The Israeli city of Ramla that lies close to Tel Aviv is visited by tourists mainly for its alleged associations with the main character of J. K. Rowling’s books about Harry Potter.
Ramla is a city in central Israel 18 kilometers to the east of Tel Aviv. It is predominantly Jewish but has a significant Muslim minority. It lies on the route that connects old Cairo with Damascus, at the intersection of the roads connecting the port of Jaffa with Jerusalem. In recent years, the city has undergone significant changes in order to become more attractive for tourists. New shopping malls and public parks have been built, and a municipal museum has been opened.
However, the recent renovations are not the main reason why tourists arrive in the city. It is Harry Potter, more precisely his grave. Nevertheless, this Harry Potter is not the main character of J. K. Rowling’s books about the boy who lived. This Harry Potter was a British soldier who was killed in 1939. Even though there is no connection with the wizard the grave still attracts tourists. Private Harry Potter was born near Birmingham in England. He joined the British army in 1938 and died in Palestine in 1939 when he was nineteen years old.
As Lidovky.cz reported, the officials in Ramla does not keep any statistics about the number of tourists that have visited the local British military graveyard so far. Nevertheless, both tour guides and city officials claim that it has become one of the city’s most visited tourism attraction.
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