Ashkelon or Ashqelon is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, 50 kilometres (30 mi) south of Tel Aviv, and 13 kilometres (8 mi) north of the border with the Gaza Strip.
Ashkelon
Depiction of Askalon (Ashkelon) in the Umm ar-Rasas mosaics, 8th century CE
The area of modern Ashkelon cover the land of: Al Majdal, Hamama, Al-Jura, Al-Khisas and Ni'ilya. The ruins of Ascalon are also shown on the left hand side. Images from the 1871–77 PEF Survey of Palestine.
The beginnings of the modern city of Ashkelon shown in the 1950s Survey of Israel. The built up area labeled אשקלון (Ashkelon) is the area previously known as Majdal. To the left is Afridar. The ruins of Hamama, Al-Jura, Ni'ilya and Al-Khisas are also shown.
Southern District (Israel)
The Southern District is one of Israel's six administrative districts, the largest in terms of land area but the most sparsely populated. It covers most of the Negev desert, as well as the Arava valley. The population of the Southern District is 1,086,240 and its area is 14,185 km2. Its population is 79.66% Jewish and 12.72% Arab, with 7.62% of other origins.
The route from Jerusalem to Ashdod
Geographical distribution of the main ethno-cultural communities in the Southern District in 2008.
