Serail Hill is a hill in Beirut, Lebanon that has three historic buildings. The first is the Grand Serail, the headquarters of the Prime Minister of Lebanon. The second is the headquarters for the Council for Development and Reconstruction, originally built as a military hospital. The third is Hamidiyyeh clock tower, built to celebrate the anniversary of Sultan Abdul Hamid II's coronation.
Since the days of Emir Fakhreddine in the 17th century, Serail Hill was a strategic location and became, over the years, the seat of authority. Since 1999, it hosts the Prime Minister's offices and residence.
In the 17th century, Emir Fakhreddine ordered the construction of a watchtower on Serail Hill in order to confirm his rise to power. Over the years, Serail Hill became the seat of authority in Beirut. In 1853, the military barracks for the Ottoman army was built, along with a parade ground. This was followed by a military hospital. When the barracks became the residence of Governor Fouad Pasha, a second floor was added and the building became the Grand Serail. The Serail Clock Tower, designed by the architect Youssef Aftimos, was inaugurated in 1898 in honor of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. During the French Mandate, the military hospital became the Court of Justice. In 1991, the building was converted in order to host the Council for Development and Reconstruction. A third floor was added to the Grand Serail. Inaugurated in 1999, today the building accommodates the Prime Minister's offices and residence.
The buildings strategically located on Serail Hill have dominated the city since the days of Emir Fakhreddine. The Emir confirmed his rise to power with the construction of a watchtower - Burj Umm Dabbous - in a prominent location on the hill, in the 17th century. Over the years, Serail Hill became the seat of authority in Beirut. In their bid for control of the city, the Ottomans selected this location, from which Ibrahim Pasha's Egyptian military encampment had ruled for almost a decade. In 1853, the military barracks for the Ottoman army was built, along with a parade ground. This was followed a few years later by a military hospital. When the barracks became the residence of Governor Fuad Pasha, a second floor was added and the building became the Grand Serail. The Saint Louis Capuchin Cathedral was built in 1863; it overlooked the city. The Serail Clock Tower, designed by the architect Youssef Aftimos, was inaugurated in 1898 in honor of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. During the French Mandate, the military hospital became the Court of Justice. In 1991, the building was converted in order to host the Council for Development and Reconstruction. A third floor was added to the Grand Serail. Since its inauguration in 1999, the building accommodates the Prime Minister's offices and residence.
17th century: Construction of a watchtower - Burj Umm Dabbous - as a confirmation of Emir Fakhreddine's rise to power on Serail Hill.
1853: Egyptian military barracks for the Ottoman army were built along with a parade ground, followed by a military hospital. When the barracks became the residence of Governor Fuad Pasha, a second floor was added and the building became the Grand Serail.
1863: The Saint Louis Capuchin Cathedral was built.
1898: The Serail Clock Tower, designed by architect Youssef Aftimos, was inaugurated.
1991: The military hospital was converted in order to host the Council for Development and Reconstruction.
1991: The Grand Serail accommodates the Prime Minister's offices and residence.
Abdülhamid I, Abdul Hamid I or Abd Al-Hamid I was the 27th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning over the Ottoman Empire from 1774 to 1789.
Fakhr al-Din ibn Qurqumaz ibn Yunus Ma'n, also known as Fakhr al-Din II, was an emir of the Druze and for most of his career the governor and tax farmer, officially or by proxy, of the Sidon-Beirut and Safed sanjaks, which spanned southern Mount Lebanon, the Galilee and the port towns of Sidon, Beirut and Acre. At the height of his power his territory extended north to the Tripoli Eyalet, including northern Mount Lebanon, Homs and Latakia, and east to the Beqaa Valley and northern Transjordan. For uniting the constituent parts of modern Lebanon, namely the Druze and Maronite Christian mountain districts, the adjacent coast, Jabal Amil, and the Beqaa Valley for the first time in history under a singular authority, he is regarded by the Lebanese people as the founder of the country.
Ahmed Şefik Midhat Pasha was an Ottoman democrat, kingmaker and one of the leading statesmen during the late Tanzimat period. He is most famous for leading the Ottoman constitutional movement of 1876 and introducing the First Constitutional Era, but was also a leading figure of reform in the educational and provincial administrations. He was part of a governing elite which recognized the crisis the Empire was in and considered reform to be a dire need. Midhat Pasha is described as a person with a liberal attitude and is often considered as one of the founders of the Ottoman Parliament.
Martyrs' Square, historically known as "Al Burj" or "Place des Cannons", is the historical central public square of Beirut, Lebanon.
The Grand Serail is the headquarters of the Prime Minister of Lebanon. It is situated atop a hill in downtown Beirut a few blocks away from the Lebanese Parliament building. The Grand Serail is a historic building, the most important of three Ottoman monuments on the Serail hill. The other two are the Council for Development and Reconstruction and the Hamidiyyeh clock tower. This historic building has earned its importance through successive roles which it held since 1832
Beit ed-Dine, also known as Btaddine is a small town and the administrative capital of the Chouf District in the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon. The town is located 45 kilometers southeast of Beirut, and near the town of Deir el-Qamar from which it is separated by a steep valley. It had 1,613 registered voters in 2010 and its inhabitants are predominantly Christians from the Maronite, Melkite and Greek Orthodox denominations. Beit ed-Dine's total land area consists of 244 hectares and its average elevation is 860 meters above sea level.
The 31 March Incident was the defeat of the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 by the Hareket Ordusu, which was the 11th Salonika Reserve Infantry Division of the Third Army stationed in the Balkans and commanded by Mahmud Shevket Pasha on 24 April 1909. The counter coup began on 31 March on the Rumi calendar, which was the official calendar of the Ottoman Empire, corresponding to 13 April 1909 on the Gregorian calendar now used in Turkey. The rebellion had begun on 13 April 1909 and was put down by 24 April 1909. Ottoman historiography link the two events under the name 31 March Incident but refers to the actions by the Hareket Ordusu, the subsequent restoration of the constitution for a third time and the deposition of Abdul Hamid II who was then replaced by his younger brother Mehmed V.
The Beirut Central District (BCD) or Centre Ville is the historical and geographical core of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Also called downtown Beirut, it has been described the “vibrant financial, commercial, and administrative hub of the country.” It is thousands of years old, traditionally a focus of business, finance, culture and leisure.
The Ottoman countercoup of 1909 was an attempt to dismantle the Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire and replace it with an autocracy under Sultan and Caliph Abdul Hamid II. Unfortunately for the advocates of the representative parliamentary government, mutinous demonstrations by disenfranchised regimental officers broke out, which led to the collapse of the Ottoman government. Characterized as a countercoup, chaos reigned briefly and several people were killed in the confusion. It was instigated by factions within the Ottoman Army, in a large part by a Cypriot Islamist Dervish Vahdeti, who reigned supreme in Constantinople for 11 days. The countercoup was successfully put down by Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) sympathizers within the Ottoman Army via Mahmud Shevket Pasha's Action Army in the 31 March Incident.
A külliye is a complex of buildings associated with Turkish architecture centered on a mosque and managed within a single institution, often based on a waqf and composed of a madrasa, a Dar al-Shifa ("clinic"), kitchens, bakery, Turkish bath, other buildings for various charitable services for the community and further annexes. The term is derived from the Arabic word kull "all".
Youssef Aftimus ; was a Lebanese civil engineer and architect who specialized in Moorish Revival architecture. Aftimus was the leading Lebanese architect and urban planner during the first half of the twentieth century, he is the author of many of Beirut's well known landmarks such as the Beirut Municipality Building, the Grand Serail's Hamidiyyeh clock tower, the Hamidiyyeh Fountain and the Barakat Building. Aftimus was also an academic, journalist, visionary urban planner, patriot, politician and philanthropist.
The Ottoman Empire at least nominally ruled Mount Lebanon from its conquest in 1516 until the end of World War I in 1918.
Abdul Hamid II or Abdülhamid II reigned as the 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire - the last Sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a period of decline, with rebellions, and he presided over an unsuccessful war with the Russian Empire (1877-1878) followed by a successful war against the Kingdom of Greece in 1897. Abdulhamid II ruled from 31 August 1876 until his deposition shortly after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, on 27 April 1909. In accordance with an agreement made with the Republican Young Ottomans, he promulgated the first Ottoman Constitution of 1876 on 23 December 1876, which was a sign of progressive thinking that marked his early rule. However, in 1878, citing disagreements with the Parliament, he suspended both the short-lived constitution and the Parliament.
Nakhlé Moutranwas pasha of Baalbek (Lebanon) during the Ottoman Empire.
The Pine Residence, located in the Horsh district of Beirut, is the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon. The palace holds particular historical importance since General Henri Gouraud declared the creation of the state of Greater Lebanon on September 1, 1920 from its porch.
The Petit Serail was a historic administrative Ottoman building in Beirut that housed the seat of the Wali of Syria and Beirut. It was situated to the northern side of Martyrs' Square at the heart of the Beirut Central District. The building was the scene of important historical events, but plans to enlarge Beirut's main square led to its destruction in 1950. It was one of several Ottoman era building projects that shaped the architecture of Lebanon in Beirut.
‘Alī Pāshā ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Muḥammad was a sharif of the Awn clan who served as Emir and Grand Sharif of Mecca from 1905 until he was deposed in the Young Turk Revolution of 1908.
Emir Assaf Mosque is located in downtown Beirut, Lebanon.
Hatice Sultan was an Ottoman princess, the eldest daughter of Sultan Murad V and his third wife Şayan Kadın.
The Haydar-Khana Mosque is a historic mosque in Baghdad, Iraq. Situated in Al Rasheed Street, the mosque was originally built by and attributed to Haydar Pasha Jalabi bin Muhammad Jalabi Shah Bandar, who is buried in the same place along with some members of his family. The mosque was later reconstructed and expanded during 1819-1827 by the Wazir of Baghdad Dawud Pasha, the last wali of the Mamluk dynasty in Iraq. Dawud Pasha established the madrasa in the same place, known as Madrasa al-Dawudia. There is also an attached library.