Hello, and welcome to what will be the final episode of Jerusalem Unplugged, at least for now. This is episode 132, and after these years of conversations about Jerusalem's history, politics, and people, I've made the difficult decision to take a step back. Today, I want to share with you why I'm making this choice, reflect on our journey together, and discuss what this means for the future.

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The Dead Sea is a place of many contradictions. Hot springs around the lake are famed for their healing properties, though its own waters are deadly to most lifeforms—even so, civilizations have built ancient cities and hilltop fortresses around its shores for centuries. The protagonists in its story are not only Jews and Arabs, but also Greeks, Nabataeans, Romans, Crusaders and Mamluks. Today it has become a tourist hotspot, but its drying basin is increasingly under threat.

In this panoramic account, Nir Arielli explores the history of the Dead Sea from the first Neolithic settlements to the present day. Moving through the ages, Arielli reveals the religious, economic, military, and scientific importance of the lake, which has been both a source of great wealth and a site of war. The Dead Sea weaves together a tapestry of the lake’s human stories—and amidst environmental degradation and renewed conflict, makes a powerful case for why it should be saved.

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Until recently, Gaza attracted little attention in historical scholarship. This book innovates by examining late Ottoman Gaza’s diverse society, its built environment, and its political dynamics. The introduction sets the stage to better understand the vital contexts impacting the role and status of Gaza as compared to other cities in the Eastern Mediterranean, provides analyses and new resources for the study of late Ottoman Gaza, and presents state-of-the-art methodology in urban history as applied to Gaza. Enjoy the interview with Yuval Ben Bassat.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/jerusalemunplugged.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.