Kiryat Ata ( he, קִרְיַת אָתָא; also Qiryat Ata) is a city in the
Haifa District
Haifa District ( he, מחוז חיפה, ''Mehoz Ḥeifa''; ar, منطقة حيفا) is an administrative district surrounding the city of Haifa, Israel. The district is one of the Districts of Israel, seven administrative districts of Israel, a ...
of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. In it had a population of , 92% of whom were Jewish citizens.
History
The Early
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
site at Qiryat Ata has been extensively excavated since 1990, revealing stratified remains from the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
, EB (=early Bronze Age), IB and EB II periods. At ''Tell el ‘Idham'' remains from a continuous habitation from the early Bronze Age, through the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
age down to the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
era have been identified.
Archaeologists Mordechai Aviam and Dan Barag (1935–2009) thought it to be the ''Capharatha'' ( gr, Καφαραθ᾽) mentioned by
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
in the
Lower Galilee The Lower Galilee (; ar, الجليل الأسفل, translit=Al Jalil Al Asfal) is a region within the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The Lower Galilee is bordered by the Jezreel Valley to the south; the Upper Galilee to t ...
, one of several views tentatively identified for the site.
Rock-hewn winepresses dating to the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
era have been found here. Some have had crosses and Greek letters incised, supporting the theory that there was a Byzantine
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
located in the area. Ceramics from the Byzantine era have also been found here,
[Bouchenino, 2005]
Qiryat Ata
/ref> and a building from the Byzantine or early Islamic period has been excavated.[
In 1283 it was mentioned as part of the domain of the ]Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
, according to the hudna
A ''hudna'' (from the Arabic meaning "calm" or "quiet") is a truce or armistice. It is sometimes translated as "cease-fire". In his medieval dictionary of classical Arabic, the ''Lisan al-Arab'', Ibn Manzur defined it as:
: "''hadana'': he gre ...
between the Crusaders and the Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
sultan Qalawun
( ar, قلاوون الصالحي, – November 10, 1290) was the seventh Bahri Mamluk sultan; he ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1290.
He was called (, "Qalāwūn the Victorious").
Biography and rise to power
Qalawun was a Kipchak, ancient Turki ...
. At the time it was called ''Kafrata''. Ceramics from the Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
era have also been found here.[ An excavation at ''Independence Street'', Qiryat Ata, showed nearly continuous settlement dating from the ]Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
eras up to the Mamluk era (late eleventh–early fifteenth century CE).
Ottoman era
Incorporated into the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in 1517, ''Kufrata'' appeared in the census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 1596, located in the ''Nahiya
A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...
'' of Acca, part of Safad Sanjak
Safed Sanjak ( ar, سنجق صفد; tr, Safed Sancağı) was a ''sanjak'' (district) of Damascus Eyalet ( Ottoman province of Damascus) in 1517–1660, after which it became part of the Sidon Eyalet (Ottoman province of Sidon). The sanjak was cen ...
. The population was 15 households, all Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. They paid a fixed tax rate of 20% on wheat, barley, fruit trees, cotton, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 1,508 akçe
The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (also spelled ''akche'', ''akcheh''; ota, آقچه; ) refers to a silver coin which was the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. The word itself evolved from the word "silver or silver money", this word is deri ...
.
The village appeared under the name of ''Koufour Tai'' on the map that Pierre Jacotin
Pierre Jacotin (1765–1827) was the director of the survey for the ''Carte de l'Égypte (Description de l'Égypte)'', the first triangulation-based map of Egypt, Syria and Palestine.
The maps were surveyed in 1799-1800 during the campaign in Eg ...
compiled during Napoleon's invasion of 1799, while in 1856 it was named ''Kefr Ette'' on Kiepert's map of Palestine published that year.
In 1859 the population was estimated to be 100, and the cultivation was 16 feddan
A feddan ( ar, فدّان, faddān) is a unit of area used in Egypt, Sudan, Syria, and the Oman. In Classical Arabic, the word means 'a yoke of oxen', implying the area of ground that could be tilled by oxen in a certain time. In Egypt, the fedda ...
s.[Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p]
285
/ref> In 1875 Victor Guérin
Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Mino ...
visited, and found the village to have 50 houses.
In 1881 the Palestine Exploration Fund
The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, and is the oldest known organization in the world created specifically for the study ...
's ''Survey of Western Palestine
The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the Survey of Western Palestine and in 1880 for the Survey of Eastern Palestine. The survey was carried out after the ...
'' described ''Kefr Etta'' as "a small adobe
Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
village, on the plain, with a well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
on the north and olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
s on the east."
A population list from about 1887 showed that ''Kh. Kefr Etta'' had about 285 inhabitants; all Muslims.
British Mandate era
In the 1922 census of Palestine
The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922.
The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divisi ...
conducted by the British Mandate authorities, ''Kufritta'' showed a population of 400; 7 Christians and 393 Muslims, where all the Christians were of the Orthodox faith.
The area was acquired by the Jewish community as part of the Sursock Purchase
The Sursock Purchase of the Jezreel Valley and Haifa Bay, as well as other parts of Mandatory Palestine, was the largest Jewish land purchase in Palestine during the period of early Jewish immigration.
The Jezreel Valley was considered the most f ...
. In 1925 a Zionist organisation purchased 10,000 dunums from Alexander Sursock, of the Sursock family
The Sursock family (also spelled Sursuq) is a Greek Orthodox Christian family from Lebanon, and used to be one of the most important families of Beirut. Having originated in Constantinople during the Byzantine Empire, the family has lived in Beir ...
of Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
. At the time, there were 75 families living there.
In the 1931 census ''Kufritta'' had a population of 4 Muslims and 29 Jews, in a total of 13 occupied houses.[Mills, 1932, p]
94
/ref>
In 1934, one of the country's largest textile plants, ATA, was established there.
In the 1945 statistics the population of Kfar Atta (Kufritta) consisted of 1,690 Jews and the land area was 6,131 dunam
A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; tr, dönüm; he, דונם), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area equivalent to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amount ...
s, according to an official land and population survey.[Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p]
14
/ref>[Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p]
48
/ref> Of this, 6 dunams were designated for citrus and bananas, 39 dunams for plantations and irrigable land, 1,527 for cereals, while 3,591 dunams were built-up (urban) areas.
Kiryat Ata
In the early 20th century, the lands of the Arab village of Kefr Etta were purchased by a Warsaw religious foundation named "Avodat Israel" through intermediaries in the American Zion Commonwealth. Avodat Israel founded Ata in 1925. During the 1929 Arab riots the town was attacked and abandoned. A year later the residents returned and rebuilt the community. The town was renamed Kfar Ata in 1940, which was also the name of the local textile factory. In 1965, when the village was merged with adjacent Kiryat Binyamin, the name became Kiryat Ata.
Climate
Kiryat Ata has a Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
with hot, dry summers and cool and rainy winters.
The hottest month is July and the coldest is February. Snowfall is rare, but snow was recorded three times in the 20th century: in 1950, 1992 and 1999. Annual precipitation is approximately 524 millimeters (21 in).
Demographics
According to CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.8% Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish and other non-Arab, without a significant Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
population. See Population groups in Israel
The State of Israel had a population of approximately 9,506,100 inhabitants as of May 2022. Some 73.9% were Jews of all backgrounds (about 7,021,000 individuals), 21.1% were Arab of any religion other than Jewish (about 2,007,000 individuals), ...
. According to CBS, in 2001 there were 23,700 males and 24,900 females. The population of the city was spread out, with 31.4% 19 years of age or younger, 15.7% between 20 and 29, 18.5% between 30 and 44, 18.3% from 45 to 59, 4.1% from 60 to 64, and 11.9% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 0.8%.
Education
In 2000, there were 20 schools and 8,762 students in the city: 14 elementary schools with 4,899 students, and 11 high schools with 3,863 students. 52.0% of 12th graders were entitled to a matriculation certificate in 2001.
Landmarks
The Fisher House, home of Yehoshua Fisher, one of the pioneers and leaders of the Kfar Ata Jewish community, was refurbished. The 19th century building houses the Municipal Museum of the History of Kiryat Ata.
Sports
The city's main football club, Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Ata, plays in Liga Alef
Liga Alef ( he, ליגה א', , League A) is the third tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into two regional divisions, north and south.
History
League football began in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declar ...
, the third tier of Israeli football. The local basketball club, Elitzur Kiryat Ata
Ironi Kiryat Ata is an Israeli professional basketball club based in Kiryat Ata, a city in the Haifa District of Israel, which currently competes in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. The team was founded in 1980, and was promoted to the top ...
, are in Ligat HaAl
The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...
, the top division.
Archaeology
Archaeological surveys at Khirbet Sharta
Khirbet Sharta is an ancient tell in northern Israel, northeast of Kiryat Atta, that covers two hills.
Archaeology
In 1965, the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted excavations of the western hill prior to the construction of residential housi ...
in the northeast part of the city revealed traces of habitation dating to the Bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
, Iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
, Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
, Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
, Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, and Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
eras. In 2010, an archaeological survey was conducted at the ancient site of Kiryat Ata by Hagit Turge on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, he, רשות העתיקות ; ar, داﺌرة الآثار, before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of ...
(IAA), and in 2014 and 2016 by Orit Segal.Israel Antiquities Authority
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, he, רשות העתיקות ; ar, داﺌرة الآثار, before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of ...
Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2014
Survey Permit # A-7186
Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2016
Survey Permit # A-7672
Sister cities
* Reinickendorf
Reinickendorf () is the twelfth borough of Berlin. It encompasses the northwest of the city area, including the Berlin Tegel Airport, Lake Tegel, spacious settlements of detached houses as well as housing estates like Märkisches Viertel.
Subdi ...
, Germany (since 1976)
Notable people
* Shai Abuhatsira (born 1980), deputy mayor of Haifa
*Alon Abutbul
Alon Moni Abutbul (or Aboutboul, he, אלון מוני אבוטבול; born 28 May 1965) is an Israeli actor. He won the IFFI Best Actor Award (Male) at the 44th International Film Festival of India.
Early life
Abutbul was born in Kiryat Ata, ...
, actor
*Avraham Abutbul
Avraham Abutbul ( he, אברהם אבוטבול; January 2, 1961 – October 11, 2012) was an Israeli actor and singer.
Biography Early life
Abutbul was born in Kiryat Ata, Israel, to an Mizrahi Jewish family from Egypt and Algeria. When he was ...
(1961–2012), actor and singer
*Erez Lev Ari
Erez Lev Ari ( he, ארז לב ארי) is an Israeli singer-songwriter. His music often incorporates Jewish teachings and themes.
Music career
In 1996 Lev Ari joined the musical group When Nico Starts Talking (כשניקו תתחיל לדבר) ...
, singer-songwriter
* Tal Friedman
Tal Friedman ( he, טל פרידמן; born 20 December 1963) is an Israeli actor, comedian and musician.
Biography
Friedman was born in Kiryat Ata, Israel, in 1963. His father was a holocaust survivor.
He served in the Israeli Navy on a missile ...
(born 1963), comedian, actor and musician
*Yuval Noah Harari
Yuval Noah Harari ( he, יובל נח הררי ; born 1976) is an Israeli historian and professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of the popular science bestsellers '' Sapiens: A Brief History ...
, author and historian, was born in Kiryat Ata
*Shani Hazan
Shani Hazan ( he, שני חזן; born ) is an Israeli model, singer, and a beauty pageant titleholder. She was crowned Miss Israel 2012, and subsequently competed in the Miss World 2012 pageant representing her homeland. She also represented Israe ...
(born 1992), beauty pageant titleholder (Miss Israel
Miss Israel ( he, מַלְכַּת הַיֹּפִי, , ) is a national beauty pageant in Israel. The pageant was founded in 1950, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe. The pageant was also existing to send delegates to Miss World, Miss I ...
2012)
*Ishtar
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in S ...
(born 1968), French-Israeli singer
*Yaniv Katan
Yaniv Katan ( he, יניב קטן; born 27 January 1981) is a retired Israeli international footballer who played professionally for Maccabi Haifa, as a forward and winger. He earned 31 caps for Israel, scoring five goals.
Personal life
Katan ...
(born 1981), association football player
*Hovi Star
Hovav Sekulets ( he, חובב סקולץ; born 19 November 1986), known by his stage name Hovi Star ( he, חובי סטאר), is an Israeli singer. He represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song " Made of Stars" by Doron ...
, singer
* Meir Tapiro
Meir Tapiro ( he, מאיר טפירו), born March 28, 1975) is a former Israeli professional basketball player, and current CEO of Ironi Nes Ziona. Tapiro played at the point guard position. He was the 2002 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. ...
(born 1975), Israeli basketball player, and current CEO of Ironi Nes Ziona
Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. (or spelled as Ironi Nes Ziona B.C.) is a professional basketball club based in Ness Ziona, Israel. The team plays its home games at the Lev Hamoshava, which has capacity for 1,200 people. The club plays in the Israeli Bask ...
* Haim Yavin
Haim Yavin ( he, חיים יבין, born September 10, 1932), is an Israeli television anchor and documentary filmmaker. He was one of Israel's leading news presenters, associated with the job for so many decades that he was known as "Mr. Televisi ...
(born 1932), television anchor and documentary filmmaker
* Yossi Yona (born 1953), academic and politician
* Eti Zach, singer
References
Bibliography
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External links
CBS population estimates for 2005/2006
Municipality website
Beit Fischer City Museum
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 5:
IAA
Wikimedia commons
{{Authority control
Cities in Israel
1929 Palestine riots
Krayot
Cities in Haifa District