Historically, Ramle has been an important waypoint for Jewish, Christian and Muslim pilgrims making their way from Jaffa to Jerusalem.
We will begin our day by visiting the Center for Karaite Judaism in Israel, visit their Synagogue and hear about their unique form of religion.We will continue to the Grand Mosque of Ramla which was probably a crusader church before it was taken by Saladin and converted to a mosque. The local muslim neighbors who run the mosque encourage jewish groups to enter the mosque and learn about their mosque, Muslim prayers and festivals.
We will also see from where the Europeans adopted their Gothic style of Architecture.
From there we will walk to the Shuk to experience the colorful sights, ethnic sounds and mouth watering smells of the market.
A turn off the market to the north takes us to the Franciscan Order Rd. Here we will see where the Catholic, Armenian, and Muslims built hostels to host the pilgrims that passed by this narrow road on their way to Jerusalem. Appreciate some of the architectural styles from earlier periods and find out how these different ethnic groups co-exist.
Finally, we will take row boats out in the oldest functioning under ground water reservoir in the country. The Pool of Arches.