Old City of Nablus البلدة القديمة النابلس | |
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Old city | |
Coordinates: 32°13′8″N35°15′41″E / 32.21889°N 35.26139°E | |
Country | Palestine |
City | Gaza City |
The Old City of Nablus is the historical center of Nablus, in the northern West Bank. Known for its cultural, architectural, and social heritage, the Old City was founded as a Roman city, and remained an important urban center ever since. [1] [2]
The Old City of Nablus was a center of commerce, with large souqs selling textiles, spices and Nabulsi soap. [3] Today it includes more than 100 historical monumental buildings. [4]
The Old City was severely damaged by Israeli rockets and bombs, particularly during the Second Intifada, where it suffered "probably more than any other Palestinian city". [5] [3]
Originally founded as a Canaanite city at the nearby Tell Balata around 2000 BCE, the Old City itself was founded during the Roman period when the Roman Emperor Vespasian established the city of Flavia Neapolis in 72 CE. [3] Nablus evolved into a prominent cultural, religious, and commercial center, due to its strategic location on vital trade routes connecting the region of Palestine with neighboring areas. [3]
The city endured natural disasters, such as the devastating earthquakes of 1202 and 1927, as well as military incursions, which significantly damaged parts of the Old City. [6]
The Old City is known for dense, labyrinthine streets, lined with traditional stone buildings, markets, mosques, and historic houses. The architecture is predominantly Mamluk and Ottoman, with some structures dating back to the Ayyubid and earlier periods.
The Old City is home to several important landmarks, including:
It is composed of six major quarters: Yasmina, Gharb, Qaryun, Aqaba, Qaysariyya, and Habala. Habala is the largest quarter and its population growth led to the development of two smaller neighborhoods: al-Arda and Tal al-Kreim.
Prominent families include the Nimrs, Tuqans, and Abd al-Hadis. The large fortress-like compound of the Abd al-Hadi Palace built in the 19th century is located in Qaryun. The Nimr Hall and the Tuqan Palace are located in the center of the old city.
There are several mosques in the Old City: the Great Mosque of Nablus, An-Nasr Mosque, al-Tina Mosque, al-Khadra Mosque, Hanbali Mosque, al-Anbia Mosque, Ajaj Mosque and others.
There are six hamaams (Turkish baths) in the Old City, the most prominent of them being al-Shifa and al-Hana. Al-Shifa was built by the Tuqans in 1624. Al-Hana in Yasmina was the last hamaam built in the city in the 19th century. It was closed in 1928 but restored and reopened in 1994. [1] Several leather tanneries, souks , pottery and textile workshops line the Old City streets. [2] Also located in the Old City is the 15th-century Khan al-Tujjar caravanserai and the Manara Clock Tower, built in 1906. [2]
The Old City of Nablus, like many historic urban centers in Palestine, faces significant challenges, including physical deterioration of buildings, lack of infrastructure, and the effects of the Israeli occupation, which have led to damage from military incursions and restricted access. Efforts have been made to preserve its architectural heritage, such as the restoration project led by the Taawon Welfare Association.
It has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. [7] [3]
Gaza, also called Gaza City, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. As of 2022, it is the largest city in the State of Palestine, with 590,481 inhabitants in 2017. The city is spread across an area of 45 square kilometres (17 sq mi). Gaza is one of the principal coastal cities in the country, home to Palestine's only port. Located some 76.6 kilometres (47.6 mi) southwest of the country's proclaimed capital East Jerusalem, the city is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Prior to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, it was the most populous city in the State of Palestine, when massive displacement happened during the war.
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately 49 kilometres (30 mi) north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a commercial and cultural centre of the State of Palestine, home to An-Najah National University, one of the largest Palestinian institutions of higher learning, and the Palestine Stock Exchange. Nablus is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
A caravanserai was a roadside inn where travelers (caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa and Southeast Europe, most notably the Silk Road. Often located along rural roads in the countryside, urban versions of caravanserais were also historically common in cities throughout the Islamic world, and were often called other names such as khan, wikala, or funduq.
Tulkarm or Tulkarem is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, the capital of the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities of Nablus and Jenin to the east. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2017 Tulkarm had a population of 64,532. Tulkarm is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority.
Tubas is a Palestinian city in the northeastern West Bank, located northeast of Nablus, west of the Jordan Valley. A city of over 21,000 inhabitants, it serves as the economic and administrative center of the Tubas Governorate of the State of Palestine. Its urban area consists of 2,271 dunams. It is governed by a municipal council of 15 members and most of its working inhabitants are employed in agriculture or public services.
Sanur is a Palestinian village located 26 kilometres (16 mi) southwest of Jenin, in the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Sanur had a population of 4,067 in 2007 and 5,036 in 2017. During the late Ottoman era, Sanur served as a fortified village of the Jarrar family and played a key role in limiting the centralized power of the Ottoman sultanate, the Ottoman governors of Damascus and Acre and the Ottoman-aligned Tuqan family of Nablus from exerting direct authority over the rural highlands of Jabal Nablus.
The Great Mosque of Gaza, also known as the Great Omari Mosque, was the largest and oldest mosque in all of Gaza, Palestine, located in Gaza City.
An-Nasr Mosque is a mosque located in the Palestinian city of Nablus. It is situated in the central square of the Old City of Nablus and is donned as the "symbol of Nablus". An-Nasr Mosque has a turquoise dome and its prayer room is located in the second floor of the building.
The Abd al-Hadi Palace or Qasr Abd al-Hadi is a large palace located in the Qaryun quarter of the Old City of Nablus, West Bank, Palestine. It was built in the 19th century as a residence for the dominant Abd al-Hadi clan of the District of Nablus. It consists of three floors, arches, winding staircases, hidden courtyards, gardens, balconies, and built mainly of white limestone. The building was designed by Mahmud ´Abd al-Hadi himself, who was the governor at the time. To Mary Rogers, the sister of the British vice-consul in Haifa, it seemed at the start of 1860s as "the handsomest dwelling-house I had seen in Palestine. It is built of well-hewn fine limestone, and enriched with marble pavements, columns, and arches."
Al-Khadra Mosque also known as Hizn Sidna Yaq'ub Mosque, is a mosque situated on the lower slopes of Mount Gerizim in the southwestern quarter of the Old City of Nablus in the West Bank. The mosque is rectangular in shape, and its minaret rises 30 meters (98 ft).
Jarrar is a large Palestinian family that served as rural landlords and tax-collectors (mutasallims) in the Jenin area during Ottoman rule in Palestine. During this era, they were the most powerful of the rural families in Palestine's central highlands.
Khan al-Tujjar is a 15th century caravanserai in the Palestinian city of Nablus. Situated in the Old City, it has been noted as the finest khan in the region.
Khan al-Tujjar, lit. "Merchant's Caravanserai", also called Suq al-Khan, was a caravanserai in the Lower Galilee, Israel, opposite the entrance to Beit Keshet, now in ruins.
Balata village is a Palestinian suburb of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, located 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) east of the city center. Formerly its own village, it was annexed to the municipality of Nablus during Jordanian rule (1948–67). The village contains a number of well known sites: Tell Balata, Jacob's Well and Joseph's Tomb.
Al-Jayyusi is a prominent Palestinian business and political clan whose members acted as rulers, local lords, army generals and tax collectors since the 11th century. They were the traditional leaders of the Bani Sa'b subdistrict (nahiya), which included their throne villages of Kur and Kafr Sur; Jayyus the village named after the patronymic of the family founder, Fatimid Vizier and Governor of Damascus who was known by his military title Amīr al-Juyūsh where the name 'Juyush-i' was designated to his property, lands and all decedents in Egypt and Palestine. Other Palestinian villages that were considered within the Jayyusi clan's stronghold include Qalqilya, Tayibe, Jinsafut, Kafr Zibad and Kafr Jammal.
The Tuqan clan is a prominent Palestinian and Jordanian political and business family. During the Ottoman era, they dominated the political and socio-economic spheres in Nablus and extended their influence to al-Salt. During that era, they were the only household that came close to establishing centralized rule over Jabal Nablus. Over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries the Tuqan family held the title of mutasallim of Nablus longer than any other local family.
Sulayman Pasha al-Adil was the Ottoman governor of Sidon Eyalet between 1805 and 1819, ruling from his Acre headquarters. He also simultaneously served as governor of Damascus Eyalet between 1810 and 1812. He was a mamluk of his predecessor, Jazzar Pasha. His rule was associated with decentralization, a reduction of Acre's military, and limits to his predecessors' cotton monopoly. Moreover, he oversaw a policy of non-interference with his deputy governors, such as Muhammad Abu-Nabbut and Mustafa Agha Barbar, and diplomacy with the autonomous sheikhs of the various Levantine regions where he held authority, including Emir Bashir Shihab II and Musa Bey Tuqan. He exercised control over his domain largely through depending on the loyalty of his deputies, who also had been mamluks of Jazzar. In effect, Sulayman Pasha presided over the world's last functioning mamluk system.
The destruction of cultural heritage during the ongoing Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip has included the damage and destruction by Israel of hundreds of culturally or historically significant buildings, libraries, museums and other repositories of knowledge in Gaza, alongside the destruction of intangible cultural heritage. By late January 2024, more than half of the buildings in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed, leaving residential areas devastated and 1.7 million people displaced.
Burquq Castle, also known as the Yunis al-Nuruzi Caravansari or simply Khan Yunis, was a Mamluk-era fortified caravanserai and mosque, and the eponymous historical monument of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. It is one of the most important Mamluk fortifications in the region of Palestine. The castle is 20 kilometers from the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, along the historical road from Cairo to Damascus known as the Via Maris.
The old city is a dense structure of narrow alleyways and public spaces, with many unique architectural features like vaulted arches, domes, minarets, roofed streets, vaults, etc. The city includes more than 100 historical monumental buildings such as Turkish baths, water springs, khans, ancient soap factories, churches, mosques, historic palaces, etc. Moreover, the city includes verifications for variety of accumulated cultures and civilizations with unique characteristics from various periods, Roman, Islamic, Ottoman, etc.
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