Tripatini2024-03-29T01:08:53Zhttps://tripatini.com/group/palestine/photos/feed/all8 spots worth visiting in Gaza if tourism ever returnshttps://tripatini.com/group/palestine/photos/gaza-palestine-attractions-tourism-tavel2023-10-30T10:33:06.000Z2023-10-30T10:33:06.000ZDavid Paul Appellhttps://tripatini.com/members/DavidPaulAppell16<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12271314287?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>This narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean coast between <strong>Israel</strong> and <strong>Egypt</strong> is tiny – just 141 square miles/365 sq. kilometers (about the size of <strong>Las Vegas</strong> or the British city of <strong>Sheffield</strong>) – and with a population of nearly 2.1 million, making it one of the world´s most densely packed territories. <br /> <br /> And <strong>Gaza</strong> has of course massively been in the news since October 7 because of the tragic and horrific reasons with which by now we´re all too familiar. And when it comes to spots in <strong>Palestine</strong> of interest to visitors, many more non-Palestinians know about the <strong>West Bank</strong> than <strong>Gaza</strong>. But with a rich history dating back more than a staggering 3,500 years, including a bewildering succession of rulers, among them the Canaanites, the ancient Egyptian pharaohs, the Philistines, the Assyrians, the ancient Persian Empire, the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Mamluk Sultanate, the Crusaders, the Ottoman Turks, and more recently (and briefly) by the British in the early 20th century. And fragments of this legacy still remains – it even has three <strong>UNESCO World Heritage</strong> candidates (see below). <br /> <br /> Even before the current <strong>Hamas</strong>-Israel war, access to the <strong>Gaza Strip</strong> for outsiders – and especially tourists – was already extremely limited and difficult. And obviously now for the foreseeable future it will be impossible. But it´s still eye-opening to take a look at what´s here – although how much will end up surviving the Israeli invasion is anybody’s guess – and when the day eventually comes when travel opens up again, consider making the trip, both on its own merits and because Gazans will need all the support they can get.<br /> <br /> Read more in my post <a href="https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/gaza-palestine-attractions-travel-tourism?edited=1" target="_blank">Will Tourism in Gaza Ever Exist? If So, Here Are 8 Spots Worth Visiting</a>.</p>
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<p><span style="font-size:8pt;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaza_port.jpg" target="_blank">Ramez Habboub</a></span></p>
<p> </p></div>Gaza CIty´s venerable Saint Porphyrius Churchhttps://tripatini.com/group/palestine/photos/st-porphyrius-church-gaza-palestine2023-10-30T09:18:37.000Z2023-10-30T09:18:37.000ZDavid Paul Appellhttps://tripatini.com/members/DavidPaulAppell16<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12271298052?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>This Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City´s <strong>Al-Zaytoun</strong> district was built by Crusaders in the mid-12th century and is named after the 5th-century bishop of Gaza, known for his efforts in converting the region to Christianity during the Roman era, and is notable for its beautiful blue-vaulted interior. (Tragically, the church was severely damaged by an Israeli airstrike early during the fighting while it sheltered some 400 people – mainly from of Gaza´s 1,000-member Christian community.<br /> <br /> Read more in my post <a href="https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/gaza-palestine-attractions-travel-tourism?edited=1" target="_blank">Will Tourism in Gaza Ever Exist? If So, Here Are 8 Spots Worth Seeing</a>.</p>
<p><br /> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/catholicism/11953503993" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-size:6pt;">Catholic Church England</span></em></a></p>
<p> </p></div>Gaza City´s Great Omari Mosquehttps://tripatini.com/group/palestine/photos/great-omari-mosque-gaza-palestine2023-10-28T09:17:00.000Z2023-10-28T09:17:00.000ZDavid Paul Appellhttps://tripatini.com/members/DavidPaulAppell16<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12270136501?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>Gaza´s Old City is known for its ancient architecture, narrow alleyways, and bustling markets, and one of its key landmarks, in the <strong>Daray Quarter</strong>, is Gaza´s largest Muslim house of worship (44,000 square feet/4,100 sq. meters. Over the millennia, this site has housed a succession of temples, churches and mosques, and what´s seen here today – sometimes also referred to as the <strong>Great Mosque of Gaza</strong> – largely dates from the early 13th century, though it has undergone a number of restorations. Its minaret. half square-shaped, half octagonal – is an icon of the old quarter. And by the way, along its southern edge is a narrow passageway that´s home to the Gold Market – it´s not Dubai but it (does have its fair share of bling.)</p>
<p>[Subsquent note: tragically, most of the mosque was obliterated by an Israeli air strike in December 2023.]</p>
<p>Read more in my post <a href="https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/gaza-palestine-attractions-travel-tourism?edited=1" target="_blank">Will Tourism in Gaza Ever Exist? If So, Here Are 8 Spots Worth Seeing</a>.</p>
<p><br /> <span style="font-size:8pt;"><em><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Mosque_of_Gaza_(Omari_Mosque).jpg" target="_blank">Dan Palraz</a></em></span></p>
<p> </p></div>Gaza City´s Qasr al-Basha Fort, now Pasha's Palace Museumhttps://tripatini.com/group/palestine/photos/pashas-palace-museum-qasr-al-basha-gaza-palestine2023-10-28T09:12:59.000Z2023-10-28T09:12:59.000ZDavid Paul Appellhttps://tripatini.com/members/DavidPaulAppell16<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12270135300?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>This major Old City landmark dates from the 13th century, built in sandstone by the <strong>Mamluks</strong>, a multinational military caste which originated in Egypt as slave soldiers and mercenaries and whose influence grew to the point where a Mamluk Sultanate ruled <strong>Egypt</strong>, the <strong>Levant</strong> (of which Gaza is a part), and western <strong>Arabia</strong> for 132 years. The second story was added by the Ottoman Turks who came after the Mamluks, and now it serves Gaza´s official museum of antiquities. It´s also known as <strong>Ridwan Castle</strong> (after the Ottoman dynasty which ruled Palestine in the 16 and 17 centuries) and <strong>Napoleon´s Fort</strong> (because <strong>Bonaparte</strong> supposedly briefly used it in 1799 during his army´s military campaign in Egypt and Palestine).<br /><br />Read more in my post <a href="https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/gaza-palestine-attractions-travel-tourism?edited=1" target="_blank">Will Tourism in Gaza Ever Exist? If So, Here Are 8 Spots Worth Seeing</a>.</p>
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<p><span style="font-size:8pt;"><em><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pasha%27s_Palace_Museum_(Qasr_al-Basha),_Gaza_City.jpg" target="_blank">Dan Palraz</a></em></span></p>
<p> </p></div>A trove of the past at the Al Mat´Haf Museum of Archaeologyhttps://tripatini.com/group/palestine/photos/al-mat-haf-archaeology-museum-gaza-palestine2023-10-28T08:55:02.000Z2023-10-28T08:55:02.000ZDavid Paul Appellhttps://tripatini.com/members/DavidPaulAppell16<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12270132478?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>This <a href="https://almathaf.ps/C_webpage/hall_details" target="_blank">small collection of around 350 artifacts</a> is part of a <a href="https://almathaf.ps/">hotel of the same name</a>. This private museum houses several exhibits and a collection of artifacts dating back to the Bronze Age and including the Roman, Byzantine periods, early Islamic period, and Crusader periods, as well as more recent history.</p>
<p>Read more in my post <a href="https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/gaza-palestine-attractions-travel-tourism?edited=1" target="_blank">Will Tourism in Gaza Ever Exist? If So, Here Are 8 Spots Worth Visiting</a>. </p>
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<p><span style="font-size:8pt;"><em><a href="https://almathaf.ps/C_webpage/hall_details" target="_blank">Al Mat´Haf</a></em></span></p>
<p> </p></div>The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazarethhttps://tripatini.com/group/palestine/photos/basilica-church-of-the-annunciation-nazareth-palestine2023-09-08T07:30:52.000Z2023-09-08T07:30:52.000ZAhmed Abbashttps://tripatini.com/members/AhmedAbbas<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/12219356669?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>There are two churches laying claim to be the site where in the New Testament the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary, and a total of 18 in Nazareth bearing some form of the name ¨Annunciation¨ - so you see that announcing is a big deal around here. Anyway, this one´s Roman Catholic, built according to tradition over the site of Mary´s house (the remnants of which can supposedly be seen in the Grotto of the Annunciation on the lower level), and is just the latest in a series, the current version dating back to just 1969.</p><p style="margin:0.5em 0px;color:#202122;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;word-spacing:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:#ffffff;"> </p><p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/flashpacker-travelguide/34257296024/" target="_blank">FLASHPACKER TRAVELGUIDE</a></p><p> </p></div>Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchshttps://tripatini.com/group/palestine/photos/palestine-hebron-cave-tomb-of-the-patriarchs-history-spiritual2022-12-19T10:31:08.000Z2022-12-19T10:31:08.000ZMax Peslinghttps://tripatini.com/members/MaxPesling<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10913516293?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>The most prominent landmark in this West Bank City 19 miles south of Jerusalem is a cave complex which according to biblical tradition was bought in the 6th century by the patriarch Abraham, along with an adjoining field, as a tomb site. Above it is a rectangular enclosure built during the 1st century BCE reign of King Herod, as well as a 7th-century Byzantine basilica (subsequently turned into a mosque) and a pair of small synagogues. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-size:6pt;"><a target="_blank">Djampa</a></span></p><p> </p></div>Christmas in Bethlehem's Manger Squarehttps://tripatini.com/group/palestine/photos/palestine-bethlehem-christmas-manger-square2022-12-19T09:31:48.000Z2022-12-19T09:31:48.000ZMax Peslinghttps://tripatini.com/members/MaxPesling<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10913491061?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>Just south of Jerusalem, the more-than-3,400-year-old city of Bet Lahem (in Arabic, and Bayt Lahm in Hebrew), with a population around 29,000, gets around 65 percent of its revenue from tourism, and this peaks during Yuletide as Christians flock to its 6th-century Romanesque Church of the Nativity and other sites, drawn by its mystique as the purported birthplace of Jesus Christ. And during this time, Mīdān l-mhd (Manger Square) outside the Church of the Nativity is a popular Christmas-Eve gathering place.</p><p><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size:8pt;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christmas_in_Manger_Square_2004.JPG" target="_blank">Footballkickit</a></span></p><p> </p></div>St George of Choziba Monastery near Jerichohttps://tripatini.com/group/palestine/photos/palestine-st-george-choziba-monastery-wadi-qelt-jericho2022-05-25T13:12:26.000Z2022-05-25T13:12:26.000ZMaría Joséhttps://tripatini.com/members/MariaJose<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10514781888?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>Hanging from a cliff in Wadi Quelt, near Jericho in the eastern West Bank, the history of this monastery dates back to the Byzantine era around 500 CE. Destroyed and rebuilt at least twice (most recently at the end of the 19th century), it's run today by Greek Orthodox monks and open to both pilgrims and visitors, who reach it via a footbridge across the wadi (believed by many to be the "valley of the shadow of death" meantioned in the bible).</p><p style="margin:0.5em 0px;color:#202122;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:#ffffff;"> </p><p style="margin:0.5em 0px;color:#202122;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:#ffffff;"><em>(<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PikiWiki_34272_St._George_Monastery_in_Wadi_Qelt.jpg" target="_blank">Dr Avishai Teicher</a>)</em></p><p style="margin:0.5em 0px;color:#202122;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:#ffffff;"> </p></div>