Ashdod (Jerusalem-Bethlehem, Israel)

Port Ashdod is the cruise port to Tel Aviv, located on Israel's Mediterranean coast. Depending on cruise company, both Port Haifa and Port Ashdod are used as cruise ports to Tel Aviv-Yafo (Israel's second-largest city) and Jerusalem (Israel's capital). Ashdod City is a major regional industrial center and has population around 220,000.

Ashdod is located between Ashkelon (Canaan's oldest and largest port/approx 20 km / 12 mi to the south), Tel Aviv (42 km / 26 mi to the north), and Jerusalem (65 km / 40 mi to the east). The driving distance from Ashdod to Jerusalem is 1 hour, to Tel Aviv - 40 min, to Ashkelon - 30 min.

In ancient times the city was famous as Jaffa, and traces of its first settlement were discovered on top of the hill above the harbor. Jaffa is a former Arab town with winding streets and old buildings, while Tel Aviv features wide avenues lined with modern apartment houses and trees. Ashdod is the gateway to one of the most captivating cities in the world, Jerusalem. From here tourists can visit Bethlehem and Church of the Nativity, and see the shrine built over the site where Christ was born, or the Dead Sea and Massada.

The Greeks, Maccabees and Phoenicians, each ruled Jaffa for a time. The introduction of Christianity started with the preachings of Apostle Peter. During the 11th century, the Crusaders fortified the town, and in more recent times, in 1948 the forces of Israel captured the city from the Arabs, declaring it the state of Israel.

Ashdod cruise terminal