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Eilat - History |
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During those five and a half decades, the city has undergone many changes. From a barren, empty, god-forsaken place, isolated from the rest of Israel, Eilat - within a few brief years - turned into a green oasis and a thriving city, as well as the most beautiful and attractive resort on the Red Sea shore. Eilat is now a large, developed, active and lively city, but - it wasn't always so. Archaeological findings in the area show that Eilat's history began a great many years ago. Over the centuries, the city was ruled by the Egyptians, the Edomites, the Nabataens, the Romans, the Byzantins, the Crusaders, the Mamelukes, the Turks and the British. For present-day Eilatis, the city was "born" on 10 March 1949, when it was conquered in a swift military campaign. In those days, Umm Rash Rash (Eilat's former name) was a desolate and unpopulated place, whose only access was by tortuous and difficult roads.
Over the years, Eilat developed steadily. Homes were built, schools and shops opened, various services developed and many hotels were established. A highway was paved from central Israel to Eilat through the Arava, and daily domestic flights began to link Eilat with the rest of the country. Following the inauguration of direct charter flights to Eilat in 1975, the city became an International focal point of tourism. Today, it numbers more than 48,000 residents, and continues to develop at an impressive pace. |
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Nearly a year after the outbreak of Israel's war of independence, the Palmach Negev Brigade and the Golani Brigade broke through to the isolated outpost after an arduous trek through the desert, and conquered it in the framework of the Ovda campaign. On that day, when Umm-RashRash became part of the state of Israel, Avraham ("Bren") Adan - later to become a major general in the Israel Defense Force - raised the famous "ink flag", improvised on the spot from a white sheet and a bottle of ink.
