Location: Map
Ashkelon (also Ashkelon, Ashqelon or Askalon, Hebrew: אשקלון,
Arabic: عسقلان) is a city on the southern Mediterranean coast of
Israel. The modern city has extensive beaches and one of the most
modern marinas in Israel; tourists are also interested in the
excavations in the city's national park.
The port city of
Ashkelon is the southernmost city on Israel's Mediterranean coast,
located just 13 km from the Gaza Strip. The Arab village of
al-Majdal was the site of an outpost of the Egyptian Expeditionary
Force from May 1948. After the Egyptians withdrew in the Israeli War
of Independence, the Arab residents abandoned the village and were
resettled in Egypt in accordance with an Israeli-Egyptian agreement;
the new Israeli development city was founded to the north and east
of the ancient settlement mound and Majdal was incorporated as a
city district. The modern city center developed around the Afridar
district.
Ashkelon National Park
The national park with the archaeological
park is located on Tel Ashkelon in the south of the present-day city and
is managed by the Israel National Parks Authority.
Ashkelon
National Park. Tel.: +972(0)8-673-6444, Fax: +972(0)8-673-4227. Open:
Summer 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Winter 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Price: 29/15 NIS.
Near the entrance are the remains of the 2 km long city wall with
the Canaanite city gate as the most important sight. The city gate with
the 2 m long passage is built from mud bricks and is considered to be
one of the oldest vaults in the world. A silver-plated bronze calf was
found in a Canaanite sanctuary, which is on display in the Israel Museum
in Jerusalem.
a footpath leads along the cliffs in a southerly
direction
in the central part of the park there are picnic areas,
water points and toilets and access to the beach.
the Romanesque
basilica is 110m long and 35m wide, the central courtyard is surrounded
by rows of columns. A statue of the winged goddess of victory Nike and
the Egyptian goddess Isis were found here.
past the fountain of
Antillia, a footpath leads to the Byzantine 1 church of Santa Maria
Viridis, which was destroyed in Arab times and restored under the
Crusaders.
a footpath leads along the former city wall around the
ancient city.
Other sights in the city of Ashkelon
The Migdal
district developed in the area of the Arab village of Majdal. The
pedestrian zone with numerous shops, boutiques, snack bars and pubs is
worth seeing.
Ashkelon Khan Museum, Ha Azma'ut Square. Tel.: +972
(0)8-6727002. The historical museum of the city of Ashkelon is housed in
the former Arab inn (khan) in the Migdal (Majdal) district. Here you can
find, among other things, a replica of the silver-plated bronze calf
from the Canaanite period. Open: Sun-Thurs 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 4 p.m.-7 p.m.;
Fri 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Price: free admission.
A second
center of Ashkelon is located around the equally old city quarter of
Afridar.
In the courtyard of the Afridar Center, Roman sarcophagi are
on display in an open-air exhibition (open 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Sun-Fri, free
admission).
The ruins of a Byzantine church from the fourth century
are on Zvi Segal Street. A mosaic floor with Greek inscriptions (Psalm
23:1 and 93:5) has been preserved from the north wing.
Not far
from there on the beach promenade is the tomb of Sheikh Awad from the
Mameluke period (13th century).
A Roman-Hellenistic tomb with
four underground burial chambers was discovered in 1937 near the marina;
it is currently not open to the public.
Swimming at one of the various beaches in the city area: Bar Kochba Beach is located in the middle of the marina. Delilah Beach is to the south. Here you will also find the Ashkeluna Aqua Park with water slides, etc.
By train
Ashkelon Train Station is connected to Tel Aviv by two
train lines (from there you can continue to Binjamina, where you can
connect to trains to Haifa). One or two trains run per hour; a single
trip to Tel Aviv costs around 25.00 ₪. The rail connection continues to
Be'er Sheva in the southeast.
Unfortunately, the train station is
4.5 km from the city center around Migdal and almost eight kilometers
from the archaeological park, which means it is no longer within easy
walking distance; visitors arriving by train have to rely on a taxi or
the city bus connections.
By bus
Various buses from the Egged
company connect the Ashkelon Central Bus Station with the most important
cities in the country.
By road
Highway 4, which runs further
north as a motorway, connects Ashkelon along the coast with the greater
Tel Aviv area, road 3 leads northeast to the main road 40 (via Rehovot
to the greater Tel Aviv area and to Ben Gurion Airport) and to the
modern toll highway 6.
Road 35 leads almost exactly east to
Kiryat Gat and road 34 leads southeast to Be'er Sheva, road 4, which
leads south, ends at the border crossing to Gaza, which is currently
closed to travelers.
By boat
The Ashkelon marina can only be
reached by private boats, there is a commercial port in the very south,
and there are no regular passenger or car ferry connections.
The distances in the city and especially to the train station, which is located a little outside of town, are not short; there is a city bus network.
The old town center of Migdal with its numerous shops, boutiques,
snack bars, bars and banks is the place where the residents of Ashkelon
like to do their shopping; part of it is a pedestrian zone. Car traffic
in the streets of the city center is dense, people stop and park in
impossible places; it is much easier to find parking spaces within
walking distance.
The bakery on Eli Cohen Street is worth a visit; it
is open around the clock and offers savory and sweet baked goods fresh
from the oven.
There are various shopping malls on the outskirts of
the city.
In the city with a predominantly Jewish population, Shabbat
is observed and only a few grocery stores are still open on Friday
evenings.
Cheap
Nobi Restaurant, Tsfanya Street (near Afridar). good
shwarma.
in Migdal there are several inexpensive snack bars and
restaurants
Apart from the usual petty crime, there are no threats in modern Ashkelon. However, the city, which is only 13 km from the Gaza Strip, has been the target of rocket attacks by Palestinian extremists since 2008. Due to the proximity, the warning time to reach the air raid shelters is extremely short (30 seconds), and rockets aimed at the city area are countered with the help of an electronic missile defense system.
Slightly north of the ancient settlement mound Tel Ashkelon, numerous
bone and flint finds were found as evidence of settlement in the
Neolithic period. In the Middle Bronze Age (2000 - 1500 BC) there was a
powerful Canaanite port city here, the ramparts and the city gate made
of mud bricks testify to the size of the city; as a trading city on the
Via Maris it retained its importance. As mentioned in Judges 1:18 EU,
the city was not initially taken by the Israelites. The Egyptian Pharaoh
Ramses II conquered the city on his campaign against the Hittites and
later an Egyptian sanctuary was built here.
From 1150 BC the city
was taken by the Philistines and belonged to the Philistines' Five
Cities League, who were in constant conflict with the Israelites. The
King of Ashkelon was unable to hold his own against the Assyrians under
King Tiglath-Pileser III, who also conquered Gaza, although there were
repeated uprisings against the Assyrian rulers and satellite kings.
After the Assyrians withdrew in 640 BC, the city probably fell to the
Egyptians again and was taken by Alexander the Great. The city now
became a center of Hellenistic culture and retained its independence
under the Hasmoneans and Herodians. Even during Roman rule, the city
retained a mixed Roman and Jewish population and flourished until the
Byzantine period.
The city of Ascalon came under Arab rule after
636 and retained its importance on the "Via Maris". With the arrival of
the Crusaders, the city was the target of the conquerors of the Holy
Land, but was not taken until 1153 after a siege. In the decades that
followed, rulers changed until Ashkelon was captured and destroyed in
1270 under the Mameluke Sultan Baibar. The city fell into disrepair, and
from the 15th century onwards the Arab settlements of Majdal and Jora,
which was later founded near the ancient settlement mound, gained in
importance; during the Mandate period, weaving was important.