Traces of White Mosque (8th cent AD)

Ramla: the mix of old and New

The Church of St. Joseph of Arimathea and the Hospice of St. Nicodemus, Ramla

If Ramla happens to be the Biblical Arimathea, a monument dedicated to St. Joseph, the secret disciple of Jesus, is naturally expected. As per the New Testament, together with St. Nicodemus, St. Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus (John 19:38-42). Today, the catholic church dedicated to St Joseph along with the Hospice of St Nicodemus and its clock-tower are landmarks of Ramla.The monks in the adjacent monastery believe that Napoleon stayed here in 1799. The church was buit in 1296 and rennovated in 1902. I couldn't make it to the church as it was closed again for rennovation.

The Great Mosque, Ramla

The Great Mosque (Al-Jami al-Kabir) of Ramla was built on the foundations of the 12th century crusader cathedral of St. John. It is one of the few crusader buildings in Israel to survive almost completely intact. An excellent book on crusader churches in Israel by Denys Pringle is available online and here is the link. But I warn you that it is too technical and detailed and definitely not for the casual readers.

http://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=RA1-PA187&lpg=RA1-PA187&dq=Great+Mosque+Ramla+crusader+cathedral&source=web&ots=G4fHlz2E2W&sig=G2N5J5D5T0jpLcUelyZEfVuI-8c&hl=iw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result

An Orthodox Jewish Soldier Praying in Bus

Details soon...