France maintains order as visitors flock to Jerusalem's Tombs of the Kings
A 2,000-year-old funerary compound in Jerusalem has been marked by controversy since its reopening to the public in 2019.
At the end of Salah al-Din Street in Jerusalem, just north of the Old City, a sign reads in French “Tombeau des Rois” or the “Tombs of the Kings.”
The funerary complex is known to Jerusalemites as the “Tombs of the Sultans.” Pausanias, a Greek author, historian and geographer of the 2nd century AD, described it as the second most beautiful tomb in the world, after the Tomb of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The Tombs of the Kings was closed to visitors in 2010, when France conducted a major restoration project that went on until the summer of 2018 at a cost $1.1 million. The French Consulate in Jerusalem reopened the site in June 2019 but soon had to close again.
The reopening was marred by a dispute between agents of the French Consulate and Israelis who attempted to enter the tombs without reserving the required tickets. The French Consulate condemned the scuffle, calling on the Israeli authorities to maintain calm in the area and ensure respect for France's control over the site.
