Sha'ar HaGai (Hebrew: שער הגיא) in Hebrew, and Bab al-Wad or Bab al-Wadi in Arabic (Hebrew: באב אל-ואד, Arabic: باب الواد or باب الوادي), lit. Gate of the Valley in both languages, is a point on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, 23 km from Jerusalem, where the road begins to ascend through a deep valley flanked by steep rocky slopes, of the intermittent stream Nahshon Stream [he] (Arabic: Wadi Ali).
Road to Jerusalem at Bab al-Wad seen from Arab Legion positions at Latrun, 1948Outpost 21 on Shayarot Ridge [HE] over Sha'ar HaGai - on the right is Highway 1, and on the left is Burma RoadOld armored vehicles at Sha'ar HaGai
Caravanserai later run by the Warshavsky family, 1910Bab al-Wad in 1917
The Jaffa–Jerusalem road was initially made accessible for wheeled vehicles by the Ottomans in 1867[1] and since then served as the main highway to Jerusalem, favoured over more topographically convenient routes such as Route 443, known since biblical times as the "ascent of Beth-Horon". The journey from Jaffa to Jerusalem was reduced, thanks to this upgrade, from three to two days and Bab al-Wad became the one place where travellers had to stop for the night. For this purpose, the Ottomans built there an inn or caravansary, used soon after, in 1869, the year of the inauguration of the Suez Canal, by travelling royalty taking a detour to Jerusalem such as Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary, the future British king Edward VII and his brother-in-law the future German emperor Frederick III.[1] In 1898 the site was used again by German emperor Wilhelm II and his wife Augusta Victoria, who slept there in a tent camp.[2] The largest bell for the church of the Augusta Victoria Foundation, initiated by Wilhelm during his 1898 visit and built between 1907 and 1910, weighed six tonnes and required that the road be widened and paved.[3]
After World War II, a Jerusalem-born Jew, Todor Warshavsky leased the khan and moved there with his family, offering travelers light meals and care of animals.[4]
British MandateEdit
A bulldozer tows a truck on the "Burma Road" to Jerusalem, June 1948
During the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine and into the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, this area and the nearby police fort at Latrun saw fierce fighting between Arab forces and Jewish convoys on the way to blockaded Jerusalem. Bab al-Wad and the defile it guards changed hands between the Arab Liberation Army supported by Arab irregulars, and Jewish Palmach and Haganah units, until April 20 1948, when the Arabs recaptured the heights around Bab al-Wad closing off the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road.[5]
Jordanian ruleEdit
From mid-May 1948 on, the fort at Latrun, two kilometres west of Bab al-Wad, was held by the Arab Legion, the British-trained and commanded army of Transjordan. The Palmach's 10th (Harel) Brigade under the command of Lt. Col. Yitzhak Rabin, future prime minister of Israel, managed to capture Bab al-Wad itself, but the road section west of it, controlled from Latrun, remained in Jordanian hands until 1967, cutting off this main access route to Jerusalem. In order to bypass the Arab-held bottleneck, the Israelis constructed the Burma Road, named after the famous World War IIroad into China. This very steep bypass road was in use during the first, crucial part of the war, being replaced after six months by a longer but safer detour route.
State of IsraelEdit
After the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, when the Latrun area was captured by Israel, the main Tel Aviv–Jerusalem highway was once again constructed on the shortest route past Latrun and Sha'ar HaGai. Today's already four-lane wide Highway 1 is currently (2016) being widened due to increasing traffic, by further carving into the slopes of the Wadi Ali gorge.
LandmarksEdit
Sha'ar HaGai Khan [he] museum
Sandwich trucksEdit
Until the 2000s, the remains of armoured cars that belonged to Jewish convoys and were destroyed during the 1948 war were lining the route as a memorial to the war dead. Most of them were regular trucks with improvised armour made of two sheets of steel and a layer of wood in between, which led to them being called "sandwich trucks". Then they had to be relocated by the army to the two extremities of the gorge, where they have been secured against scrap metal thieves, conserved and displayed on the side of the highway.
Mahal MemorialEdit
In a park south of the main road is the Mahal Memorial Monument [he], which commemorates Mahal, the ca. 4000 Jewish and non-Jewish military volunteers who came from abroad to help with the creation of the Jewish state in 1947–48, of whom 119 lost their lives during the war.[6]
The Memorial for the Pioneers of the Road to Jerusalem [he], erected in memory of the Jewish Independence War fighters who died in battles fought over the road to Jerusalem, stands on the side of the highway near Neve Ilan, and Shoresh Interchange [he]. The 1967 work of Israeli sculptor Naomi Henrik is built of stainless steel and concrete and consists of a cluster of tubes resembling rockets[7] that point towards Jerusalem.
War memorial dedicated to the Jewish casualties of the 1948 battles for the road to Jerusalem (sculptor Naomi Henrik, 1967), overlooking Highway 1[7]
The Memorial from a bird's eye view
Literary referencesEdit
The battles of 1948 were commemorated by a Hebrew song, Bab al-Wad, with words by Haim Gouri and music by Shmuel Fershko. The song has been performed by numerous famous Israeli singers, such as Yafa Yarkoni, Shoshana Damari, Shlomo Gronich, and Harel Skaat. The song has four verses, with the fourth verse spoken before the final chorus.
Here I walk silently And I remember them, every single one Here we fought, together, over cliffs and boulders Here we were to one family
Bab al Wad Forever do remember our names As convoys broke through to the city On the roadsides lie our dead The iron hulk as silent as my comrade
Israelis referring to the location in daily life call it by the Hebrew name Sha'ar HaGai (שער הגיא) in Hebrew, but the famous song calls it by the Arabic name Bab al-Wad - preserving the fact that in 1948, the soldiers of the young Israel called it that. Both the Hebrew and Arabic name mean the same - "Gate of the Valley".
Jerusalem corridor, the wider area that contains Bab al-Wad/Sha'ar HaGai and the Wadi Ali gorge
Operation Ha-Har of the Israeli army in October 1948, leading to the IDF taking control of the Jerusalem corridor
ReferencesEdit
^ abMike Rogoff, Tourist Tip #252 Sha'ar HaGai, en Route to Jerusalem, in Haaretz, 4 June 2013, retrieved 15 March 2016 [1]
^Thomas Hartmut Benner, Die Strahlen der Krone: die religiöse Dimension des Kaisertums unter Wilhelm II. vor dem Hintergrund der Orientreise 1898, page 281, Tectum Verlag (2001), ISBN9783828882270, retrieved 12 January 2020
^The Lutheran World Federation - Department for World Service — Jerusalem - History 2009-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
^Tourism, Religion and PIlgrimage in Jerusalem, Kobi Cohen-Hattab and Noam Shoval
^Bell, J. Bowyer (1966). Besieged: Seven Cities Under Siege. Transaction Publishers. p. 216. ISBN9781412817974.
^"Pillars of the community". Jerusalem Post. 27 April 2006.
^ ab"War Memorial by Naomi Henrik (Memorial for the Pioneers of the Road to Jerusalem)". Israel Public Art. Richard Margolis. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shaar HaGai.
Text of song in Romanized Hebrew, English, and Italian
hagai, hebrew, שער, הגיא, hebrew, wadi, arabic, hebrew, באב, אל, ואד, arabic, باب, الواد, باب, الوادي, gate, valley, both, languages, point, aviv, jerusalem, highway, from, jerusalem, where, road, begins, ascend, through, deep, valley, flanked, steep, rocky, s. Sha ar HaGai Hebrew שער הגיא in Hebrew and Bab al Wad or Bab al Wadi in Arabic Hebrew באב אל ואד Arabic باب الواد or باب الوادي lit Gate of the Valley in both languages is a point on the Tel Aviv Jerusalem highway 23 km from Jerusalem where the road begins to ascend through a deep valley flanked by steep rocky slopes of the intermittent stream Nahshon Stream he Arabic Wadi Ali Road to Jerusalem at Bab al Wad seen from Arab Legion positions at Latrun 1948Outpost 21 on Shayarot Ridge HE over Sha ar HaGai on the right is Highway 1 and on the left is Burma RoadOld armored vehicles at Sha ar HaGai Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 Ottoman era 2 2 British Mandate 2 3 Jordanian rule 2 4 State of Israel 3 Landmarks 3 1 Sandwich trucks 3 2 Mahal Memorial 3 3 Memorial for Jerusalem corridor casualties 4 Literary references 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksEtymology EditThe Arabic name Bab al Wad Gate of the Valley was used in Hebrew as well as seen in the 1948 song until after the establishment of the State of Israel and the creation of the Hebrew name Sha ar HaGai a verbatim translation of the Arabic name History EditOttoman era Edit nbsp Caravanserai later run by the Warshavsky family 1910 nbsp Bab al Wad in 1917The Jaffa Jerusalem road was initially made accessible for wheeled vehicles by the Ottomans in 1867 1 and since then served as the main highway to Jerusalem favoured over more topographically convenient routes such as Route 443 known since biblical times as the ascent of Beth Horon The journey from Jaffa to Jerusalem was reduced thanks to this upgrade from three to two days and Bab al Wad became the one place where travellers had to stop for the night For this purpose the Ottomans built there an inn or caravansary used soon after in 1869 the year of the inauguration of the Suez Canal by travelling royalty taking a detour to Jerusalem such as Franz Joseph I of Austria Hungary the future British king Edward VII and his brother in law the future German emperor Frederick III 1 In 1898 the site was used again by German emperor Wilhelm II and his wife Augusta Victoria who slept there in a tent camp 2 The largest bell for the church of the Augusta Victoria Foundation initiated by Wilhelm during his 1898 visit and built between 1907 and 1910 weighed six tonnes and required that the road be widened and paved 3 After World War II a Jerusalem born Jew Todor Warshavsky leased the khan and moved there with his family offering travelers light meals and care of animals 4 British Mandate Edit nbsp A bulldozer tows a truck on the Burma Road to Jerusalem June 1948During the 1947 48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine and into the 1948 Arab Israeli War this area and the nearby police fort at Latrun saw fierce fighting between Arab forces and Jewish convoys on the way to blockaded Jerusalem Bab al Wad and the defile it guards changed hands between the Arab Liberation Army supported by Arab irregulars and Jewish Palmach and Haganah units until April 20 1948 when the Arabs recaptured the heights around Bab al Wad closing off the Tel Aviv Jerusalem road 5 Jordanian rule Edit From mid May 1948 on the fort at Latrun two kilometres west of Bab al Wad was held by the Arab Legion the British trained and commanded army of Transjordan The Palmach s 10th Harel Brigade under the command of Lt Col Yitzhak Rabin future prime minister of Israel managed to capture Bab al Wad itself but the road section west of it controlled from Latrun remained in Jordanian hands until 1967 cutting off this main access route to Jerusalem In order to bypass the Arab held bottleneck the Israelis constructed the Burma Road named after the famous World War II road into China This very steep bypass road was in use during the first crucial part of the war being replaced after six months by a longer but safer detour route State of Israel Edit After the 1967 Arab Israeli War when the Latrun area was captured by Israel the main Tel Aviv Jerusalem highway was once again constructed on the shortest route past Latrun and Sha ar HaGai Today s already four lane wide Highway 1 is currently 2016 being widened due to increasing traffic by further carving into the slopes of the Wadi Ali gorge Landmarks Edit nbsp Sha ar HaGai Khan he museumSandwich trucks Edit Until the 2000s the remains of armoured cars that belonged to Jewish convoys and were destroyed during the 1948 war were lining the route as a memorial to the war dead Most of them were regular trucks with improvised armour made of two sheets of steel and a layer of wood in between which led to them being called sandwich trucks Then they had to be relocated by the army to the two extremities of the gorge where they have been secured against scrap metal thieves conserved and displayed on the side of the highway Mahal Memorial Edit In a park south of the main road is the Mahal Memorial Monument he which commemorates Mahal the ca 4000 Jewish and non Jewish military volunteers who came from abroad to help with the creation of the Jewish state in 1947 48 of whom 119 lost their lives during the war 6 nbsp List of Mahal soldiers who fell during the 1948 Arab Israeli War Mahal Memorial nbsp Mahal MemorialMemorial for Jerusalem corridor casualties Edit The Memorial for the Pioneers of the Road to Jerusalem he erected in memory of the Jewish Independence War fighters who died in battles fought over the road to Jerusalem stands on the side of the highway near Neve Ilan and Shoresh Interchange he The 1967 work of Israeli sculptor Naomi Henrik is built of stainless steel and concrete and consists of a cluster of tubes resembling rockets 7 that point towards Jerusalem nbsp War memorial dedicated to the Jewish casualties of the 1948 battles for the road to Jerusalem sculptor Naomi Henrik 1967 overlooking Highway 1 7 nbsp The Memorial from a bird s eye viewLiterary references EditThe battles of 1948 were commemorated by a Hebrew song Bab al Wad with words by Haim Gouri and music by Shmuel Fershko The song has been performed by numerous famous Israeli singers such as Yafa Yarkoni Shoshana Damari Shlomo Gronich and Harel Skaat The song has four verses with the fourth verse spoken before the final chorus Here I walk silently And I remember them every single one Here we fought together over cliffs and boulders Here we were to one familyBab al Wad Forever do remember our names As convoys broke through to the city On the roadsides lie our dead The iron hulk as silent as my comradeIsraelis referring to the location in daily life call it by the Hebrew name Sha ar HaGai שער הגיא in Hebrew but the famous song calls it by the Arabic name Bab al Wad preserving the fact that in 1948 the soldiers of the young Israel called it that Both the Hebrew and Arabic name mean the same Gate of the Valley Gallery Edit nbsp Bab el Wad 1943 1 20 000 lower left quadrant nbsp Bad el Wad 1945 1 250 000 nbsp Position of forces 10 May 1948 Bab el Oued See also EditBattle for Jerusalem December 1947 July 1948 Jerusalem corridor the wider area that contains Bab al Wad Sha ar HaGai and the Wadi Ali gorge Operation Ha Har of the Israeli army in October 1948 leading to the IDF taking control of the Jerusalem corridorReferences Edit a b Mike Rogoff Tourist Tip 252 Sha ar HaGai en Route to Jerusalem in Haaretz 4 June 2013 retrieved 15 March 2016 1 Thomas Hartmut Benner Die Strahlen der Krone die religiose Dimension des Kaisertums unter Wilhelm II vor dem Hintergrund der Orientreise 1898 page 281 Tectum Verlag 2001 ISBN 9783828882270 retrieved 12 January 2020 The Lutheran World Federation Department for World Service Jerusalem History Archived 2009 01 19 at the Wayback Machine Tourism Religion and PIlgrimage in Jerusalem Kobi Cohen Hattab and Noam Shoval Bell J Bowyer 1966 Besieged Seven Cities Under Siege Transaction Publishers p 216 ISBN 9781412817974 Pillars of the community Jerusalem Post 27 April 2006 a b War Memorial by Naomi Henrik Memorial for the Pioneers of the Road to Jerusalem Israel Public Art Richard Margolis Retrieved 28 April 2022 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shaar HaGai Text of song in Romanized Hebrew English and Italian Detailed map of central Israel showing location Description of the location now including photo 31 49 N 35 2 E 31 817 N 35 033 E 31 817 35 033 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sha 27ar HaGai amp oldid 1144530779, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
