Ramla
Home of the White Mosque, Square Minaret, and Abbasid cisterns. Ramla was a spanking brand new city built in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad Caliphate that had set up its capital in Damascus. Later in the 8th century the new king on the block would be the Abbasid Caliphate centered in Baghdad.
The name Ramla originates from the Arabic word Raml meaning sand. Indeed the entire area is part of the coastal plain. The ground is deep in sand grains that arrived slowly over the course of millions of years, via the Nile River. The golden sand is great for beach goers and those that like building sand castles. I've dedicated many a weekend to such empire building with my children. Here in Ramla the Umayyad's built the real thing. That is to say an entire city that would guard the entry from the port of Jaffa into the hills of Judea and Jerusalem.
This 2nd Muslim Caliphate was simply huge. It holds the distinction of being the 7th largest empire in World history and importantly larger than any miniature sand empire I have ever built. The Umayyad's were bent on raising the importance of their capital in Damascus and most importantly elevating Jerusalem to a holy site that would rival its enemies governing in Mecca and Medina. That’s right, it was during this time that Jerusalem was being rebranded for Islamic consumption and Umayyad dominance. The Umayyad's would declare Al Aksa (meaning the farthest mosque) to be in Jerusalem as the Koranic location where Muhammad made his night journey. The Umayyad's would build todays Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount over the ruins of the Jewish Temple and traditional site where Abraham is thought to have brought his son Isaac for sacrifice. Yes the same Umayyad's that were building Ramla.
Left behind after earthquakes and forgotten wars are some Abbasid cisterns that reveal past glory of a long forgotten city. Descending into one of these cisterns one enters an architectural evolutionary window into what would become known as Gothic architecture. Conveniently the municipality has partially filled a cistern and made available several row boats to circumnavigate the columned arches that are supporting the roof. Rowing amusingly, one looks up and can see the beginnings of pointed arches as opposed to barrel vaulted Roman arches. These arches from the 8th century are thought to have been either native to the local area or imported from the Abbasids in Baghdad. The pointed arch architecture would then be exported to Europe perhaps at the time of the crusades and become prominent in medieval castles. The gothic churches in Europe would be constructed with thinner walls and more window light was introduced with beautifully decorated stain glass. This underground amusing row boat cistern, surprisingly reveals this archeological thread in architectural evolution.
Not far away, standing majestically, is a square white limestone minaret above the ruins of what was the white mosque. Usually one is accustomed to seeing round phallic Minarets. This square minaret though comes from a later period. After the Crusaders had left the region, the Mamlukes from Egypt ruled the Land of Israel and would construct this magnificent minaret tower. Those young enough can climb the many, many stone steps to a height of 35 meters and get panoramic views in all directions. Ramla is off the beaten track but has a rich past with many hidden gems in the shifting sands of time. It is truly a city worth a visit.
steps to a height of 35 meters and get panoramic views in all directions. Ramla is off the beaten track but has a rich past with many hidden gems in the shifting sands of time. It is truly a city worth a visit.
