Ashkelon - Landmarks

Landmarks

Ashkelon Khan and Museum contains archaeological finds, among them a replica of Ashkelon’s Canaanite silver calf, whose discovery was reported on the front page of The New York Times. The Outdoor Museum near the municipal cultural center displays two Roman burial coffins made of marble depicting battle and hunting scenes, and famous mythological scenes. The remains of a 4th century Byzantine church with marble slab flooring and glass mosaic walls can be seen in the Barnea Quarter. Remains of a synagogue from this period have also been found. A domed structure housing the 13th century tomb of Sheikh Awad sits atop a hill overlooking Ashkelon’s northern beaches. A Roman burial tomb two kilometers north of Ashkelon Park was discovered in 1937. There are two burial tombs, a painted Hellenistic cave and a Roman cave. The Hellenistic cave is decorated with paintings of nymphs, water scenes, mythological figures and animals.

There was an 11th. century mosque, Maqam al-Nabi Hussein, a site of pilgrimage by both Sunnis and Shiites, which had been built under the Fatimids by Badrul’jamali and where tradition held that the head of Mohammad's grandson Hussein ibn Ali was buried, was blown up by the IDF under instructions from Moshe Dayan as part of a broader programme to destroy mosques in July 1950. The area was subsequently redeveloped for a local Israeli hospital, Barzilai. When his remains were later discovered on the hospital grounds, funds from the Shi'ite Ismaili sect in India were used to construct a marble prayer area, and it is visited by Shiite pilgrims from India and Pakistan.

In 1986 ruins of 4th- to 6th-century baths were found in Ashkelon. The bath houses are believed to have been used for prostitution. The remains of nearly 100 mostly male infants were found in a sewer under the bathhouse, leading to conjectures that prostitutes had discarded their unwanted newborns there. The Ashkelon Marina, located between Delila and Bar Kochba beaches, offers a shipyard and repair services. Ashkeluna is a water-slide park on Ashkelon beach.