Page 40 - Holyland Magazine - 2009 Edition

Israelimages
Avi Roccah

Visiting Ramle’s subterranean vaults and cisterns is a memorable named after St. Nicodemus who assisted
experience, as is the stop for lunch in the colorful local marketplace. Joseph in taking down the body of Jesus
and wrapping it in fine linen, and then
Nearby Ramle became a Christian focal the tribe of Benjamin and in the vicinity of sprinkling it with myrrh and aloe that he
point during the Crusaders’ march through Lod (Neh 11:33). Others identified it as had brought (John 19:39). This hospice also
the countryside heading up to Jerusalem Ramathaim-Zophim, the birthplace of belongs to the Franciscans, who like to point
in 1099. In June of that year, three days Samuel, thus giving it also the possible out the room in which Napoleon Bonaparte
of rest and reorganization were needed recognition of Arimathea, the home of stayed during his campaign to capture Jaffa
before the Crusader army launched a two- Joseph, a man of wealth, and probably a and the Holy Land in 1799.
pronged attack to capture the holy city of member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in
Bethlehem and then the biggest prize of Matthew 27:57 “… there came a rich man The adventurous can take a paddle-boat
all – Jerusalem. of Arimathea named Joseph, who himself ride in the subterranean world of the 8th-
also was Jesus’ disciple.” century cistern known as St. Helen’s Pool,
Following Godfrey of Bouillon’s ascendancy mistakenly attributed to Helen, the devout
to rule over the Crusader Kingdom of According to the Gospels, as soon as mother of 4th century Roman Emperor
Jerusalem, he brought his armies to Ramle, Joseph of Arimathea heard the news of Constantine. Spread across 600 square
where he launched their attacks against Jesus’ death (John 19:38) “he besought yards and reaching a depth of 30 feet, the
the advancing Muslim Fatimid army from Pilate that he might take away the body of cistern is covered by 24 groined vaults
Egypt. Godfrey defeated the invaders at Jesus; and Pilate gave him leave. He came reflected in the water, each with an opening
the Battle of Ascalon (today’s Ashkelon), therefore and took the body of Jesus.” on the top, so that 24 camels could be
thus securing his reign. The Lordship of Joseph immediately purchased fine linen watered at the same time. Head down the
Ramle was established as one of the vassal (Mark 15:46) and proceeded to Golgotha steep stairs to be transported to the world
states of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, part to take the body down from the cross. The of the fifth Abbasid caliph, Haroun al-
of the County of Jaffa and Ascalon. body was then conveyed to a new tomb Rashid (766-809), who built the cisterns
that he had hewn for himself and his family and later was immortalized in the stories
As in many places in the Holy Land, the out of a rock in his garden nearby, thus of “The Thousand and One Nights.”
Crusaders tried to identify links between donating his own burial place to Jesus.
the names of places they conquered and To round off your visit to Ramle, climb to
biblical references. Ramle, located on the During the 13th century, a beautiful parish the top of the six-story medieval White
western slopes of the Judean highlands, and church was built in Ramle by the Tower, an architectural gem from which
sounded similar to Ramah, a village within Franciscans, who named it St. Joseph. one can get a beautiful view of the nearby
Next door is a hospice with a clock-tower, Crusader basilica built in the 12th century
and later transformed into the Great
Mosque. Looking out across the expanse
of low-lying land, from the coast to the
Judean Hills, you will be gazing at a
landscape that still looks in many places
much as it did in biblical times.

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