Tourism Archives - Page 67 of 99

Citadel Moat and Kishle Opens Tonight

The Tower of David Museum is hosting an opening event this evening of the Citadel moat and the Kishle. The Kishle has served as a police station for the Israelis, Jordanians, British, Ottomans, and Romans. Some remains have been uncovered from the palace of King Herod. From the official website:

After many years that the Citadel moat was closed to the public, the southern part of Jerusalem’s historic moat has been revived. The ancient builders of the Citadel surrounded the fortress with a dry moat, the first line of defense against enemies. As years passed, the moat served other purposes. It was a market place, a passage way and even a makeshift garbage dump. Excavations in the moat have exposed archaeological remains including an ancient quarry, a ritual bath from the Second Temple, a hewn water channel, secret passageways and a giant stone staircase and pools from the Hasmonean and Herodian eras.
The renewed moat also includes passage to a building that was closed for many years – The Kishla, the Ottoman Prison which was excavated over the last decade and contains remains detailing the history of Jerusalem, from the First Temple period to the establishment of the State. The site is now being opened for group visits. The domed building served as a prison for members of the pre-State underground and evidence of the period remains in a scratched inscription on the walls. Tours and cultural events will take place in the moat and the Kishle.
The public is invited to the opening of the Moat and the Kishle, enjoy music and refreshments. Entrance is free.

This posting indicates that the excavation director, Amit Reem, will be at the event. Guided tours in Hebrew will be available on upcoming Fridays in November for a reasonable charge. An article about the site was published in the Hebrew edition of Israel Hayom last week (page 29).

HT: Joseph Lauer

New City from Citadel of David, tb051908300

Citadel of David
Photo from Jerusalem

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Tourism

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Leen Ritmeyer has begun a new series showing the development of the Temple Mount from the time of Abraham until the Early Muslim period.

Ritmeyer also explains how his forthcoming guidebook on the Temple Mount is different from The Quest.

CoinWeek has an article on the tiniest ancient coins.

Yisrael Hasson is expecting to be appointed the new head of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Scott Stripling describes the four causes of the destruction of antiquities.

Mark Wilson describes his collection of Starbucks mugs from the eastern Mediterranean.

HT: Paleojudaica, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Jerusalem, Resources, Tourism

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Luke Chandler notes that plans are underway to establish a new national park at Khirbet Qeiyafa.

Steven Notley is on The Book and the Spade this week discussing Mary Magdalene and Magdala.

The latest edition of DigSight includes a summary of this year’s expedition to Lachish.

The New York Times explains why smaller archaeological museums struggle to build their collections today.

With the recent discovery of the Hadrianic inscription in Jerusalem, Ferrell Jenkins shares more about discoveries related to this emperor.

The city of Jerusalem has a goal of building more than 1,200 new hotel rooms in the next two years in order to alleviate the shortage and bring down prices.

Shmuel Browns shares some photographs from Israel of a variety of textures.

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Tourism

Life of Jesus Tour with Wayne Stiles

Wayne Stiles is leading an extraordinary tour of Israel that you should consider joining. Three features immediately mark this as a unique opportunity.

1. This tour has an exclusive focus on the life of Jesus. One of the struggles many have on their first tour is the lack of focus, as you jump from one period to another and back again all day, every day.

When you’re zeroed in on the four Gospels, you’ll be making all kinds of connections as you see, listen, and read about the life of the Messiah.

2. The particular itinerary of this trip is outstanding. Not only is it focused on the life of Jesus, you will see all kinds of places you won’t see on any other trip. Wayne gave me a chance to review the itinerary earlier this year and I was highly impressed. After some suggested tweaks, I don’t think you’ll find a better tour schedule.

3. Wayne Stiles has a unique gift for bringing the biblical world into our own. Some teachers are history gurus, but they can’t translate their research into how it affects us today. Wayne is superb at doing this in his books, on his blog, and at the sites. He is passionate, accurate, and faithful.

So that’s my three cents. I am often asked about a trip to Israel that I would recommend. Unless you’re an enrolled college student, I don’t have too many good suggestions. Today I do. I’d encourage you to take the opportunity while you can.

Try out the acoustics at the amazing Cove of the Sower!

Tagged Galilee, Jerusalem, Tourism

Egypt Roundup

The Suez National Museum opened in Egypt last week with more than 2,500 antiquities on display.

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities announced that a restoration project for Meidum will begin immediately in order to improve the site for tourists.

The smallest of the three Giza pyramids will open next month to tourists after a two-year renovation
project.

The Hanging Church is again open after 16 years of renovation.

The Sesostris Canal that linked the Nile River to the Red Sea never existed.

A giant sphinx has been discovered in the sand dunes of California. This plaster figure was built for Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 movie “The Ten Commandments.”

And a recent study shows that Hollywood does not portray archaeologists fairly.

HT: Explorator, Agade

Pyramid of Meidum
Photo from Egypt volume of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Egypt, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Trashing the Emmaus Road

The scandal of the Roman road to Emmaus is detailed by Nir Hasson in Haaretz. This historic treasure on the outskirts of Jerusalem is not only ignored by the authorities, but they permit cemetery dumps and sewage deposits to foul it. Wherever you locate the Emmaus of Luke 24, whether at Moza or Latrun, this was the ancient route that Jesus and the two disciples traveled.

In honor of Sukkot, we took a walk along the ancient pilgrims’ route to Jerusalem, known as the Roman Ascent.

The road, about two kilometers long, begins at the complex known as the Red House at the bottom and ends outside the Givat Shaul industrial zone. It once led from Emmaus (in the Latrun area) via Abu Ghosh to the Old City. Until a few decades ago it could still be seen and was a popular hiking trail.

Today, it’s not so easy to follow. The trail begins at an ancient pool apparently used until Ottoman times. Accompanied by Israel Antiquities Authority architect Shahar Puni, we started out along the unpaved road, and after a few dozen meters found our way blocked by weeds and trees that had fallen during last winter’s snowstorm. To continue, we had to climb over the wide sewage pipe laid along the way, sometimes right over the ancient road. Twenty years ago the pipe burst higher up the ascent, washing away the soil and a good many of the paving stones. Some 700 meters higher up, we spot curbstones for the first time, and perhaps some paving stones under the dirt.

The rest of the article is worth reading.

Roman road to Moza, possible Emmaus, tb030803361

Roman road to Emmaus
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Judah, Tourism