Ashdod and Ashkelon

Port of Ashdod (picture taken from the internet)

The coastal cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon, both to the south of Tel Aviv, are not typical tourist destinations.  Neither is even mentioned in our guidebook.  Ashdod is a modern city known for its large and growing port (one of the few deepwater ports in the world to be built on the open sea), and as a center for heavy industry (including one of Israel's two oil refineries).  Ashkelon is another modern industrial city known for its desalination plant (one of the world's largest); for its large and controversial coal-fired power plant (which is in the midst of a major planned expansion); as the northern terminus of the Trans-Israel Pipeline (which transports oil from Eilat on the Red Sea); and as the home of Israel Beer Breweries (which brews Carlsberg and Turborg for the Israeli market - hooray!).  Both cities are close to Gaza and have been targets of rocket attacks by Hamas.  So, why did we go?

We went to Ashdod because Eden has relatives there.  We had a fascinating visit back in August, eating delicious home-made almond cookies and admiring the beautiful view of the sea from their balcony (pictured left and below with telephoto).  What was most memorable were their amazing stories (and their old black and white photographs) of life in Europe before the Nazis, surviving the Holocaust, and then making the circuitous and arduous journey to Israel more than 60 years ago, by land and sea via too many places to recall (Italy, Cyprus, Yugoslavia, etc.).  During Eden's father's visit last week, we went to Ashdod for a second time, and while they all caught up with each other, I took a couple of hours to explore the sights.  Surely, I thought, there must be something worthwhile to see in Israel's fifth largest city.

Indeed, I was pleasantly surprised.  My first stop was a 1,000-year old Arab fortress by the sea.  There wasn't much in the way of tourist information at the site other than a small plaque, and I had to climb through a hole in a fence to get in.  But it was a very scenic spot, and I had it all to myself.

After exploring the ruined fortress, I strolled along Ashdod's long, pretty and uncrowded beach.  I stopped for a Carlsberg overlooking the sea and then for a swim in the warm, calm water.  It was a fulfilling tour, and while I'm not suggesting that Ashdod should be a major tourist destination, I've certainly been stuck in worse places, and I would definitely come back on a warm, sunny day.

Carlsberg in one hand, camera in the other

We went to Ashkelon mainly at the suggestion of Eden's father, who remembered a nearby sight, Yad Mordechai, from his time in Israel nearly 40 years ago.  Yad Mordechai is a small kibbutz in southern Israel, about two miles from the border with Gaza, named after Mordechaj Anielewicz, the leader of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.  In 1948, the Egyptian army, on their way up the coast to Tel Aviv, attacked the kibbutz with 2,500 soldiers, modern weapons and artillery provided by the British, and air support.  The kibbutz had only 130 defenders and a small arsenal of assorted, outdated weapons and ammunition.  But the defenders held off the Egyptians for five days, which gave the Israeli army time to organize a successful defense against the northward Egyptian push toward Tel Aviv.  

Today, visitors can gaze over a reconstruction of the Yad Mordechai battlefield, trenches and all, with a view of Gaza City off in the distance about eight miles away.  There are also numerous commemorative statues and remnants of battle strewn around the site, including a British tank used by the Egyptians and a concrete water tank (pictured left) that was destroyed by the Egyptian army.  It is a very moving and worthwhile site.  There's also a lighter side, as the kibbutz sells freshly made honey, complete with free tastings (my personal favorite was the eucalyptus honey) and photogenic kid-friendly role playing opportunities.

 

After visiting Yad Mordechai, we drove to the Ashkelon National Park, which offers many interesting historic ruins, a beautiful sandy beach, and a very nice picnic and playground area.  

Talia enjoying the Roman Basilica

The ruins shed light on the multiple layers of Ashkelon's long history.  Ashkelon was a thriving city by the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1555 BCE) and the park reputedly contains the oldest arched gate and barrel vault in the world, from 1850 BCE.  The city was apparently the largest seaport in Canaan before being conquered by the Philistines in approximately 1150 BCE.  The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar (who is credited with destroying the First Temple in Jerusalem and whose name no one can pronounce) destroyed the city in 604 BCE.  But Ashkelon was then rebuilt and became a major Hellenistic seaport after the city's conquest by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE.  The city continued to thrive under Roman rule, and the park contains attractive remains of a colonnaded basilica from the 3rd century CE, including Roman statues, sarcophagi, columns and capitals.

Church of St. Mary Viridis with Crusader wall in the background

But the most impressive ruins in the park are from the Byzantine Church of St Mary Viridis, built in the 5th century CE, then destroyed by Arabs in the 10th century, then rebuilt by the Crusaders in the 12th century.  Remains of a Crusader wall form an impressive backdrop to the church and sit dramatically on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean. But alas, like so much on the Israeli coast, the city was pounded into a pile of rubble in the 13th century by - you guessed it - those nutty Mamluks!

Looking through a hole in the Crusader wall

More Crusader ruins by the sea

The beach in Ashkelon

Given the varied attractions at Yad Mordechai and the Ashkelon National Park, Ashkelon certainly deserves more attention from tourists than it gets.  Maybe it's the proximity to Gaza, or the city's industrial character.  Or maybe when the writers of our guidebook visited Ashkelon, their children had alternating, epic temper tantrums, or they encountered a dangerously drunk (and large) Russian pedestrian belligerently wobbling in the middle of the road who refused to let traffic pass.  But even if these alleged acts did indeed occur, we can say from experience (although we didn't take pictures) that it would not be enough to diminish one's appreciation of the highly worthwhile sights that Ashkelon has to offer.