Old City of Nablus

Old City of Nablus
البلدة القديمة النابلس
Old city
Streets of the Old City
Streets of the Old City
1937 Survey of Palestine map
1937 Survey of Palestine map
Coordinates: 32°13′8″N 35°15′41″E / 32.21889°N 35.26139°E / 32.21889; 35.26139
Country Palestine
CityNablus

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 has been repeatedly damaged by Israeli rockets and bombs, particularly during the Second Intifada, where it suffered "probably more than any other Palestinian city".[5][6]

History

Main article: Nablus § History

Located in the strategic valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, a Canaanite city was first founded at Tell Balata around 2000 BCE; it is thought to have become the important Biblical city of Shechem. Nablus was subsequently founded during the Roman period when Emperor Vespasian established the city of Flavia Neapolis in 72 CE, 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of the ruins of Shechem.[3] Holy places near the city include Joseph's Tomb and Jacob's Well. Because of its strategic geographic position on key trade routes and the abundance of water from nearby springs, Neapolis evolved into a prominent cultural, religious, and commercial center.[3][7]

The early city was built on a Roman grid plan, and had a grand theater that could seat up to 7,000 people.[1] Early christian Justin Martyr was born in the city c. 100 CE, and a bishop from Nablus participated in the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.[8] Almost a century of conflict between the city's Samaritan and newer Christian inhabitants, known as the Samaritan revolts, took place during the Byzantine period, and were eventually suppressed by the Byzantines by 573.[7] Neapolis was conquered by the Muslims under Khalid ibn al-Walid in 636 after the Battle of Yarmouk.[7] The town prevailed as an important trade center during the centuries of Islamic Arab rule under the Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid dynasties. In the 10th century, the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi, described it as abundant of olive trees, with a large marketplace, a finely paved Great Mosque, houses built of stone, a stream running through the center of the city, and notable mills.[9] He also noted that it was nicknamed "Little Damascus."[1][9] At the time, the linen produced in Nablus was well known throughout the Old World.[10]

The city was captured by Crusaders in 1099, under the command of Prince Tancred, and renamed Naples.[7] In 1120, the Crusaders convened the Council of Nablus out of which was issued the first written laws for the kingdom.[7] They converted the Samaritan synagogue in Nablus into a church.[11] Queen Melisende of Jerusalem resided in Nablus from 1150 to 1161, after she was granted control over the city in order to resolve a dispute with her son Baldwin III. Crusaders began building Christian institutions in Nablus, including a church dedicated to the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus, and in 1170 they erected a hospice for pilgrims.[7] Crusader rule came to an end in 1187, when the Ayyubids led by Saladin captured the city. The Great Mosque of Nablus, which had become a church under Crusader rule, was restored as a mosque by the Ayyubids, who also built a mausoleum in the old city. [12] The city was severely damaged 15 years later by the 1202 Syria earthquake. In 1244, the Samaritan synagogue, built in 362 by the high priest Akbon and converted into a church by the Crusaders, was converted into al-Khadra Mosque. Two other Crusader churches became the An-Nasr Mosque and al-Masakim Mosque during that century.[7][11] The Mamluk dynasty gained control of Nablus in 1260 and during their reign, they built numerous mosques and schools.[13] Under Mamluk rule, Nablus possessed running water, many Turkish baths and exported olive oil and soap to Egypt, Syria, the Hejaz, several Mediterranean islands, and the Arabian Desert.

Under the Ottoman Turks, who conquered the city in 1517, Nablus served as the administrative and commercial centre for the Nablus Sanjak, roughly corresponding to the modern-day northern West Bank. During the 16th century, the population was predominantly Muslim.[7][14] In 1771, during the Egyptian Mamluk invasion of Syria, Zahir al-Umar, the autonomous Arab ruler of the Galilee, aligned himself with the Mamluks and besieged Nablus, but did not succeed in taking the city. In 1773, he tried again without success. The sieges led to a decline in the importance of the city in favor of Acre. Zahir's successor, Jezzar Pasha, maintained Acre's dominance over Nablus. After his reign ended in 1804, Nablus regained its autonomy, and the Tuqans, who represented a principal opposing force, rose to power.[15]

In 1831–32 Khedivate Egypt, then led by Muhammad Ali, conquered Palestine from the Ottomans; the destruction of Acre and further increased the political importance of Nablus. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Nablus was the principal trade and manufacturing center in Ottoman Syria. Its economic activity and regional leadership position surpassed that of Jerusalem and the coastal cities of Jaffa and Acre. Olive oil was the primary product of Nablus and aided other related industries such as soap-making and basket weaving.[15] It was also the largest producer of cotton in the Levant, topping the production of northern cities such as Damascus.[15] Between 19 September and 25 September 1918, in the last months of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War the Battle of Nablus took place.[16] The 1927 Jericho earthquake destroyed many of the Nablus' historic buildings, including the An-Nasr Mosque.[17] Though they were subsequently rebuilt by Haj Amin al-Husayni's Supreme Muslim Council in the mid-1930s, their previous "picturesque" character was lost. During the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, the British authorities demolished buildings in the Old City quarter of Qaryun suspected of harboring insurgents or hiding weapons.[15]

In modern times, the city endured many Israeli military incursions, which significantly damaged parts of the Old City.[12] It has been repeatedly damaged by Israeli rockets and bombs, particularly during the Second Intifada, where it suffered "probably more than any other Palestinian city".[5][6]

Architecture

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.[18]

Notable landmarks

Tourist sign in the Old City

The Old City is home to several important landmarks, including:[19]

The city layout contains the remains of its of original Roman planning. It is composed of six major quarters, each divided by narrow encircling streets: Yasmina, Gharb, Qaryun, Aqaba, Qaysariyya, and Habala. Habala is the largest quarter, with relatively modern buildings, and its population growth led to the development of two smaller neighborhoods: al-Arda and Tal al-Kreim. Yasmina quarter is well known for its meandering, slanted, and dark alleys. Qaryun quarter contains many soap factories.[20] Several leather tanneries, souks, pottery and textile workshops also line the Old City streets.[2]

Conservation and challenges

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.[21] Efforts have been made to preserve its architectural heritage, such as the 1999-2003 Master Plan for the Preservation and further Development of the Historic Centre of Nablus, Palestine by the Institute of Urbanism at Graz University of Technology, instituted by the Nablus Municipality and funded by the Austrian Development Agency,[22][23] and the subsequent restoration project led by the Taawon Welfare Association.[24] It has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.[25][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Semplici, Andrea and Boccia, Mario. – Nablus, At the Foot of the Holy Mountain Archived 2017-07-08 at the Wayback Machine Med Cooperation, p.17.
  2. ^ a b "History". Nablus.ps. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  3. ^ a b c d Abujidi 2023, p. 343–356.
  4. ^ Salameh, Muna M.; Touqan, Basim A.; Awad, Jihad; Salameh, Mohammed M. (2022). "Heritage conservation as a bridge to sustainability assessing thermal performance and the preservation of identity through heritage conservation in the Mediterranean city of Nablus". Ain Shams Engineering Journal. 13 (2). Elsevier BV: 101553. doi:10.1016/j.asej.2021.07.007. ISSN 2090-4479. 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.
  5. ^ a b Abujidi 2023, p. 343–356
  6. ^ a b Abujidi & Verschure 2006, p. 206: "Given the large number of frequent Israeli army invasions of the Old Town, the so called Operation Defensive Shield in April 2002 is considered the heaviest single operation. It caused damage to 47.5% of the housing blocks that structure the Old Town’s urban fabric… During other invasions, a shift in the mechanism and location of destruction is evident. Highly focused, limited-scale demolitions targeting specific sections of the city were identified. The size and scale of destruction are not always determined by the type of invasion. For example, the scale of destruction resulting from the overnight incursion of January 2005 was larger than that of the short-term invasion of January 2004, which lasted 10 days. Moreover, a repeated rhythm in invading and destroying the same buildings during the several invasions was registered over the past four years, with each invasion accompanied by destruction, looting, and vandalism."
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "Neapolis – (Nablus)". Studium Biblicum Franciscanum – Jerusalem. 19 December 2000. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  8. ^ Negev, Avraham; Gibson, S. (2005). Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 175–176. ISBN 9780826485717.
  9. ^ a b Muqaddasi, p. 55.
  10. ^ Runciman, Steven (1987). A History of the Crusades: The Kingdom of Acre and the later Crusades (Reprint, illustrated ed.). CUP Archive. p. 353. ISBN 978-0-521-34772-3.
  11. ^ a b Anderson, Robert T.; Giles, Terry (2002). The Keepers: an introduction to the history and culture of the Samaritans (Illustrated ed.). Hendrickson Publishers. p. 72. ISBN 1565635191.
  12. ^ a b United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004.
  13. ^ "History of Nablus". Dundee–Nablus Twinning Association. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  14. ^ B. Lewis, Studies in the Ottoman Archives—I, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1954), 469–501.
  15. ^ a b c d Doumani 1995.
  16. ^ Richard P. Hallion,Strike From the Sky: The History of Battlefield Air Attack, 1910-1945, University of Alabama Press, 2010 pp.29-33.
  17. ^ Damage Caused By Landslides During the Earthquakes of 1837 and 1927 in the Galilee Region, By D. Wachs and D. Levitte, MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, Report HYDRO/5/78 – Jerusalem – June 1978 [1]
  18. ^ Taawon Welfare Association 2011, p. 12.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Taawon Welfare Association 2011, p. 119.
  20. ^ Taawon Welfare Association 2011, p. 53.
  21. ^ International Council on Monuments and Sites 2002.
  22. ^ Obrecht, A.J.; Bauer, C.; Guggenberger, T.; Gubitzer, L.; Dannecker, P.; Hauser, M.; Benedek, W.; Grechenig, T.; Spitzer, H.; Hofer, A. (2015). "4. The Context of the Palestinian Territories". Appear: Participative Knowledge Production Through Transnational and Transcultural Academic Cooperation. V&r Academic. ISBN 978-3-205-79690-9.
  23. ^ Hohmann-Vogrin, Anna Margaretha (2011). "A Study on the Historic Center of Nablus". The Mediterranean Medina: International Seminar. Architettura, Urbanistica, Ambiente Arte, Disegno, Rilievo, Design. Gangemi Editore. pp. 400–405. ISBN 978-88-492-6605-4.
  24. ^ Taawon Welfare Association 2011.
  25. ^ "Old Town of Nablus and its environs". whc.unesco.org (in Kinyarwanda). Retrieved 2024-09-28.

Bibliography