Ariel Sharon Park, Metropolitan park in Bik'at Ono, Israel
Ariel Sharon Park is an environmental park along the Ayalon River between Ben Gurion Airport and the Ayalon Highway, built around the former Hiriya landfill southeast of Tel Aviv. It covers 8.5 square kilometres (about 2,000 acres), including Menachem Begin Park, Mikveh Israel and the former Shalem Farm. Its centrepiece is the flat-topped waste mound, about 60 metres high, now used for observation and tours.
The area was used as a landfill from 1952 and known as Hiriya until disposal ended in 1998 and conversion into a park began. The transformation took several years and gradually turned the mound into a publicly accessible recreation site with planted slopes.
The name Hiriya comes from al-Khayriyya, the Palestinian village that stood here until 1948; the village itself had been called Ibn Ibraq, after the biblical Beneberak. At the main entrance stand the restored buildings of Shalem Farm, which house the visitor center. At the foot of the mound, the Hiriya recycling park runs environmental education tours, including one through the RDF plant.
The park opens daily in the morning and entry is free, though some sections may be temporarily closed for ongoing restoration work. Visitors should bring plenty of water, as shaded spots are still limited in the southern part.
An artificial hill made from compacted material forms the center of the park and offers wide views across the surrounding land to the coast. The elevated position regularly attracts migrating birds that stop here on their routes between Europe and Africa.
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