperate climate with dry, hot summers often cause droughts in the summer months with temperatures reaching 34°C and mild winters with temperatures dipping to around 8°C.
Almost 70% of the 7 inches of annual precipitation falls between the months from November to February.
Palestinian culture is influenced by the many diverse cultures and religions which have existed in historic Palestine, from the early Canaanite period onward.
Cultural contributions to the fields of art, literature, music, costume and cuisine express the Palestinian identity despite the geographical separation between the Palestinian territories, Palestinian citizens and the diaspora.
Palestinian culture consists of food, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, customs, and comprising the traditions (including oral traditions) of Palestinian culture.
