Tag: Be’er-Sheva History

Be’er-Sheva‘s “Old City” is unique–it is the only virtually complete, planned Ottoman-Turkish city (Tur. Birussebi). It was founded in 1900 by the Ottoman Empire to serve as the Negev Region’s administrative, military & commercial capital and to keep the local Bedouin tribes in check. The choice of this location was based on the existence of 4 advantageous criteria favoring Be’er-Sheva at that time: 1) it was the geographical meeting-place of the traditional boundaries of the territories of the 3 largest nomadic meta-tribes, where all the Negev Bedouin interacted; 2) it was the primary source of drinking water, a major oasis, thanks to its many wells and the seasonal watercourse; 3) it marked the safest and most convenient place for crossing the seasonal watercourse; and 4) it stood at a main crossroads, at the intersection of: the Jerusalem-Hevron Road; the road to Gaza & the Mediterranean Sea; and the road southward to the Arava, the Sinai Desert & Egypt.

Detailed information on the “Old City,” plus maps and guided tours are available at the “Abraham’s Well” International Visitors’ Center, located on the Hevron Road at the bottom of KKL St. – 08-6234613.   

The lovely Great Mosque of Be’er-Sheva, ostensibly built by the Ottoman Empire for the local Bedouins (who sponsored its construction from 1897-1906) was never actually consecrated or used as a place of worhip. Until 1953, it served as the Be’er-Sheva Courthouse, when it was repurposed to function as the Negev Museum of Archaeology. In the 1990s, it underwent a long process of restoration, followed by series of court cases to determine the appropriate future use of the edifice. Finally, in 2011, the Be’er-Sheva mosque finally reopened, after further restoration, as the Museum  of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures and, in 2016, it was granted the prestigious Restoration Medal by the national Society for the Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites.

The 2-storey Saraya (Ottoman-Turkish Governor’s mansion) was built in 1903 to be the seat of the Ottoman Empire in the Negev Region. With the end of the Ottoman reign, this building was temporarily used as a home for the British District Officer and then as a girls’ school. With the birth of the State of Israel, the edifice served as Be’er-Sheva‘s first, temporary City Hall, and then, after the Israeli City Hall was completed, it was repurposed to serve as the Negev Museum of Art. Since its restoration and renovation in 2004, it continues to function as the Negev Museum of Art.

The largest and most impressive Ottoman-Turkish edifice in the “Old City” of Be’er-Sheva was originally built in 1914 and was meant to serve as the Agricultural School for the Sons of the Bedouin Sheikhs. However, during the wars that followed, it came to serve as a military headquarters, a field hospital, and a regional veterans’ center. Since its restoration and re-purposing in 2013, this stunning structure is currently serving as the Carasso Science Park (the largest, interactive science museum in Israel).

Located just above the “Old City” on todays Tuviyahu Boulevard, stands the Ottoman-Turkish Railway Station that was inaugurated in 1915. The train tracks, ultimately intended to run from Damascus, Syria, through Jerusalem and Be’er-Sheva, all the way to Egypt, were laid during World War I, to enable the Turks to extend the Ottoman Empire all the way to Africa. In 1927, the Ottoman-Turkish Train Station was closed and the main building served as British Command Headquarters until 1948. Adjacent to the train station, the Ottomans also built a water tower to provide water for the steam-engine locomotives.

The narrow Ottoman-Turkish Railway Bridge, originally built in 1916 across the Be’er-Sheva seasonal watercourse (that becomes a raging river during the winter rains), was meant to enable the transport by train of Ottoman-Turkish soldiers, arms and provisions to the Egyptian front. This lovely arched stone bridge, spanning about 90 meters, was partially destroyed by flooding in 1964. In 2017, it was restored and repurposed to serve as a pedestrian walkway across the seasonal watercourse.

International relations

In the spirit of good international relations, the City of Be’er-Sheva built a monument in commemorating the 298 Ottoman-Turkish soldiers who fell in Be’er-Sheva during WWI. This inscribed obelisk (dedicated in 2002) is located near the Ottoman-Turkish Railway Station just off Tuviyahu Boulevard and an annual memorial ceremony is held there every 31st of October.

To further the special relations existing between Be’er-Sheva and the Republic of Turkey (despite the often poor relations between the Turkish Republic and the State of Israel), a bust of the founding father of Turkey, General Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938) was added to the Ottoman-Turkish Railway Station complex in 2008.

Turkish culture

Belly-dancing is thought to have originated in Egypt (male dancers) and Turkey (female dancers). It’s taught in several community centers by professional instructors, such as Ofra Yifrah and her daughter Tsuf. To register – kivunim7.co.il.

Since “Our future is inspired by our past” – join the Society for the Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites – http://www.shimur.org.il. You are welcome to come to the Be’er-Sheva Office of the Society, now located in the Old City at Mordey ha-Geta’ot 74 and/or call Michal Montal – 054-4606496.

 

       

At sunset on October 31, 1917, the successful ANZAC charge of the 4th (Victorian) and 12th (New South Wales) Australian Light Horse Regiments (4th  Light Horse Brigade) on Be’er-Sheva became the last mounted infantry charge in military history and marked not only the liberation of Be’er-Sheva from the Ottoman-Turkish Empire, but also the beginning of the end of World War I. There are a number of commemorative books and movies describing this remarkable, historic feat, as well as memorials commemorating the event, here and in the United Kingdom, Australia & New Zealand, such as our lovely Park of the Australian Soldier in the Yud-Aleph neighborhood that recounts Be’er-Sheva’s unique WWI history. On Centenary Day, October 31, 2017, the brand new Be’er-Sheva ANZAC Memorial Centre, adjacent to the WWI Commonwealth Cemetery is to be officially dedicated.  

The WWI Commonwealth Cemetery is located just above the Old City and contains 1,238 well-kept graves marked by crosses for the Christian ANZAC soldiers (British, Australian & New Zealander) who died during the battles against the Ottoman Empire (Turks) at Be’er-Sheva and in the Negev Region between 1914-1918. In the last row on the right, there is one Jewish gravestone with a “Star-of’David” on it, belonging to Captain Seymour Van der Berg, killed on October 27, 1917; his commanding officer, Major Alexander Lafone (1870-1917), buried right beside him, was the recipient of the highest British award for bravery, the “Victoria Cross.” There is also one unusual group gravestone, marked with the British Airforce symbol in memory of 8 British pilots who had also perished in the region during WWI; it had actually been prepared out of a respect for their peers by some German pilots who had fought for the Ottoman ‘enemy’ and had later been found in the field and relocated by the British in the Commonwealth Cemetery.

On October 31, 2017, the Centenary Day commemorating the extraordinary Light Horse charge to take Be’er-Sheva from the Ottoman-Turks (that occurred in October 31, 1917), with almost 3,500 guests from Australia, New Zealand & Great Britain present, as well as the Prime Ministers of Israel and Australia, the brand new ANZAC Memorial Centre was dedicated at 4 Ostrovsky St., adjacent to the WWI Commonwealth Cemetery – 073-7689705.

Allenby Park, located in the center of the Old City, was one of the first public parks in Israel, originally created by the Ottoman-Turks in 1902 following a round, axial French-garden design. The British conquest of the Holy Land took place under the command of Field Marshall, Lord Edmund Henry Allenby (1861-1936). Subsequently, this park was named in British Imperial Governor Allenby‘s honor. His bust was commissioned and sculpted by Abraham Melnikov and situated at the hub of the park, atop a high pedestal, but was later damaged during the Arab rebellion of 1938. With the restoration of the park in 2015, the damaged bust was replaced by another sculpted by Etienne Millner, situated on a lower, broader column. In his diary, Allenby wrote: “Beersheba is a lovely place, in which it’s pleasant to be.”

Aref el-Aref (1892-1973), also known by the Bedouin as “Abu Tsufian,” was the ruler of the Be’er-Sheva District on behalf of the British Empire from 1929-1939; he also led Bedouin uprisings against Jewish settlers. As an historian, he published several Arabic books on the history of the Bedouin tribes and on Bedouin law and justice. The distinctive building that had served as his home, built in 1938 in the Old City, was made of specially-brought pink Jerusalem stone.

Built in 1943 (under the British Mandate), Bet Eshel was one of the first 3 pioneering Jewish settlements/outposts in the Negev Desert. In 1947, after the U.N. partition of Israel, relations worsened between the Jewish Bet Eshel settlers and the tens-of-thousands of their surrounding Bedouin neighbors. In response, the British offered the extremely-isolated Jewish settlers the option of evacuation, but they decided not to leave and held their ground throughout the hostilities, even when Be’er-Sheva was under seige by the Egyptians and Bet Eshel was cut off from the rest of Israel. In fact, the first defensive air-attack by the fledgling Israeli Airforce took off from Bet Eshel. During the course of Egypt’s attack in 1948, Bet Eshel was hit by ca.200 mortar shells that caused major destruction, but no casualties.

In honor of the 2017 Be’er-Sheva WWI Centennial, a special art exhibit is being displayed by the Be’er-Sheva Artists and Sculptors Association at the Kaye College of Education, the theme of which is “Be’er-Sheva love stories,” including: love for the city and its residents; love for its soccer team – Ha-Poel Be’er-Sheva; loving couples; love between animals; love of society & culture; and even sexual love–all against the background of Be’er-Shevan scenery. 

At the end of October 2018, the Israeli flag was once again hoisted above the British Tegart Police Fort, centrally located atop the Ottoman Old City of Be’er-Sheva, in celebration of 70 years since the Israeli Police Force established its headquarters there in 1948, after the city was liberated from the Egyptian Army.

***All British/Commonwealth immigrants residing in Be’er-Sheva and the Negev Region are invited to join the AACI – Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, Southern Branch, that welcomes all English-speakers into its fold and offers assistance (Miriam Green – 08-6433954) and English culture. The AACI English Regional Public Reading Library (with over 8,000 books that may be borrowed for a token fee) is currently situated in the Yud-Aleph Community Center.

***LOGON – The Light Opera of the Negev (founded 1981) puts on a semi-professional production of a different operetta or musical each year in English (with Hebrew translation). The players, singers & dancers are volunteer amateurs of all ages and from diverse backgrounds. LOGON is always on the lookout for new talent.

Since “Our future is inspired by our past” – join the Society for the Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites – http://www.shimur.org.il. You are welcome to come to the Be’er-Sheva Office of the Society, now located in the Old City at Mordey ha-Geta’ot 74 and/or call Michal Montal – 054-4606496.