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The Sha'ar HaGay Inn was one of the
stations, built by the Turks at the end
of the 19th Century, for travellers to rest
during their journey from Jaffa to Jerusalem.
For part of the time Yitzhak Rokach obtained
the rights from the Ottoman authorities to
collect road fees from the coaches that passed
through. The inn was deserted In the 1920's.
The site is situated between the lowland area and the Judean Hills. During the Independence War Sha'ar HaGai was a station on the way to Befit Machsir that was one of the most dangerous transport routes. Here Arab gangs were active, trying to prevent the connection with Jerusalem. The wreckages of armoured vehicles on the side of the road are proof of the hard struggle that was to decide the destiny of the city.
Sha'ar HaGay Inn was selected together with 50 other sites for preservation as part of the joint project of The Government of Israel, The Keren Kayemet of Israel and The Council for the Preservation of Buildings and Historic Sites. Today the site has been rennovated by Keren Kayemet Lelsrael (Jewish National Fund) as part of the Rabin Park.
The Council for Preservation of Buildings and Historic Sites - a public organization acting within the Nature Protection Society- was established in 1984 by the Knesset Education Committee. The Council acts to prevent destruction of sites and buildings; initiates and encourages preservation and development plans; imparts educational values stressing the importance of preserving constructed heritage in Eretz Israel as part of its cultural history and increases public awareness of the need for preservation.
The Council operates a number of sites: the Miqwe Yisrael Visitors' Center, the Atlit Illegal Immigrant Camp, the Ayalon Institute at Givat Ha'kibbutzim in Rehovot, the David Ben Gurion Training Center in Segera, the Woman Fighter site in Nitzanim and the workers camp in Sedom. It is partner to the renovation of hundreds of additional sites, approximately one hundred of them serving as visitors' centers and historical museums open to the general public.
