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The Scots Hotel is a hotel in Tiberias,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, formerly the Scots Mission Hospital, also known as the Scottish Compound. The hotel is run by the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
.


History


Hospital

Scottish doctor David Watt Torrance graduated his medical studies in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
in 1883, after which he travelled to Ottoman Palestine where he assisted in the inauguration of the Sea of Galilee Medical Mission. Back in Tiberias after undertaking further training in
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
and
Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
, he opened a two-room hospital near the Franciscan monastery, offering services to patients of all religions. In 1894, the hospital moved to the current, larger premises at Beit abu Shamnel abu Hannah, which initially had 24 beds and 6 cots for patients. The following year, Dr Torrance was ordained in the Free Church of Scotland. During World War I, he served in Scotland being in charge of a war hospital, but then returned to Tiberias where he died in 1923. That same year his son, Dr. Herbert Watt Torrance, also a graduate of Glasgow University, was appointed head of the hospital. His work during the British Mandate was later rewarded with an OBE. In 1949, following the establishment of the State of Israel, the Scottish Hospital became a maternity hospital in charge of
midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...
and
gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...
in Northern Galilee under the supervision of the Israeli Department of Health. Herbert Watt Torrance retired in 1953 and returned to Scotland. The hospital closed in 1959.


Guesthouse and hostel

After 1959, the building became a hostel for pilgrims and then a guesthouse, known as the Scottish Hospice. The Church of Scotland maintained there a resident minister and bookshop in continuation of its missionary work. In 1999, the buildings were renovated at the cost of around £10,000,000 and reopened as the luxurious Scots Hotel, which received the Israeli "Boutique Hotel of the Year" award in 2008.


See also

* Poriya Hospital, who took over the maternity clinic * St Andrew's Church, Jerusalem


References


External links


Scots Hotel Tiberias, homepage (1)
on Church of Scotland website (2021)
Scots Hotel Tiberias, homepage (2)
at inisrael.com (2021)
Scottish church in Tiberias, homepage
– St Andrew's Galilee congregation (2021)
St Andrew's Church, Jerusalem, homepage
with links to further facilities in Israel (2021)
Historical photos (1934-46)
American Colony Jerusalem/Matson Collection, at US Library of Congress. Accessed 2021.
Historical photos
from Matson Collection, BBC News article. Accessed 2021.
The Torrance Collection
held by Archive Services, University of Dundee Hotels in Israel Church of Scotland Buildings and structures in Tiberias {{Israel-struct-stub