BiblePlaces Blog - Page 419 of 571

Update on Gamla Fire

The fire noted here yesterday was 25 separate fires according to one article, and it scorched an estimated 17,000 acres in the Golan Heights.

Haaretz’s report includes a series of photos showing the damage. The Jerusalem Post also has an updated article with a photo showing the fire next to the ruins.

The damage to the ancient site was severe, according to this Haaretz article:

“The entire reserve has been burned,” the reserve’s ecologist Yael Horesh said yesterday.
[…]
Authorities believe the blaze, which broke out at Gamla in the early hours yesterday morning, was started by an IDF tank, whose metal tracks gave off sparks when moving over rocks. Strong winds quickly fanned the fire, which in a few hours destroyed much of the park’s vegetation and threatened to destroy incubation cages where rare eagle chicks were being reared.
[…]
Ancient Gamla was gravely damaged, as were the reserve’s fauna and flora. Several raptors’ nests were also burned, including an eagle owl’s nest and an Egyptian vulture’s nest in which two chicks had hatched a few days ago. A brooding vulture couple abandoned its nest with eggs in it.
The Parks Authority plans to reopen the site within the next few days, Amitai said. He added that entrance fees would be waived in the hope of encouraging visitors and raising awareness of the need to repair the damage.

Tagged Golan, Tourism

Fire Causes Damage at Gamla

The Golan Heights is an important training ground for Israel’s military, but their exercises yesterday started a fire that damaged the area of Gamla. From the Jerusalem Post:

A fire broke out on the Golan Heights early on Wednesday morning, causing significant damage to the Gamla nature reserve. Nature reserve personnel have evacuated Griffon vulture nests located in the reservation and acclimatization cages where vulture chicks are prepared for release into the wild.
The fire started as a result of IDF exercises in the area, aided by the very warm weather.
More then ten different fire fighting teams, from all over the area, aided by soldiers and nature reserve personnel are trying to control the fire.

The story continues here.

While not mentioned in the New Testament, Gamla was an important city in the first century. Gamla is best known today as the site where Jewish defenders attempted to hold out against the Roman forces led by Vespasian in the revolt of AD 66-70. For more photos and explanation, see the Gamla page at BiblePlaces.com.

Gamla from east

Tagged Golan, Tourism

Israel Museum To Open July 26

Two months from today, the $100 million renovation of the Israel Museum is slated to be completed and the doors of the new galleries opened to the public. From Art Daily:

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, inaugurates its renewed 20-acre campus, featuring new galleries, orientation facilities, and public spaces, on July 26, 2010. The multi-year expansion and renewal project was designed to enhance visitor experience of the Museum’s art, archeology, architecture, and surrounding landscape, in complement to the original architecture and design of the campus. Led by James Carpenter Design Associates of New York and Efrat-Kowalsky Architects of Tel Aviv, the $100-million project also includes the comprehensive renovation and reconfiguration of the Museum’s three collection wings and the reinstallation of its outstanding encyclopedic collections. […] The Israel Museum has seen tremendous growth since the 1965 opening of its original landmark campus, designed by Alfred Mansfeld and Dora Gad as a modernist reference to Jerusalem’s Mediterranean hilltop villages. The Museum’s architectural footprint has increased ten-fold since its opening, and its collections have grown significantly throughout its history, particularly in the past ten years. The project, which broke ground in June 2007, encompasses 80,000 square feet of new construction and 200,000 square feet of renovated and expanded gallery space within the Museum’s existing 500,000-square-foot architectural envelope. The $100-million capital campaign supporting the Museum’s campus renewal, completed in December 2009, is the largest collective philanthropic initiative ever undertaken for a single cultural institution in the State of Israel. The Museum is also nearing completion of an endowment campaign, and has raised nearly $60 million toward its $75-million goal, which will bring the institutional endowment to a total of $150 million, comprising the largest endowment for any cultural institution in the country.

Tomorrow, May 27, the museum will honor International Museum Day, and admission to the museum is free to individuals. Details (in Hebrew) are here.

Tagged Jerusalem, Museums

Damascus Gate, Then and Now

Damascus Gate, early 1900s

This photo, taken by the American Colony photographers in approximately 1910, shows Damascus Gate on the northern side of the Old City of Jerusalem. At the time, the Ottoman authorities were building new shops lining the street outside the gate. These structures were removed in later years.

Notice also on the skyline of the Old City that the domes of the Hurvah and Tiferet Israel synagogues are visible. These were both destroyed in the 1948 war. The most prominent tower belongs to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, dedicated in 1898. The domes on the right side belong to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The recent photo below shows the area in the early morning before traffic picked up.

Damascus Gate, January 2010

Tagged American Colony Photos, Jerusalem, Then and Now

New Website: See the Holy Land

Seetheholyland.net “opened its doors” yesterday to encourage pilgrims to visit the Holy Lands. The site was created by a retired journalist in New Zealand, and it is filled with numerous articles and photographs. Some issues addressed include:

What is this Holy Land?
A pilgrim is not a tourist
When should I go?
Is it safe?
In a group, or solo?
Are the sites authentic?
What should I pack?
Tips for travelling
Could I lead a pilgrimage?

In addition, the most popular pilgrimage sites are described and illustrated. This looks like a terrific resource.

Tagged Tourism

Burger King to Close in Israel

The Whopper is leaving Israel, nearly twenty years after the Burger King chain opened in the country. Israelis apparently prefer the taste of Burger Ranch, or so say the owners who are converting the 52 Burger Kings into Burger Ranches. From Arutz-7:

Orgad Holdings, Burger King’s Israeli franchise, announced Sunday that Israel’s 52 Burger Kings will be converted to Burger Ranches, and will stop operating in August.
[…]
Burger King is not the first American company to fail in Israel. Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Wendy’s have also come and gone. McDonald’s which opened in Israel in 1993 and has 131 branches, is still serving Big Macs throughout the country.

I don’t remember Wendy’s, but I do remember when the very first McDonalds opened up in Israel. A group of us made the drive from Jerusalem down to Tel Aviv for the taste of a non-kosher American hamburger. McDonalds has a thriving business now, but it almost never opened in Israel because the government refused to allow the fast-food chain to use their preferred type of potato.

The story is also reported by the Jerusalem Post.

Tagged Tourism