Today the feast of Purim is celebrated in Jerusalem (it was yesterday elsewhere in the world), and the Jerusalem Post carries a column on a site in Iran that tradition identifies as the tomb of Mordechai and Esther.  Iran has thus far been outside of my areas of travel, so I do not have anything to contribute to this particular discussion.  The Book of Esther is one of the most brilliant literary compositions, and as I read through it with family and friends on Monday night I was struck by Mordechai’s words to Esther: “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish” (4:14).  My first response was to marvel at the way that God has protected his people, time and again, over the millennia.  My later response was to consider the striking parallel with the rise of a new Persian threat against Israel and those who will or will not act to stop it.  I will leave that for your own consideration and quote here the first few paragraphs of the JPost column by Michael Freund:

A few months ago, the normally hostile Iranian regime took the rather unusual step of adding a Jewish holy site to its National Heritage List. On December 9, 2008, Iranian news outlets reported that the tomb of Mordechai and Esther, the heroes of the Purim saga, would now be under official government protection and responsibility.
The move cast a brief spotlight on the site, which is well-known to Iranian Jews but largely unfamiliar to those outside the country. And with Purim being celebrated this week, it is worth taking a moment to ponder this relic of our ancient past.
The mausoleum housing the shrine of Mordechai and Esther consists of a simple brick structure crowned with a dome which was built five to seven centuries ago over the underground grave sites. It is located in the northwestern city of Hamadan, about 335 kilometers west of Teheran. According to tradition, Hamadan is believed to be the site of the city of Shushan, which played such a central role in the events described in the Book of Esther.

The column continues here.

Purim Party, Megiddo excavation team, March 1967
with Yigal Shiloh, Immanuel Dunayevsky, Yigael Yadin, and Amnon Ben-Tor

Children in Purim costumes, 1981
Photos by David Bivin, Views That Have Vanished CD

The medieval ruins at Acco have been well preserved and restored, but a visit to the biblical tell of Acco is quite disappointing.  Plans are underway to improve conditions, with a government grant of more than $5 million (23 million NIS) for the “Tell Akko” Tourism Project. The Israel Antiquities Authority report describes part of the project: 

The tell is a historic site that extends across c. 200 dunams and constitutes an important landmark at the entrance to the city. The renewed site combines the historic spots that existed in the region with modern attractions for the entire family, and includes a system of footpaths and bicycle trails, vantage points, archaeological finds and stations providing information on archaeology, history and ecology. Among other things, it will be possible to learn there about the manufacture of glass and the production of purple dye as they were done in the past in the same region, remains of which were found on the tell.
In addition, in September 2009 an “open theater” will be established on top of the southern slope of the tell, which will be used for large public events such as theatrical and musical performances….
The director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Mr. Shuka Dorfman said, “This important enterprise is putting into practice the vision of the Antiquities Authority of exposing the archaeological remains to the public at large. The Israel Antiquities Authority is acting to make the antiquities sites as accessible and comprehensible as possible for the visiting public by means of preparing the sites, vantage points, archaeological exhibits and information stations that cover a variety of topics. In this way Tel Akko, which has not been fostered to date and was damaged over the course of time by development activity and natural hazards, will become a recreation venue for the residents of Akko and the region, and for tourists, and will connect them to the rich cultural heritage of Akko”.

HT: Joe Lauer