Palestine allows visitors to visit the largest mosaics in the world in the West Bank
On Thursday, the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism revealed one of the largest mosaic pieces in the world, at the site of an archaeological palace in the city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank, after five years of restoration work.
The area of the archaeological piece of mosaic that was re-visited is about 836 square meters, and it is a bathroom floor that was part of Hisham's Palace, which dates back to the Umayyad era in the eighth century AD.
And the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism announced the reopening of the site for visits after the completion of the project to cover the area of a piece of historical and archaeological mosaic from the effect of heat in the city of Jericho, which is lower than sea level.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Saleh Tawafasha, said that "the archaeological piece of mosaic contains about 5 million small pieces" and is composed of "21 different colors."
The mosaic is like a carpet on the floor, with a lion attacking a deer as a symbol of war, and two deer on the other side as a symbol of peace.
The mosaic was discovered in 1930, but it was covered with sand and dust that had accumulated due to natural fluctuations, and it was not possible to work on restoring it due to the high temperature in the Jericho area.
In the past five years, the site witnessed a restoration workshop launched by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism with the help of the Japanese government, at a cost of about $12 million, to enhance the protection of the mosaic.
Tawafasha expressed his hope that the announcement of opening the door for visitors to visit this site will contribute to raising the percentage of tourists, days after the Palestinian Authority announced the reopening of foreign tourism in the Palestinian territories after it stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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