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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

First Century Roman Altar Found in Ashkelon

Since the discovery of tombs in the area where an emergency room for an Ashkelon hospital is being built, religious Jews in Israel have protested. Today’s announcement by the Israel Antiquities Authority of the discovery of a Roman altar from the 1st-2nd century AD should strengthen the argument that the tombs are not Jewish.

From the IAA press release:

The development work for the construction of a fortified emergency room at Barzilai Hospital, which is being conducted by a contractor carefully supervised by the Israel Antiquities Authority, has unearthed a new and impressive find: a magnificent pagan altar dating to the Roman period (first-second centuries CE) made of granite and adorned with bulls’ heads and a laurel wreaths. The altar stood in the middle of the ancient burial field.
According to Dr. Yigal Israel, Ashkelon District Archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The discovery further corroborates the assertion that we are dealing with a pagan cemetery. It is an impressive find that has survived 2,000 years. The altar is c. 60 centimeters tall and it is decorated with bulls’ heads, from which dangle laurels wreaths. There is a strap in the middle of each floral wreath and bull’s head. The laurel wreaths are decorated with grape clusters and leaves. This kind of altar is known as an “incense altar.” Such altars usually stood in Roman temples and visitors to the temple used to burn incense in them, particularly myrrh and frankincense, while praying to their idols. We can still see the burnt marks on the altar that remain from the fire. The altar was probably donated by one of the families who brought it to the cemetery from the city of Ashkelon.”

The full press release is here. Three high-resolution photos of the altar are available here.

UPDATE: The story is also reported by the AFP and Haaretz.

Tagged Discoveries