Tourists are flocking to Ramle, Israel to see the grave of Harry Potter. Not to worry, the wizard character created by author J.K. Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe the actor who plays him in the extremely popular movie series are still alive. Radcliffe’s newest installment in the Harry Potter series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows- Part 1 opens in theaters on Friday keeping the series very much alive and at the forefront of many minds. While Rowling has on one hand confirmed that there will be no more books featuring the young British wizard, she has recently admitted that she hasn’t ruled it out either. Harry Potter is a household name. So why are people rushing to the backwater town in Israel to get a look at his grave if he isn’t dead?
Pvt. Harry Potter from the British military who was killed in battle in 1939 at age 18 (although the tombstone incorrectly says he was 19 since he lied about his age to enlist) is buried in Ramle in a British military cemetery. Pvt. Harry Potter was born near Birmingham, England and enlisted in the British military in 1938 being killed in Palestine in battle just a short year later. Despite Pvt. Potter’s obvious lack of connection to the literary figure, tourists are still drawn to the site to view his tombstone.
Ramle, located in central Israel, is a working-class town that welcomes tourists every year to view archaeological ruins in part due to the city’s central location. Five years ago, the city found the tombstone bearing the famous name nestled in among 4,500 graves and added it to the city’s tourism website. Now thousands of people every year rush to the cemetery to take pictures of the famous site. According to tour guides, the lack of connection to the famous Potter is irrelevant, the name itself is famous and is marketable (AP news).
AP Photo/Moti
