 Hi, welcome back to my YouTube channel. I share videos about things to do with living in Israel. One of my all-time favorite means of procrastinating is putting random flight destinations into Google flights or sky scanner and plotting my next overseas adventure. Thanks to a mixture of business travel and the advent of low-cost flying to and from Israel, in the past year alone I've managed to get to Istanbul, Venice, Turin, Frankfurt, the US, and a few other layover destinations all ex-Israel. However, I've recently been hankering for some more of the beaten path travel destinations. So I went on to the Bangoran Airport Departures Board, looked up the departure list, and found some destinations that I'd either never heard of or which sounded otherwise less commonplace. Here's what I came up with. Just note before I get to it that this list was compiled in July of 2023, and destinations and routes are always subject to change. Baku Baku is the capital city of Azerbaijan, and this route is served out of Israel by Azerbaijan Airlines, which as the name suggests is Azerbaijan's flight carrier. The flight between Bangoran and Baku is just over three hours in duration, making this destination actually just about as close as flying to some parts of Italy. Baku is located on the coast of the Caspian Sea at Azerbaijan's eastern edge. This city has a population of 2.2 million. Its highlights include an old city, a cultural center, and a boulevard. Butumi Another somewhat less conventional travel destination with direct connectivity out of Israel is Butumi in Georgia. Butumi is Georgia's second largest city, and the Georgian Embassy in Israel recently put on Georgian food exhibition showcasing some of that country's delicious traditional fare and wine. Both Elal and Israel operate direct connectivity between Bangoran and this Georgian city. Like Baku, Butumi is relatively close by. Flying time is only about two hours traveling eastbound across the Black Sea. Butumi is the capital of the autonomous Republic of Ajara within Georgia, and is located only 20 kilometers or so north of Georgia's border with Turkey, which is a well-established travel destination for Israelis. Belgrade Belgrade is the capital and largest city in Serbia, and there is also direct connectivity from Israel thanks to the efforts of both Air Serbia, the national airline, and Arkea. Flying time is closer to three hours flying to the northwest out of Israel. Belgrade is a city with a population of about 1.4 million people. Its top attractions include the Belgrade Fortress, Orthodox churches, and although Serbia is landlocked, the city even has a beach on a river island that was artificially converted into a peninsula. Beer in Belgrade can be procured for two to three euros, which is an awful lot less the money goes for in Israel. Mahaj Kala Now we've reached the limits of my abilities to pronounce unusual travel destinations even somewhat correctly. Mahaj Kala is the capital and largest city of Dagestan in Russia. Dagestan is a Republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe along the Caspian Sea. You can fly direct to Mahaj Kala thanks to Red Wings Airline. Red Wings Airlines is a Russian carrier which operates a 28 aircraft fleet of mostly narrowbody aircraft, including the A320 and the A321. Flying time between these two destinations is about three hours and 30 minutes. Dagestan is a Muslim majority region, and most places that sell alcohol apparently operate as so-called fish bars, where you can buy smoked fish and order a beer as an accompaniment. Mahaj Kala is known for its colorful mix of cultures being homes to diverse groups like avars, kumiks, dargons, lax, and more. Tashkent Another more unusual travel destination that has direct connectivity out of Israel is Tashkent, which is the capital city of Uzbekistan. The country's flag carrier Uzbekistan Airways operates the direct service with the flying time of close to five hours. This appears to be a seasonal route as I was only to find tickets available during the summer months. Again, this route involves traveling east from Israel. Uzbekistan is bordered by lots of interesting Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan to the south, which is one of the most seldom visited countries in the world. It also borders Afghanistan, Zhikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Tashkent is the most popular city in Central Asia, with the population of some three million residents. The city is historic, with the written history stretching back more than 2,000 years. Tourist attractions include a bazaar, a mosque, and a state museum. I hope that this video has given you some ideas for some more imaginative travel destinations that can be reached with direct flights out of Israel. This is only a partial list, and I may follow up with a part two and three, once I've had a chance to do a little bit more digging. Thanks for watching, subscribe to get more videos.