"Ramla - a place off the famous beaten path" Ramla by gubbi1

Preparing for my trip to Israel I was trying to find a suitable place to stop on the way from the airport (Tel Aviv) to Jerusalem that should be located after only a short drive. Here I wanted to get my things sorted and to 'officially' start my holidays. Looking on the map I came across Ramla and started to do some searching in the web to see if Ramla offers some touristic spots. Photos of an old tower on google maps catched my eyes which I then found in the tourism section on the municipal webpage of Ramla. And more interesting places showed up here, some unfortunately closed while my short stay. Anyway I sticked to my plan and stopped in Ramla for an hour. I parked my car beside The Great Mosque (Jama el Amri) and from here walked according to a downloadable touristic route towards the White Tower. Despite the pretty hot weather I could finally again enjoy to soak into history loaded Israel.

White Tower, Ramla, IL

After a first walk through the market I found my way to the White Tower. According to the webpage of Ramla municipal a first tower that stood here was built in the 8th century. It was renovated by the order of Sultan Salah el Dean (Saladin) by the end of the 12th century. Today the area beside the White Tower is an archeological site which can be visited.

Market, Ramla, IL

On my way back I had another look at the market, which is quite busy. It is a nontouristic one, serving the locals.

My plan to stop at the Pool of Arches, a water reservoir, was overrun by the rushing time and is postponed to my next trip to Israel.

• Pros:Interesting, not really a tourist place