After you get off the bus, head next door to the Bureau of Public Relations in the Municipal Building; get their excellent, poster-sized city map. On the southern outskirts of Ashdod lie the remains of a Fatamid fortress (10th century AD) known in Arabic as Qal’at al-Mine, in Hebrew as Metzudat Ashdod Yam, and in English as Fortress of the Port. Until excavations unearthed bits of ceramic pottery, the site was believed to be more recent.

An early Arabic document recounts that Byzantine ships used to bring in Muslim prisoners to sell back to their families. As boats appeared off the coast of Ashdod, the Fatamid fortress would send up smoke signals alerting the townspeople to come at once with their offerings. Thousands brought what riches they had, hoping to earn the return of their loved ones. Qa’lat al-Mine, once part of a chain of coastal fortifications, seems to have served as a focal point for these emotional exchanges. Portions of four towers remain. To visit the site, take bus #5 south, and ask to get off at the fortress (at the end of a row of private homes).