Central District, Israel · Asia
Ramla is worth a stop: 10 minutes from Sitriyya, 38km from Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Ramla is a town located in Central District, Israel. With a population of 76,246, it is an important destination in Asia.
On a road trip, Ramla sits in Israel, where you drive on the right. It's in the Asia/Jerusalem time zone. Below you'll find where to stay, things to do nearby, and everything you need to add Ramla to your route.
Ramla (Hebrew: רַמְלָה, romanized: Ramlā), also known as Ramle (Arabic: الرملة, romanized: ar-Ramla, local pronunciation: [ɪrˈrɑmle]), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs.
The city was founded in the early 8th century CE byRead more
the Umayyad caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik as the capital of Jund Filastin, the district he governed in Bilad al-Sham before becoming caliph in 715. The city's strategic and economic value derived from its location at the intersection of the Via Maris, connecting Cairo with Damascus, and the road connecting the Mediterranean port of Jaffa with Jerusalem. It rapidly overshadowed the adjacent city of Lydda, whose inhabitants were relocated to the new city. Not long after its establishment, Ramla developed as the commercial centre of Palestine, serving as a hub for pottery, dyeing, weaving, and olive oil, and as the home of numerous Muslim scholars. Its prosperity was lauded by geographers in the 10th–11th centuries, when the city was ruled by the Fatimids and Seljuks.
It lost its role as a provincial capital shortly before the arrival of the First Crusade (c. 1099), after which it became the scene of various battles between the crusaders and Fatimids in the first years of the 12th century. Later that century, it became the centre of a lordship in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a crusader state established by Godfrey of Bouillon. The city declined in the Ottoman period, and 19th-century visitors described it as a town of only a few thousand inhabitants in a state of decay.
Ramla had an Arab-majority population before most were expelled during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The town was subsequently repopulated by Jewish immigrants. Today, Ramla is one of Israel's mixed cities, with a population 76% Jewish and 24% Arab.
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Ramla offers many attractions including tourist sites, museums, parks, and local restaurants. Explore famous landmarks, scenic roads, and natural wonders on our interactive map and plan your visit.
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Ramla is located in Central District, Israel, Asia. The coordinates are 31.9262 latitude, 34.8635 longitude.
Ramla has a population of approximately 76,246 people, making it a town in Israel.
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8 notable places within an hour's drive.
restaurant
A Jaffa hummus counter running since 1971, famous for masabacha made with whole chickpeas and extra tahini. It sells out and closes by mid-afternoon, and the queue starts well before that.
17 km · about 20 min drive
landmark
One of the oldest port cities in the world with 4,000 years of history, now an artists' quarter with galleries, restaurants, and views of Tel Aviv's skyline.
18 km · about 20 min drive
museum
Israel's official memorial to the Holocaust, with deeply moving exhibits and a striking modernist museum built into a mountainside.
34 km · about 40 min drive
cathedral
Christianity's holiest site, built on the traditional locations of Jesus's crucifixion and burial.
38 km · about 45 min drive
landmark
A walled sacred city of one square kilometer containing holy sites for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam within four historic quarters.
38 km · about 45 min drive
landmark
The holiest site where Jews can pray, a 2,000-year-old limestone remnant of the Second Temple retaining wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.
39 km · about 45 min drive
landmark
The iconic gold-domed Islamic shrine on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, built in 691 CE over the sacred Foundation Stone.
39 km · about 45 min drive
cathedral
One of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world, built over the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
41 km · about 45 min drive
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