Tourism Archives - Page 77 of 96

Temple Mount Model at Christ Church, Jerusalem

A model of the Temple Mount (Haram esh-Sharif) made by Conrad Schick in 1873 has been put on permanent display at the Heritage Center of Christ Church in Jerusalem. From Haaretz:

The model was made 140 years ago by the architect and archaeologist Conrad Schick, whose work in Jerusalem was supported by the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews. Its details reveal that its creator had access to places where no Western scholar of his day was allowed.
“Every time they dug a hole in the Temple Mount, he ran there to examine it,” said Prof. Haim Goren of Tel Hai Academic College, an expert on Schick’s work.
Schick, who made the model in an orphanage’s woodworking workshop where he taught, crafted it for display at the 1873 Vienna World’s Fair. It’s four meters long and three meters wide.
Like many of Schick’s models, this one had dozens of parts that could be dismantled to show inner, underground areas.
“It’s not only beautiful, it’s also an important research tool, because it was built by a man who visited every pit and understood the topography in a way we can’t fathom,” Gibson said.

The full story is here. You can read more about Conrad Schick at a website dedicated to him. They have many photos of the model at Christ Church, his 1879 model of the Temple Mount, his models at the Schmidt’s Girls School, and others.

Temple Mount model by Conrad Schick. (Photo source)

Tagged Jerusalem, Tourism

New Visitor Center Approved for City of David

In 1995, the construction of a visitor center above the Gihon Spring was halted with the discovery of some massive Middle Bronze towers. Today the ugly shell of the building hovers over the site with no apparent intention of ever being completed.

Yesterday the Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee approved the plan for another visitor center for the City of David, this one located in the former Givati parking lot below Dung Gate (aerial photo here). This is the same area where archaeologists have claimed to have excavated the palace of Queen Helene of Adiabene. Haaretz reports:

The new visitors’ center is to be built above the Givati parking lot and will be called the Mercaz Kedem (Kedem Center). The building will be built on stilts and beneath it there will be an area where visitors can view recently discovered archeological findings. The Elad organization promoted the plan and it obtained the support of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who appeared before the district committee earlier today to voice his support.
The Israel Antiquities Authority’s Jerusalem District director, Dr. Yuval Baruch, also expressed support for the plan, despite the presence of archeological findings under the building. “This is one of the most important projects in Jerusalem in recent generations. It would be impossible to find a serious archeologist with a bad word to say about the conduct of the excavations,” said Baruch. “The building as it stands is approved by the Israel Antiquities Authority and was presented to the authority in dozens of meetings.
All of the changes the Antiquities Authority requested were included in Arie Rahamimov’s plan: the number of parking spaces was reduced, and the height of the building was limited so it would not overshadow the height of the Old City wall (the difference is one meter). There is an important link here between the Ophel Garden, the City of David and the Western Wall and the creation of a direct link between the sites. We led the way to this result.”
The building, designed by architect Arie Rahamimov, will also include a parking lot for the use of visitors to the City of David, exhibition space and classrooms and on the roof, there are plans to build a plaza and observation deck overlooking Silwan and the Old City walls.

The full article includes an artist’s rendering of the new complex.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Givati Parking Lot Excavations, January 2010

Givati Parking Lot Excavations, January 2012

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Tourism

Update: Restoring Israel’s Historic Sites

In February 2010, Israel’s prime minister announced a $135 million plan to restore 150 historic sites throughout Israel. Now, two years later, Haaretz reports on the progress (or lack thereof) in implementing the measure.

The article is largely the result of an interview with the head of the national heritage department in the Prime Minister’s office. Reuven Pinsky says that much planning has been done and by the end of the six-year timetable, two-thirds of the projects will be completed, including 70 large or medium-sized sites and 100 small ones. A full list of sites is not given, but some projects are mentioned.

Other sites included on the list include the Tel Lachish archaeology site in the Negev (where a visitors’ center is to be built); Metzudat Koah (a fortress, also known as the Nebi Yusha police station); Herodion near Gush Etzion, where King Herod’s tomb is located; Gamla and the ancient synagogue in Umm el-Kanatir in the Golan Heights; Tel Arad; the old train station at Tzemah; Hatzer Kinneret and so on.

Lachish, a site not in the Negev but in the Shephelah of Judah, could certainly benefit from a visitor’s center as well as some restoration work on the ruins. When encountering a group of tour guides in training at the tell last month, I mused that this would probably be the last time they ever visited the
site.

The article discusses some political angles and notes that many of the sites proposed for renovation have not yet been approved.

As to which sites are closest to his heart, he refuses at first to say, but later mentions three: Tel Aviv’s Independence Hall, the Umm al Kanatir Synagogue in the Golan, and the archaeological project underway in the heart of Modi’in Ilit. He says dealing with the latter site is like “reinventing the wheel,” because it involves a combination of archaeological excavations and dealing with a Haredi population.

The full article is here.

Lachish from northwest

Tagged Galilee, Golan, Shephelah, Tourism

New Animal Coming to Hai-Bar Yotvata

Fans of Hai-Bar Yotvata Nature Reserve have something to look forward to:

Notice: This cage will soon be populated with cheetahs.

If you like challenging work with wild animals, Hai-Bar is looking for volunteers.

Tagged Tourism

Israel’s Biblical Landscape Reserve

Neot Kedumim is a treasure in the heart of Israel that too few visitors know about. This biblical landscape reserve is located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and includes 620 acres of trees, plants, flowers, and fauna that were common in Israel in the biblical period.

A new three-minute video does a great job of showing the park in its glory (HT: Biblical Flora).

I brought a group of seminary students to Neot Kedumim last week and it was a valuable time for all.

This is one of the few places where one learns with all of the senses. One could spend as little as two hours on a tour or as much as a week without seeing it all. If you have not yet been, you should put this site on your list for your next visit.

The books of founder Nogah Hareuveni are excellent, and I see that Amazon has a few used copies for very good prices (and some copies at very high prices):

Nature in Our Biblical Heritage (from $3.96)

Tree and Shrub in Our Biblical Heritage (from $2.86 and $9.99)

Desert and Shepherd in Our Biblical Heritage (from $84.97)

Neot Kedumim sells these books in their shop for about $30. Shipping is extra.

Tamarisk tree at Neot Kedumim, January 2012

Genesis 21:33 (NIV) “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.”

1 Samuel 22:6 (NIV) “Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul, spear in hand, was seated under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing around him.”

1 Samuel 31:13 (NIV) “Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.”

Tagged Resources, Tourism

Wednesday Roundup

On Sunday the Mughrabi bridge was closed. Hamas called the closure a “declaration of religious war.” The mayor of Jerusalem called the bridge “ugly and dangerous.” Today the bridge was re-opened with a fire truck standing by.

Gordon Franz has written an detailed guide to the “Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times” exhibit in New York City. He has made it available for free on his blog.

The Jerusalem Post has a story and video about the solid gold menorah on display in the Jewish Quarter.

One government committee approved the construction of a hotel complex in the Timna Valley, but an Israeli cabinet minister has vowed to stop it.

It could take 100 years to restore Israel’s rivers, according to the State Comptroller. The report looks at 31 of the country’s major rivers and streams.

The Herodium reminds Wayne Stiles of the Christmas story that never appears on Christmas cards.

Antiquities thieves plundering a second-century site near Shaar HaGai (Bab el-Wad) have been arrested.

The ASOR Blog has links to news in the broader world of archaeology.

The latest issue of DigSight is online.

The Megiddo Expedition is recruiting volunteers for the 2012 excavation.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Judah, Museums, Tourism