Tourism Archives - Page 88 of 96

Shobak Castle To Become Tourist Destination

Most who see this Crusader castle do so only from a distance on their way to Petra. Plans are underway to attract tourists to stop and shop. From the Jordan Times:

European experts and local officials are looking to develop the southern city of Shobak into an emerging tourism destination.
The project, led by the University of Florence in association with the Shobak Municipality and the EU, aims to take advantage of the historical value and natural beauty of the southern town in order to bolster local development, according to organisers.
Situated on the road to the rose-red city of Petra, Shobak is best known for its Crusader castle, once part of a chain of fortresses stretching across Jordan.
However, the castle and town’s Ottoman-era homes are often overlooked by tour groups who shuttle in and out of Wadi Musa to see Petra a few miles away.
Michele Nucciotti, an archaeologist from the University of Florence, which has been working on developing the archaeology of the town over the last several years, said the project aims to introduce the area to tourists.
“Shobak has a tourist and historical value that has been overlooked. Our job is to develop the city and prepare it for the prominence it deserves,” he said, referring to Shobak Castle as one of the best preserved existing crusader castles.
As part of the project, officials will work to enhance facilities in the castle to enable it to accommodate larger numbers of tourists. Restoration experts will also work to renovate Ottoman and Mamluk buildings in the town for some to be converted into small-scale tourism businesses, he added.
[…]
Originally known as Montreal, Shobak Castle was built in the early 12th century by Baldwin I of Jerusalem as a Crusader stronghold of what was then considered “Arabia”, standing at the ancient crossroads between the Gulf of Aqaba, Damascus and Mecca.
After succumbing to a two-year siege by armies led by Salah Addin in 1189, the castle fell into disrepair before being taken over and renovated by the Mamluks in the 14th century.

The full story is here.

Shobak Crusader Castle from east

Tagged Jordan, Tourism

Bethlehem Church of Nativity To Be Restored

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was built in the middle of the 6th century, making it more than 1400 years old. Unlike Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher, it escaped the Persian destruction in 614 and the Egyptian attack in 1009. The church not only suffers from age, but from the inability of its occupants to cooperate with each other. But now the Palestinian Authority has announced plans to renovate the church. From the Associated Press:

The Palestinian government announced Monday it is planning an ambitious restoration project for the ancient church that marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus, an important Christian site that draws millions of visitors.
The renovation of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity is expected to take several years and millions of dollars, according to Ziad Bandak, an official overseeing the restoration.
Bandak said this is the first comprehensive restoration project on the church since it was completed in the fourth century. He said the roof, pillars and mosaics in the church all need work.
“Rain leaking in has caused great damage to all of those, which led us to move quickly to repair the damage,” Bandak said, adding that the project would also aim to fix general wear and tear on the centuries-old church.
The fortress-like church, built in the classic style with a long central area under a basilica lined with columns on both sides, is dark and damp. The main Christmas event, the Midnight Mass, is celebrated in the 19th century St. Catherine’s Church next door to the Church of the Nativity.
The Palestinian government has appealed to European and Arab nations to help fund the project, Bandak said. He said the three churches that administer sections of the church have agreed to the project. Officials from the Latin, Greek and Armenian churches could not be reached for comment. Their rivalries have often led to fistfights between monks at the holy site.

The full story is here. For modern photos of the church, see this Pictorial Library volume. For historic black-and-white photos, see this American Colony CD.

Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

Tagged Judah, Tourism

Jericho Celebrates 10,000 Years on 10-10-10

Jericho is attempting to capitalize on today’s unique date in connection with its claim to be a 10,000-year-old city. From the AP:

Visitors to ancient Jericho Sunday got a rare glimpse at what archaeologists here say is the largest carpet mosaic in the Middle East, measuring nearly 900 square meters (9,700 square feet).
The small red, blue and ochre square stones laid out in complex geometric and floral patterns cover the floor of the main bath house of an Islamic palace that was destroyed by an earthquake in the eighth century. Since being excavated in the 1930s and 1940s, the mosaic has largely remained hidden under layers of canvas and soil to protect it against sun and rain.
Starting Sunday, a small section will be laid bare for a week, as part of Jericho’s 10,000th birthday celebrations. The mosaic then will be covered up again until the money is found to build a roof that would serve as a permanent weather shield, said Palestinian archaeologist Hamdan Taha.
Biblical Jericho attracts a steady flow of pilgrims, but the small Jordan Valley oasis is making a major push these days to become a magnet for tourists, presenting itself as the oldest city on earth. Marking the 10,000th birthday Sunday is entirely random, though, with archaeologists saying they could be off by hundreds of years in dating the first human settlement in the area.

Where does the 10,000-year-old claim come from? First, the issue is not settlement, as remains of earlier sites have been found around the world. Jericho claims to be unique because of its early fortifications. Second, Kenyon identified remains of a city (with a wall and tower) from the earliest part of the Neolithic period. Some archaeologists date the beginning of the Neolithic period to 8000 BC, or 10,000 years before present.

Massive stone tower at Jericho from the Neolithic period

Over the years, various signs have welcomed visitors to the “oldest city in the world.”

Tagged Tourism

iSrael on the iPhone

iPhone users in Israel can now download an application that provides detailed information about tourist sites in Israel. The free application is called iSrael and has been developed by the Israel Ministry of Tourism. From the Jerusalem Post:

The application has three main sections: sites, tracks and accommodations. Each section can be navigated either by operating the “Around Me” option, which detects the user’s geographic location via GPS and arranges the information by distance from the user’s location; or by choosing the “By Region” option, which presents information according to the part of the country the user wishes to explore. Once a location is selected, users can choose from a list of sites according to their interests. The list includes themes such as archeology and history, nature and animals, holy places, national sites and parks and gardens. Choosing a category opens a list of all the relevant available attractions in the area and users can select a specific site out of the options offered. Clicking on a site opens a new page, which provides a photo and a description of the site as well as helpful information like contact details, hours of operation, a map of the area, a precise address and a link to the attraction’s website. The tracks section allows users to locate tours based on their interest and physical abilities. The section is divided into hiking tours, bicycle tours, vehicle tours and tours for people with disabilities. Each tour contains a description of the sites along the way and a map of the route. For now the selection is fairly limited, but Tourism Ministry officials said that more tours will be available as more are uploaded by the ministry and as other tourism bodies contribute suggested tours.

The full article is here.

Tagged Technology, Tourism

Flight Tours over Israel with Google Earth

Google Earth is a fantastic tool that combines high-resolution aerial imagery with a “flying” engine so that users can travel anywhere in the world in seconds. The problem is that most people don’t know where they’re going. Jay Baggett is on the way to solving this problem for students and teachers of the Bible. His new website, Land of the Bible, features more than a dozen video tours through the 3-D landscape of Israel and Jordan.

After you get an introduction on the home page, you can see a list of the flights in the left sidebar.

You’ll notice that Jay has plans to create many more in the future. If you want a short tour, you can start with “David & Goliath,” which begins David’s hometown in Bethlehem and brings you down to the Elah Valley and the stage for the famous battle. As the video proceeds, the “tour notes” on the right make it clear what you are seeing and why it is important.

Fly-over tour at landofthebible.com

For a longer tour, click “From Dan to Beersheba.” This is a great way to get a feel for the whole land and how one site is related to another. If you want to “pick up the pace,” you can always click the “fast-forward” button; each click doubles the speed of the video.

Most of the tours are located in the “Pilgrim’s tour of Israel and Jordan.” Since most visitors see similar sites on the same basic route, this tour will be useful to many tourists even if they were not on Jay’s trip last year.

The videos require a Google Earth plug-in and they do not seem to work in Firefox. This is a great tool and I look forward to seeing the new fly-overs as Jay finishes them.

Tagged Technology, Tourism

New Store for Bible Geography Publications

One of my favorite book catalogues to browse is that published each year by Carta. As the premiere publishing company devoted to the historical study of the land of Israel, Carta can quickly fill up my wishlist. Among Carta’s best known publications is The Sacred Bridge, by Anson F. Rainey and R. Steven Notley.

If you live in the States (or anywhere outside of Israel), accessing Carta’s products is not easy. They have apparently chosen not to work through the regular publishing channels in the US, thus making it difficult to order their works through bookstores or Amazon. Eisenbrauns has served as their exclusive US outlet for some years, carrying a certain portion of Carta’s publications.

Carta is now going directly to the public through the creation of their own website and webstore.

Now all of their materials are available for easy purchase, though since the company is based in Jerusalem, shipping costs and time reflect international travel. Yet if you plan ahead, order several items at once, and don’t need to return anything, you can now purchase what before required a trip to the bookstores of Israel.

Here are some books and other publications that I would recommend from various categories:

Bible Atlases: The Sacred Bridge or its cheaper abridged version, Carta’s New Century Handbook and Atlas of the Bible. Not recommended: Carta’s Comprehensive Bible Atlas on CD-ROM.
Jerusalem: The Quest and Jerusalem Street Atlas. Not recommended: The Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem.
Biblical Wall Maps: Carta’s Map of Israel
Israel Road Maps and Travel Guides: Israel Road Atlas, Israel National Parks and Nature Reserves, Ein Gedi, Qumran, and Masada.
Biblical Archaeology: The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, Jerusalem in the Year 30 A.D.

Some of these may be available through Amazon-type stores, and even more may be purchased from Eisenbrauns. For the full catalogue, the place to go is http://www.bible-books-maps.com/.

I haven’t even made it to what I expected to be the main point of this post, but given limitations of time (mine and yours), I’ll save that for another day.

Tagged Resources, Tourism