Tourist Attractions

The highlight of the archeological finds in Lod is one of the most magnificent Mosaic Floors ever discovered in Israel, which was uncovered in June 1996 during road widening work on Halutz Street, when rescue excavations were carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority.  The discovery of the Mosaic aroused great interest among the general public, who flocked to see the find, and the subject received extensive media coverage in Israel and abroad.
The Mosaic Floor is rare in its beauty and quality. It measures 180 square meters (10 x 18 meters) and is remarkably well preserved. It dates to the late Third and early Fourth Centuries CE. The Mosaic is part of a Roman villa belonging to one of the wealthiest residents of Lod (Diopolis) during the late Roman Period. The Mosaic Floor is distinguished by its superb artistic style, with the animals depicted in a realistic and natural manner, allowing for accurate identification of the species and type of animal. The Mosaic Floor depicts magnificent ships and sea creatures, which may indicate that the owner of the magnificent villa was a seafarer and therefore chose these scenes to adorn his home.
This Mosaic is one of the few Mosaics preserved in Israel from this period, and it is also the most complete and best known preserved one in Israel to date. The magnificent Mosaic Floor in Lod is undoubtedly the most impressive of all the floors in Israel and one of the most impressive in the entire ancient world. This tourist attraction, the most impressive in the city, attests to the importance and wealth of the City of Lod during the Roman Period.
The Lod Mosaic Center is currently being established in cooperation between the Lod Municipality and the Israel Antiquities Authority, thanks to a donation from the Shelby White and the Leon Levy Foundation. The Center will serve as a dignified entrance and impressive gateway to the city, as well as a source of local pride, and a connection to the long history of the City of Lod. After being displayed in some of the world's most prestigious museums, the Lod Mosaic is returning to its place of discovery in the Old City of Lod. As part of the Center's design, emphasis is being placed on creating innovative, attractive, and up-to-date content for different audiences. A visit to the central space will be accompanied by interactive content that will stimulate the senses and attract visitors from various audiences. An open garden will be built in front of the Center, covering an area of approximately 2 dunams. The garden, which connects Struma Street and Halutz Street, creates a shaded and sheltered focal point in the heart of the built-up area, serving as a green lung inspired by the Roman gardens and parks depicted in the Mosaic. The garden will serve as a gathering place for visitors and guests, as well as a place for residents of the City and neighboring cities to relax, play, and meet. The development will include playful elements related to the Roman Period benches and shaded pergolas.  It will be easily accessible for all pedestrians.

Khan al-Hilu, one of the most magnificent and largest Khans remaining in Israel, is located in the center of the Old City of Lod. It was active from the Mamluk Period until the end of the British Mandate. The structure of Khan Hilu is square. The entrance to the Khan was through a wide, high gate set in the southern wall. The gate is decorated with two arches with an ornate cornerstone in the center. The upper arch still has the hook that held the oil lamp that illuminated the entrance. The lower arch is decorated with a checkerboard pattern, and on both sides of the gate are two columns resembling benches. These items were used during the Mamluk Period. The open rooms to the left of the entrance gate were used as shops facing the street.
Although today the Khan is one of the few buildings that have survived in the Ottoman part of city, in the past it was a crowded city center, with a market, a Hammam (bathhouse), a guard station, and a water well. Around Khan al-Hilu were workshops where agricultural produce was processed into finished products, oil presses, flour mills, a factory for producing sesame oil and tahini.  There were weaving houses where woolen sheets were woven for building tents (the woolen threads were spun by the women of Lod in their homes). Ironworkers made horseshoes, wooden cartwheels, and agricultural tools.
During the Mandate, the Khan was operated by the Khalta family from Lod. The family leased the Khan from the Muslim Board of Trustees in Jerusalem and earned a living by renting rooms and providing services.
In addition to maintaining the Khan, the family sold sweet lupine seeds (turmus). The lupine seeds were soaked in large barrels placed in one of the Khan's rooms. When the lupine was ready for sale, the family members would walk through the streets of the city and announce their wares in loud voices, “Turmus hilu, turmus hilu,” which means “sweet lupine.” Over the years, the family and the Khan became known as “Hilu,” which means “sweet.”
The Lod Municipality, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism, through the Government Tourism Corporation and the Lod Economic Company, is working on plans to turn the impressive building into a center for authentic traditional fairs and exhibitions of the city's various communities. The rooms of the Khan will be used as art galleries and activity workshops for visitors, and the Khan's courtyard will be used for large events. The development will include easy access paths and seating areas that incorporate elements unique to the Old City of Lod.

An area reflecting the history of Lod and the where the three religions are concentrated and coexist is located here.  The Sha'arei Shamayim Synagogue, the Al-Omari Mosque (Great Mosque), and St. George's Church are located side by side in Lod.
These holy sites formed the core of Lod, with residential neighborhoods and public institutions, including markets, a Khan, and oil presses, located nearby. These institutions also served the residents of the villages in the Modiin lowlands and the Lod Valley, which is why Lod was considered the “capital of the agricultural periphery.”  Access to the center of Lod was via a main road that entered Lod from the east (today Dr. Mordechai and Chava Friman Street and Hashmonaim Street). The Peace Sculpture stands in the Peace Park near the Ramat Eshkol Community Center (Chicago Community Center).
The sculpture was created by Israeli painter and sculptor Yigal Tumarkin. It was unveiled in the late 1970s to mark the signing of the Peace Agreement between Israel and Egypt. The sculpture is made from pieces of tanks and weapons that were “broken into pieces” and designed in the style of an ancient temple. The sculpture was placed in the center of the Peace complex, where a synagogue, a mosque, and a church stand side by side, and is intended to symbolize the brotherhood and friendship between different peoples and religions.

The Church is located in the center of the Old City, next to the Al-Omari Mosque. It stands on the site where Christian tradition marks the tomb of St. George, considered the Patron Saint of the Greek Orthodox Church. According to Christian tradition, in the 4th century CE, George was executed by order of the Roman Emperor Diocletian for refusing to publicly renounce his Christian faith. He was buried in his hometown of Lod. A Church was built over his grave, and the City of Lod was renamed from “Deiopolis” (City of God, as it was called by the Romans) to Georgiopolis (named after Saint George). His uncompromising faith, which cost him his life, earned George the status of “Saint.” His behavior was seen by Christianity as proof that faith in God and justice gives man the strength to overcome hardship and adversity. This approach is illustrated on the surface of the door on the lintel of the church, which shows Saint George slaying the dragon with his spear, symbolizing the forces of evil and hell.
The Church was originally built during the Byzantine Period, destroyed during Muslim rule, rebuilt during the Crusades, destroyed again, and rebuilt as a Greek Orthodox church in 1870. It is a center of attraction for many Christian pilgrims, and on November 16 each year, the date on which George is traditionally buried in Lod, ceremonies and processions are held here as part of “Eid al-Lid,” the Lod Festival.

The Al-Omari Mosque (Great Mosque) is located in the center of the Old City, adjacent to St. George's Church. The Mosque complex was built in the 13th century by order of the Mamluk Sultan Baybars on part of the site of the Crusader Church of St. George, which was destroyed by the Mamluks during their conquest of Lod. The Mamluks used ashlar stones, granite columns, marble, and beams left over from the destroyed Crusader Church to build the Mosque.
Today, the Mosque complex is entered through a gate in the northern wall, but during the Ottoman period, the entrance to the Mosque complex was through a gate in the western wall. Beyond the Mosque wall is a covered courtyard with a “Wudu,” a water basin where worshippers purify themselves before entering the Mosque to pray. The water flowed into the Wudu from a well located near Khan al-Hilu and also supplied water to the nearby hammam. The water from the well was salty, which is why it was called “Malha” (salt). On the eastern side of the Wudu, you can see a section of the clay pipe that carried the water. The rooms on the western wall of the mosque open onto a covered patio that connects to the small courtyard. The patio and courtyard serve as a “Courtyard Mosque” because the Mosque Hall is too small to accommodate all the worshippers. To the left of the entrance to the mosque stands a column bearing an inscription. The column survived from the Crusader Church of St. George, which was built in the form of a Basilica and contained a central hall with a high ceiling and two lower-ceilinged aisles on either side. Above the entrance gate to the Mosque are decorative elements that were commonly used during the Mamluk Period. Two rows of columns divide the Central Hall of the Mosque into three spaces. On the southern wall of the Mosque, in the “Qibla,” is the “Mihrab,” a niche indicating the direction of prayer toward the holy city of Mecca. To the right of the Mihrab is the “Minbar,” the platform from which sermons are delivered.
The Al-Omari Mosque is also known as the Great Mosque and serves as the main Mosque for the Muslim residents of Lod. The annexes of the Mosque house a Women's Mosque and a kindergarten. The entrance to the Great Mosque is adorned with an inscription stating that it was built by: “Our Lord, the magnificent Sultan, the support of the world and religion, father of all conquests, Bibers Ben Abdallah, right hand of the Amir of the Believers.” For some seven hundred years, it has served as the Central Mosque of Lod.

Abir Yaakov Synagogue was the first Synagogue established in Lod, populated by Jewish immigrants from all over the world after the liberation in the War of Independence. The Synagogue was founded by immigrants from North Africa, and for several months Rabbi Israel Abuhatzera, known as the “Baba Sali,” prayed there. In recent years, after a long period of diminishing attendance and decline, the Synagogue has been renovated and is enjoying a renaissance.

The House of Arches is an impressive stone structure built of intersecting arches resting on wide bases. The structure is divided into three rows of arches, each built in different historical periods. The House of Arches is a multi-stage structure built of local Kurkar stone (aeolian quartz sandstone). The topography of the structure is uneven, and three wings of the building can be distinguished, varying in ceiling height and ground level.
Three architectural styles indicate three main construction phases. The impressive vaults that characterize the structure can be divided into three groups: the vaults in the northern wing are particularly monumental in terms of their height and width, the size of the arches, and the quality of construction. The building stone and architectural quality suggest that the structure was once a magnificent building of great importance and impressive volume. These vaults are probably associated with the Crusader period. The middle and southern vaults are associated with the Mamluk and Ottoman periods, respectively. During the Ottoman period and the British Mandate, the building was used as an oil press. The oil presses are located on the outskirts of the ancient center of Lod. They usually include traditional facilities for producing olive oil and facilities for producing sesame oil, tahini, and soap. The oil presses operated mainly during the Ottoman and British periods and were the industrial center of Lod, which was based on the production of various oil-related products. Most of the oil presses were owned by Muslims, but some were owned by Jewish entrepreneurs who tried to develop the first industrial enterprises in the Land of Israel. These oil presses ceased operations in 1948, but some of them remain intact in all their glory.
The arched building will be renovated and developed into an Arts and Culture Center. Performances, lectures, and artistic activities will be held there. The activities will focus on preserving and connecting with the local community.

The Masbana is located near the renovated Lod Market. It was a soap factory that operated during the late Ottoman period and early British Mandate days. The soap was made from a solution containing low-quality olive oil. The olive oil solution mixed with boric acid was boiled in a metal boiler, the water evaporated, and the liquid in the boiler solidified into a paste. The paste, or solid soap, was cut into pieces with a string and stamped with the factory's symbol using a hammer. The Mizrahi Oil Press was considered advanced for its time, thanks to its mechanization and motorization, which enabled it to absorb large quantities of raw materials and process them in a relatively short time. The soap factory operated for only a few years, until the building was damaged by an earthquake in 1927.

Jindas Bridge is located at the northern exit of the City of Lod, between Route 40 and the railway line leading to the city from the north. It is named after an Arab village that once stood on the site of the present-day settlement of Givaton. It is also named after the Mamluk Sultan Baybar who built it in 1273 on the main Mamluk postal road leading from Egypt to Syria.
The bridge is built on large, pointed arches that divide the stream of the Ayalon River, which can be particularly strong in winter. On both sides of the arches of the bridge are two figures of lions devouring small mice, symbolizing the Mamluks' victory over the Crusaders.  Between the animals is an inscription in Arabic praising Baybars and praying to Allah.
Above the keystone of the central arch on both sides of the bridge is a plaque with an inscription stating that the bridge was built by "the Mighty Sultan A. Tahar Khan A. Din Baybars, Son of Abdullah...Under the administration of the submissive slave Ala A. Din A. Suak in the year 671 of the Hijra, which is the year 1273 of the Christian calendar."
On the panels on either side of the inscription is engraved the image of a mythological animal trampling a smaller animal. The mythological creature, which is either a lion or a cheetah, is the symbol of the Mamluk Sultan Baybars, during whose reign the Crusader rule came to an end. The relief depicts the Sultan's mighty power and the bitter fate awaiting his enemies.
Due to the inscriptions and relief, the bridge was attributed to the Mamluks, but recently crosses were found carved into the mud-covered foundations. These findings indicate that the bridge was built by the Crusaders to ensure regular traffic during the winter months on the roads connecting the port cities with the capital Jerusalem. The Mamluks renovated the bridge and wrote the inscriptions. It is believed that the stones used to repair the bridge were taken from the ruined Church of St. George.

Sabil Suvayach is located on Hashmonaim Street, opposite the “Atid College” building. ‘Sabil’ is an Arabic word meaning “trough.” It is a structure that provided drinking water, built in the late 19th century. The water was pumped from a well in the back of the building and flowed through openings in the wall into a trough at the front. The unique feature of this “Sabil” is that it is probably the first structure built in the southern part of ancient Lod.
In Israel, Sabils were built on main roads that served as traffic arteries. In Lod, the Sabil is located at the intersection of two roads;  “Rohav Road,” which was on the Jerusalem-Jaffa axis and passed through Lod (today Dr. Mordechai and Chava Friman Streets and Hashmonaim Street), and the path that led from Roach Road to the center of ancient Lod and served as the main entrance to Ottoman Lod.  In the past, the path was paved and bordered by carved stones.
The Sabil was built by Haj Yihye, who lived in Lod during the Ottoman Period. He saw many people passing through the city but noticed that there was not enough water for them. Therefore, he decided to build a water drinking fountain on the main road.  After digging the well and building the water fountain, it became clear that the water was salty. Devastated, Haj Yahya passed away, and the fountain was apparently left unused.
The water drinking fountains are a testament to the way of life and transportation that prevailed in the Land of Israel until the Mandate period. During this period, the authorities began to pave the roads and develop a modern road system suitable for motorized traffic. The Sabil in Lod is a charming spot that recalls the city's unique character as a crossroads.

The well is located on Jerusalem Boulevard, which is a section of a road that once stretched across the length of the Land of Israel. The well served people and the animals that accompanied them on merchant trading trips, military campaigns, and journeys from one destination to another. People from different places would gather around the well to exchange experiences and information. Thus, the area around the well became a social and cultural hub. The structure is built of evenly sized stones and covered by a dome that gives it a unique appearance. The upper layer of the structure is decorated with a cornice designed in a “checkerboard” pattern. On both sides of the entrance to the structure are a pair of low columns known as “benches.” It is customary to attribute the use of these architectural elements to construction during the Mamluk period in the 13th-16th centuries.
wellhead – made of sandstone set into the floor. Water was drawn from the well using a bucket attached to a rope. The grooves created by the rope rubbing against the sandstone are clearly visible on the wall. Second, water troughs – the water that was drawn was poured into troughs located on the inner wall below the window openings. The animals put their heads through the openings to drink the water in the troughs. Installing the troughs inside the building ensured that the water and the building remained clean. The Arabs called the well “Bir Zibak,” which means “sulfur well.”

ancient Sycamore Tree growing opposite the “Be'er Shalom” (Well of Peace). When she traveled from Jerusalem to visit the “Aliyat HaNoar” - youth immigrants, Henrietta Szold would rest in the shade of this tree.  The dome-shaped structure of the “Be'er Shalom” added a special touch to the place. Starting in the mid-1930s, Henrietta Szold headed the “Youth Aliyah Office,” which brought as many Jewish youth as possible from Germany to Eretz Israel. During World War II and afterwards, the Aliya Office's activities expanded and it was involved in bringing Jewish youth from Europe and Eastern countries to Israel. The youth were educated in social youth groups established in groups, moshavim, agricultural schools, and field study centers.  Henrietta Szold devoted her entire life to working with young people, whom she considered her children, and was known as the “Mother of Youth Aliyah.”
developed with the sycamore tree may have stemmed from its visual similarity to “Rachel's Tomb” on the “Road to Efrata.”  Her status as “Mother of Youth Aliyah” is also comparable to that of our Matriarch Rachel, who is considered the “mother of the sons” in Jewish tradition. However, unlike Rachel, who “mourns her sons who are no more,” Henrietta Szold saw the reward for her work in bringing the sons back to their homeland.
The Sycamore Tree became beloved by the Jews in Israel thanks to a legend that tells how the Hasmonean Brothers (the Maccabees), were saved from death at the hands of the Seleucid army by finding refuge in its thick trunk.
Today, the Sycamore Tree is a memorial site for Henrietta Szold – the woman and her work. In 1974, thirty years after her death, the Hadassah Women's Organization erected a memorial wall with a commemorative plaque. In the summer of 1981, a memorial ceremony was held at the site, during which the street connecting Jerusalem Boulevard and Hashmonaim Street, which lies on the road to Jerusalem, was named after Henrietta Szold.
A new memorial plaque was affixed to the memorial wall in the summer of 1991 during a world conference of the Hadassah Women's Organization.
The Sycamore Tree commemorates Henrietta Szold and her work in bringing Jewish youth to their homeland, while the tree and the Well of Peace symbolize Lod's uniqueness as a “City of Passage.”

The building currently used as “The Station – Lod Youth Center” is located on Gertbul Street and served as the “A-Lid Station” on the railway line that was inaugurated in September 1892 and connected Jaffa to Jerusalem. The train station was located west of the built-up area of the village of A-Lid, in the heart of agricultural land where vegetable gardens, fruit orchards, and olive groves grew. With the launch of the railway, access for residents of Lod and the surrounding villages to the urban centers of Jaffa and Jerusalem, as well as to the settlements along the railway line, improved.
As part of the improvement of the railway system in Palestine and its integration into the Hejaz Railway, which was built in the past across the Jordan River and connected Turkey with Saudi Arabia, the Turks built a “longitudinal railway” in Palestine on the Jenin-Beersheba line. At the A-Lid station, the longitudinal line from the north connected with the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway, and at the railway station in Nahal Sorek, the junction station, the line split off to Be'er Sheva, thus enabling train travel throughout most of the country.
Thus, about two years before World War I, A-Lid served as a junction station for the longitudinal railway.
When World War I broke out, the Turks dismantled the A-Lid-Jaffa section of the railway to thwart the British army's plan to land on the Jaffa coast and advance by train into the country, thereby conquering Jerusalem and northern Israel, while the longitudinal railway continued to serve the Turkish army until it was defeated by the British army.
After the war ended, the British rebuilt the section of the railway between Jaffa and Jerusalem, and the A-Lid station was reopened. Simultaneously with their advance from Egypt into the Land of Israel, the British laid a new railway line, along which army camps were built. In Lydda, west of the built-up area, the British built a large new railway station that met the needs of the army and the civilian population. The British canceled the Lydda-Ramla section of the railway because it was long and winding, and in its place laid a new, shorter track connecting the Lydda station with the station in Ramla. As a result, the A-Lid station was closed and the building was converted into a municipal school.
With the establishment of the Jewish Lod, the building served as the Magen David station for the Lod-Ramla Municipalities, and later as the offices of the municipal hotline and the security department. The huge eucalyptus trees are a remnant of the avenue that was planted along the railway line.

The British Railway Station, founded shortly after World War I, served as the national hub of the British railway network in the country and, to a large extent, as a transportation center for the entire Middle East. The station area had many tracks, commercial, maintenance, and service areas, and as a strategic target, it was used for attacks by Arab gangs and Jewish underground groups against the British. The British established a neighborhood near the railway for its employees, which became known as the Railway Neighborhood. Today, the station is still one of the main hubs of Israel Railways, and the railway administration building was built nearby.

The water tower on Katsnelson Street was built in the mid-1930s by the Lod municipality on the western border of the built-up area, west of the Old City of Lod and at a considerable distance from it. Its location indicates the direction of urban development during the Mandate period. Another water tower was built north of the city, outside the built-up area. The operation of the water towers was a sign of the municipality's central activity and the development and modernization processes taking place in the city, both due to the increase in the number of residents, the establishment of new neighborhoods, the establishment of the Lod municipality, and the implementation of municipal government that required the municipality to develop services in accordance with standards and criteria set by law. Regular water supply under sanitary supervision was one of the tasks undertaken by the municipality after the wells could no longer keep up with the increase in water consumption and additional water sources were needed. The water supplied by the water towers met the increased demand.
Understanding the history of the water towers means learning about the stages of urban and social development that took place in Lod beginning in the mid-1920s.

The Yad LaBanim House in Lod was inaugurated on July 11, 1995, the day of Lod's liberation (July 11, 1948), in the presence of the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Yitzhak Rabin, z"l. The Yad LaBanim House is a memorial to the residents of Lod who fell in Israel's wars and conflicts, while fulfilling their duties, and sadly also in training accidents and traffic accidents. Commemoration is a collective act, through which we express our commitment to those who lost their loved ones and to the fallen, who in their death commanded us to live life. On the day of the inauguration of the Yad LaBanim House, another part of this project was launched: a computer station called “Gevili HaBanim” (The Sons' Scrolls), which contains a database documenting the lives of the fallen in writing, photographs, and audio recordings, along with their pictures and the circumstances of their deaths.
The computer station, located in the memorial hall of the Yad Labanim building, serves as a memorial to the bereaved families and as an educational center for students and residents of the city. The Yad Labanim building and its projects will serve as a central force for transmitting the legacy of Israel's heroism in general and the bravery of the sons of Lod in particular, and as a means for research on the topics of commemoration and the legacy of heroism.
Adjacent to the building is the Border Police headquarters. The building housed the British police during the Mandate and the War of Independence. The decisive battle that led to the capture of Lod on July 11, 1948, took place around the police station.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage, located in the heart of Lod, is a small island of culture and roots, displaying hundreds of precious and rare exhibits from the folklore of Jewish communities, especially those of North Africa. Among the exhibits are hundreds of traditional garments, jewelry, household items, works of art, and Judaica.
The items of historical value have been collected from all over the world since the museum's founding in 1983. Some were collected from distant places and made their way here through great difficulty, in order to reconstruct a world that is slowly disappearing.
Each room in the museum is dedicated to a community, and the exhibits include traditional clothing, bridal accessories, wedding rings, jewelry, perfumes and medicines, household items, decorative objects, carpets, embroidered pictures, paintings, and more. Also on display are various religious artifacts, such as Torah scrolls, Megillat Esther scrolls, Hanukkah menorahs, lamps, Kiddush cups, pomegranates, Torah (parochet) curtains, and crowns and covers for Torah scrolls. The museum even has a collection of 100 Ketubot, including rare Georgian ketubot.
In addition, the museum hosts a variety of cultural activities, as well as academic activities through the Haberman Institute for Literary Research. The Institute's academic research includes the study of Hebrew literature throughout its history and various movements, the culture of Jews in the Middle East and North Africa, and the study of Hebrew books and bibliography. The Institute serves researchers, lecturers, and cultural figures, and maintains scientific ties, exchanges publications, and collaborates with universities, educational institutions, libraries, and important research institutes in Israel and around the world.

Development of the Old City

Lod is one of the oldest cities in Israel and the world. Over thousands of years, the city has managed to maintain an impressive continuity of settlement throughout the historical periods of the Land of Israel. From the Neolithic period, when agriculture first began, through the Bronze and Iron Ages, the Persian period (the Tannaic period in Lod), the Roman and Byzantine periods, the early Islamic period, the Mamluk period, the Ottoman period, and the British Mandate period.
Each period left behind remains from which we can learn about it. Most of the monuments visible above ground today are remains from the Mamluk, Ottoman, and Mandatory periods. The earliest remains are the church, which dates back to the Byzantine period, and the rare Roman mosaic discovered in 1996, which will soon be on display to visitors at the Mosaic Center currently being built in the city.
The Lod Municipality attaches great importance to the renewal of the Old City for the benefit of its residents and for the development of tourism, culture, commerce, and leisure in the city, with a view to “restoring it to its former glory” as a crossroads and bustling center. In recent years, the Municipality, through the Lod Economic Company, has been leading a specific strategic development plan for the Old City area, which includes a detailed action plan. The action plan focuses on the qualitative development of public spaces and centers, as well as the development and upgrading of streets in a unique manner befitting an ancient city, and includes:

• Development and establishment of tourist and cultural attractions
• Development of unique infrastructure in the Old City
• Strengthening commerce and small businesses

To coordinate tours and receive information

Bishvil-LOD (“Lod-Path”) – Tours and Awareness Center

Website: www.bishvilod.co.il

Map of tourist attractions and audio tours