The Be'er Sheva Anzac Memorial Centre, War memorial and museum in Beersheba, Israel
The Be'er Sheva Anzac Memorial Centre is a museum and heritage site in the Old City of Beersheba, next to the British military cemetery. Architect Udi Kassif designed it as a cast, exposed white-concrete structure shaped like a horse's head, recalling the charging cavalry of the 1917 battle. Visitors enter the central hall, then move to a screening room designed as a period outpost.
The centre opened on 31 October 2017, the centenary of the Anzac capture of Be'er Sheva, in the presence of Israel's prime minister, New Zealand's governor-general and Australia's prime minister. It stands beside the British military cemetery, where the graves of Anzac and British soldiers are visible from the museum balcony.
The centre's name uses the acronym Anzac, for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Its opening on 31 October 2017 marked 100 years since the corps took Beersheba, and the ceremony was attended by Israel's prime minister, New Zealand's governor-general and Australia's prime minister.
The centre stands in the Old City of Beersheba, next to the British military cemetery. Visitors enter straight into the central hall, where displays cover the journey to Palestine, the Gaza battles and the capture of Beersheba, then move to a screening hall; the route ends on the museum balcony overlooking the Anzac and British graves.
The building is cast in exposed white concrete and shaped as a single horse's head, not a herd of horses, a reference to the cavalry charge in the 1917 battle for Beersheba. Its architect was Udi Kassif. Visitors who reach the end of the screening hall step onto a balcony facing the British military cemetery and the Anzac graves.
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