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Ashdod - Israel's fastest growing city

Like so many cities in Israel, Ashdod is young and vibrant, yet steeped in ancient history and surrounded by nature.

A Mediterranean port city, Ashdod has undergone dynamic growth in the past decade as it has welcomed more new immigrants than any other city in Israel. Nearly 70,000 newcomers, mainly from the former Soviet Union, have swelled the city's population to 190,000, making Ashdod Israel's fastest growing and fifth largest city.

But Ashdod is no stranger to new residents. Its strategic location on the country's southern coastal plain has been inhabited for almost four millennia. Archeological excavations have uncovered remains from no fewer than 23 cities since the Bronze Age. While it is best known as the capital of the Philistines in Biblical times, Ashdod was also a major port of the Greek and Roman Empires, and home to a thriving Jewish community until the seventh century. Unlike the modern city, which encompasses the port, the ancient city was situated on the via maris, the trade route near, but not directly on, the sea. A separate port city on the coast was known as Ashdod Yam ("Ashdod-on-the-Sea"). By the Middle Ages all that was left of this once great port was a small crumbling village.

Modern Ashdod was founded in 1956 (and received municipal status some 12 years later), as Israel's second deep-water seaport, after Haifa. Ideally placed to serve Jerusalem 66 kilometers to the east, and Tel Aviv 40 kilometers to the north, the port is now on the verge of overtaking Haifa Port in size. Ashdod Port handles 46% of the country's sea freight and the Jubilee Port, currently under construction and due for completion in 2004, is expected to double its capacity.

"Despite intensive development," stresses Mayor Zvi Zilker, "we have made every effort to build an attractive city which offers residents a high quality of life." Indeed, its broad boulevards, spacious and aesthetic public areas and facilities have not only attracted new immigrants but many young couples from Greater Tel Aviv, drawn by the city's less expensive housing. Moreover, employment opportunities are not lacking: the city is home to major companies in the electronics, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, plastics, metals, paper, wood and furniture sectors.

New industrial zones and high-tech parks are planned. In contrast to its pace of development, Ashdod is surrounded by natural reserves, carefully preserved by the city's planners. On the southern bank of the Lachish River near the sea is an attractive park inhabited by moorhens and turtles. The Mevo Ashdod reserve, north of the city, has an East African savannah landscape with herds of gazelles living among huge eucalyptus, fig, pomegranate and almond trees. The Ashdod Sand Park near the port is comprised of huge sand dunes of granite and Nubian stone from the Ethiopian mountains, which reached Israel's southern coast via the Nile River and the Mediterranean currents and winds during millions of years of evolution. The dunes have a Saharan eco-system including rare gerbils and reptiles.

"In the next phase of development we intend tapping our tourist potential," explains Mayor Zilker. "With our sea-front promenade, historical sites and natural reserves, we can become a premiere tourist location." Ashdod has more beaches - 10 kilometers of coast - than any other city in Israel. The recent completion of a 550-berth marina and the city's first major hotel is only the first stage in an ambitious plan to make the city a major Mediterranean tourist destination.

Ashkelon
Israel has one of the world's most beautiful coastlines, with white sandy beaches and spectacular Mediterranean views. The coast stretches to the northern border with Lebanon at Rosh Hanikra and south to the Gaza Strip. Just north of Gaza and 36 miles south of Tel Aviv is the southernmost stop for most tourists, the city of Ashkelon.

Israel Fact
Archaeologists have unearthed a large cemetery for dogs in Ashkelon. They do not know the significance of this cemetery or why dogs would have merited this treatment.

Like so many other places in Israel, Ashkelon is built upon the ruins of past civilizations. This was one of five Philistine city-states (along with Gath, Gaza, Ekron and Ashdod). The city also plays a role in biblical history as the place where Delilah cut Samson's hair to sap his strength (Judges XIV-XVI). Ashkelon was also a great trading center because it lay along the Via Maris, the route linking Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.

The city was first settled at the end of the third millennium B.C.E. It was conquered by the Philistines in the second half of the 12th century. After the Israelite conquest of the rest of the area, the two peoples engaged in several hundred years of conflict. After King Saul was slain by the Philistines, David lamented:

Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. (II Samuel 1:20)

Even after David defeated the Philistines in much of the rest of the country, he could not dislodge them from Ashkelon. This was finally accomplished by the Assyrian conqueror Tiglath-Pileser III in 734 B.C.E. After roughly 600 years in the region, the Philistines disappeared forever.

The city passed through the hands of the region's subsequent invaders before enjoying a renaissance under the Greeks and Romans. It is believed that Ashkelon was the birthplace of Herod (in 37 B.C.E.), who enlarged and beautified the city, constructing a summer house, palaces and an aqueduct. Under the Romans, Ashkelon was also granted the rare privilege of being exempt from taxes. It became a flourishing trade center and, in particular, a major wine producer.

The city became a Christian city in the Byzantine period and was captured by the Muslims in 638 C.E. The Crusaders came next in 1153, but were defeated by Saladin. Richard the Lion Heart led the Crusaders back, but they were eventually driven out in 1280 by Sultan Baybars. The city was then abandoned until 1948 when the Jews of the new State of Israel began to rebuild it.

Today, Ashkelon is enjoying a growth spurt, fueled in part by immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The population is now roughly 90,000. This is primarily a place to hit the beach, though some interesting archaeological ruins are continuing to be unearthed. These include a Byzantine church, a Roman tomb and one of the oldest arched gateways in the world. One of the most notable recent finds is a bronze and silver calf that is more than 3,500 years old and may be distantly related to the biblical tale of the golden calf.