HISTORY OF ASHQELON BACK

Ashqelon, one of the five principal cities of the Philistine Kingdom, is associated with Samson and Delilah, and it is easy to believe that the beach was a favourite playground of theirs. Ashqelon was the Philistine harbour and a centre of their culture. After the Philistines killed King Saul, David cried out, ``Publish it not in the streets of Ashqelon...lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice'' (2 Samuel, 1:20).

Ashqelon was later captured by Alexander the Great and became a centre of Hellenistic culture. Under the rule of the Roman lackey, King Herod, it became an important cosmopolitan centre, and remained so under Moslem rule until the city was destroyed in the 13th century during the Crusades. The National Park is situated on the site of ancient Ashqelon.

Some one hundred years ago, the village of Majdal (today Migdal) was founded by Arabs in the Ashqelon area.

Following the establishment of the State of Israel, other communities sprang up around it, including Afridar, founded by South African Jewry, which won the acclaim of many town planners. Together with the Barnea, Givat Zion and Samson districts, they were amalgamated into a town called Migdal Ashqelon, which was granted city status as Ashqelon in 1955.

Today Ashqelon is a restful holiday resort (pop. 60,000 plus) with gardens and shady boulevards leading to a seemingly endless stretch of golden beach, bordered by cliffs. The weather here is warm throughout the year, with rain falling during a few days in winter.