ASHDOD

This vigorous young town has overtaken Haifa as the country's major port and has been planned for 350,000 people, which will make it the third largest centre in Israel.

Founded in 1956 on windswept sand dunes close to the ancient Philistine city, Ashdod now numbers more than 135,000 people. While its sandy beaches justify plans to turn it into a leading resort area, Ashdod is at present principally a port city with burgeoning industries. More than 1,000 vessels dock here every year and the industrial site in the north includes electronics plants, wool processing facilities, cosmetics factories, truck and bus assembly plants, and citrus packing, as well as synthetic fibres (rayon and nylon thread) plants. The two power stations provide almost half the electricity consumed nationally.

There will be a great deal of tourism-related development in Ashdod, with the construction of the marina and an additional 2,000 hotel rooms.

Drive up the Yaffa Ben-Ami Memorial Hill in front of the lighthouse for an all-embracing view of the harbour and the beaches. Note: photography is forbidden from this site as it is close to a military area.

Back on Highway No. 4, to your right, heading south, after a few kilometres you cross the bridge called Ad Halom. It was at this point that the Givati Brigade routed the Egyptian invaders on a June night in 1948, after Egyptian reconnaissance units had already reached Yavne.

Drive on towards Ashqelon you might want to turn right to the Nitzanim Youth Village and the Queen Juliana Maritime School. The road there turns right, through the demolished buildings of a former British army camp. Nitzanim is a model village where immigrant and deprived youth are helped to become integrated Israelis. Much of the funds come from Jews in the United States and Europe.

Tourism Information Office: Rehov Hayim Moshe Shapira. Tel. (08)8640485/8640090.

If you turn left at Berekhya junction, you pass Metzudat Yoav, which saw one of the worst battles in the 1948 War of Independence . Six kilometers later, you get to Hamei Yoav, a spa of thermo-mineral waters with a unique hydro-massage installation. Return to the junction, rejoin the highway, and continue south until the signpost directs you right to Ashqelon.