Names of the Levant homeland proper with the northwest coastal region of the Levant, centered at Phoenician cities such as Ugarit, Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos. Today, this place is usually equated with modern Lebanon and the coast of modern Syria. Also there is a modern town in Turkey called "Finike" which is thought to have derived by the Lycians who traded with Phoenicians in ancient times. Israel: Judea: The kingdoms of Israel and Judah were Iron Age Semitic nations spanning from Edom to Assyria. Today the modern State of Israel controls much of the former territory of the ancient Israelite/Judean kingdoms. According to the
Akkari, Syria Akkari, Syria Al-'Akkari () is a town in northwestern Syria administratively belonging to the Homs Governorate just north of the border with Lebanon and west of Homs. Nearby towns include Talkalakh to the east, Marmarita to the northeast and Safita to the north. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) al-Akkari had a population of 2,127 in 2004. It was historically situated in an important crossroad for those moving between Turkey and coastal city of Beirut, Lebanon. A major road hub during both the Roman and Ottoman periods, the Palestine Railway built by the French passed through the al-Akkari.