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Old City of Nablus

Coordinates: 32°13′8″N 35°15′41″E / 32.21889°N 35.26139°E / 32.21889; 35.26139
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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".[3][5]

History

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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]

Architecture

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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.[7]

Notable Landmarks

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Tourist sign in the Old City

The Old City is home to several important landmarks, including:[8]

  • Mosques (9) Great Mosque of Nablus, An-Nasr Mosque, Hanbali Mosque, al-Khadra Mosque, Al-Saton, Al-Khader, Al-Bek, Al-Tina, Al-Anbiya'[8]
  • Zawiyas / small mosques (7) Al-Samdiya, Al-Bastamiya, Al-Omari, Al-Sa'diya, Al-Qadam Al-Rifa'iya, Al-Darwishiya, Al-Harithiya[8]
  • Maqams (shrines) (5) Al-Anbiya', Al-Sheikh Muslim, Al-Sheikh Badran, Al-Sheikh Masoud, Bish Al-Hafi[8]
  • Palaces (3) the large compounds of prominent historical families: Tuqan Palace, Al-Nimr Palace and Abd al-Hadi Palace[8]
  • Hammams (8) Al-Hana' (the last hamaam built in the city in the 19th century, closed in 1928 but restored and reopened in 1994),[1] Al-Shifa (built by the Tuqans in 1624), Al-Baydara, Al-Daraja, Al-Reesh, Al-Qadi, Al-Tamimi, Al-Khalili[8]
  • Caravanserais / Khans (3) Khan al-Tujjar, Al-Jadeed, Al-Wikala (Wikalat Al-Froukhiya)[8]
  • Sabils (fountains) (10) Al-Taher, Al-Satoun, Al-Sukkar, Al-Khader, Al-Kas, Al-Qaryun, Al-Salaha Al-Ulwi, Al-Salaha Al-Sufli, Al-Sitt, Al-Dulab[8]
  • Soap factories (29) Al-Rantisi, Al-Masri, Al-Nabilsi, Tuqan, Arafat, Kanaan, Al-Nimer, Fatayer, Salhab, Al-Amad, Shahin, Al-Taher, Al-Tamimi, Abu-Alrus, Abu Al-Majed, Ya'eesh, Abdelhadi, Al-Satoun, Abu Al-Shamat, Al-Aloul[8]
  • Manara Clock Tower built in 1906[8]

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.[9]

Several leather tanneries,souks, pottery and textile workshops also line the Old City streets.[2]

Conservation and Challenges

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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.[10]

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, insituted by the Nablus Municipality and funded by the Austrian Development Agency,[11][12] and the subsequent restoration project led by the Taawon Welfare Association.[13]

It has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.[14][3]

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References

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  1. ^ a b 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 e 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. ^ 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."
  6. ^ United_Nations_Office_for_the_Coordination_of_Humanitarian_Affairs 2004.
  7. ^ Taawon Welfare Association 2011, p. 12.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Taawon Welfare Association 2011, p. 119.
  9. ^ Taawon Welfare Association 2011, p. 53.
  10. ^ International Council on Monuments and Sites 2002.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Taawon Welfare Association 2011.
  14. ^ "Old Town of Nablus and its environs". whc.unesco.org (in Kinyarwanda). Retrieved 2024-09-28.

Bibliography

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