Ramla Attractions
Ramla (Arabic Ramleh) lies 19km/12mi southeast of Tel Aviv on the road to Jerusalem and on the north-south road between Haifa and Beersheba. It has a number of buildings of the Islamic and Christian periods, including the White Tower and the Great Mosque, which dates from the Crusader period.
History
The town was founded in 716 by Caliph Suleiman, the second son of Abd el-Malik, builder of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and named Ramleh ("sand") after the type of soil in the area. Its palaces and mosques reflected the splendor of the Omayyad dynasty, whose capital was Damascus. When the Omayyads were succeeded in 750 by the Abbasids members of the Sufi sect left the new capital of Baghdad and came to Ramleh, where there were already Sunnite and Shiite Muslims, indigenous Jews and Jews of the Diaspora, as well as members of the Jewish Karaite sect, which came into existence in Babylon in the eighth century. The Karaites recognize only the Law as written down in the Torah but not the traditions collected in the Talmud. Their largest community is in Ramla.
In the 11th century Ramleh was pillaged (1025) and ravaged by earthquakes (1033, 1067). In 1099 it was taken by the Crusaders, who fought three battles with Fatimid forces here; in 1101 and 1105 they won, in 1102 they lost.
After Saladin's victory at the Horns of Hittim in 1187 the Crusader period came to an end in Ramleh. The conquest of the town by Baibars in 1267 marked the beginning of the Mameluke period, of which the White Tower is a relic. In the 14th century Ramleh's population included both Muslims and Jews as well as Christian monks. In the 17th century the town fell into decay. In 1799 Napoleon spent the night in Ramleh on the way to Akko. In 1917 a British military cemetery was laid out for 2,000 of General Allenby's troops who had been killed in the fighting with the Turks. In 1936, during Arab riots, Ramleh's Jewish inhabitants left the town; then in 1948 it surrendered to Israeli forces without a fight. At that time there were only 1,500 Arabs left in the town, but their numbers have since increased considerably.
History
The town was founded in 716 by Caliph Suleiman, the second son of Abd el-Malik, builder of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and named Ramleh ("sand") after the type of soil in the area. Its palaces and mosques reflected the splendor of the Omayyad dynasty, whose capital was Damascus. When the Omayyads were succeeded in 750 by the Abbasids members of the Sufi sect left the new capital of Baghdad and came to Ramleh, where there were already Sunnite and Shiite Muslims, indigenous Jews and Jews of the Diaspora, as well as members of the Jewish Karaite sect, which came into existence in Babylon in the eighth century. The Karaites recognize only the Law as written down in the Torah but not the traditions collected in the Talmud. Their largest community is in Ramla.
In the 11th century Ramleh was pillaged (1025) and ravaged by earthquakes (1033, 1067). In 1099 it was taken by the Crusaders, who fought three battles with Fatimid forces here; in 1101 and 1105 they won, in 1102 they lost.
After Saladin's victory at the Horns of Hittim in 1187 the Crusader period came to an end in Ramleh. The conquest of the town by Baibars in 1267 marked the beginning of the Mameluke period, of which the White Tower is a relic. In the 14th century Ramleh's population included both Muslims and Jews as well as Christian monks. In the 17th century the town fell into decay. In 1799 Napoleon spent the night in Ramleh on the way to Akko. In 1917 a British military cemetery was laid out for 2,000 of General Allenby's troops who had been killed in the fighting with the Turks. In 1936, during Arab riots, Ramleh's Jewish inhabitants left the town; then in 1948 it surrendered to Israeli forces without a fight. At that time there were only 1,500 Arabs left in the town, but their numbers have since increased considerably.
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White Tower
This Gothic style, square tower, was built in the 13th C. It is known to Muslims as the Tower of the Forty Companions of the Prophet, while Christians call it the Tower of the Forty Martyrs.
Great Mosque
In the Oriental market quarter to the east of the town of Ramla, on the south side of Herzl Street, is the Great Mosque, originally an aisled basilica built by the Crusaders in the 12th century, with a minaret built on the foundations of the church's bell-tower.
St Joseph's Church
On Herzl Street in Ramla to the northwest of the Great Mosque is the Franciscan church of St Joseph, dedicated to St Joseph of Arimathea, who offered his tomb for the burial of Christ.
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