Ashkelon

Understand

Ashkelon is one of the oldest cities in Israel and has history that goes back more than 5,000 years. Ashkelon is especially famous for its history as one of ancient Philistines' major cities and in the biblical story of Samson.

The ruins of many civilizations such as the Canaanites and Byzantines are located underneath the city. Many artifacts that have been recovered in archaeological digs are on display around the city. Good samples can be seen in the national park and in Afridar center.

The city has been part of Israel since the 1948 independence war. Since then, the city has become a center for several waves of Jewish immigrants ("olim"). Newcomers from Iraq, Morocco, the ex-USSR and Ethiopia are the majority population. Since most of them came with little or no money, the city's socio-economy status has generally been low. Its seaside location now attracts wealthier populations. But the occasional rockets that have been launched towards Ashkelon from Gaza Strip have put a new damper on its growth. On the south-facing windows of newly constructed apartment buildings, you can see sliding metal covers designed to minimize the damage caused by bombardments.

The beach line in Ashkelon is by far cleaner than the ones in the central region of Israel, and there are a few lovely hotels along it.

Get around

There are 16 local bus lines running every day until midnight and covering most parts of the city. The local bus lines are operated by Dan BaDarom.

The most frequent bus lines are lines 4/4א and 5. The beach and the marina are served by bus lines 3, 6, 18 and in July and August line 9 is operated. Line 8 has a single trip each day each direction as this line is a cemetery service but it stops also at southern parts of the city.

The fare is about ₪4 per ride.

Taxis by agreed fares (negotiable, usually between ₪20-23 anywhere inside Ashkelon) or meter.

You can walk across the entire city in less than 2 hours.

Yango ridesharing service is available.

See

The dunes - in the south, near the southern industrial zone, one can still spot untouched dunes with wild animals.