Introduction

The Conservation of Jerusalem - our Old City

The national and international book markets have never been short of literature on the City of Jerusalem in general and the Old City in particular. Available publications vary between map/photo formats, investigative research and statistical analysis. Politics, history and archaeology are amongst the most popular themes; the City's architecture is a common element present in discussion, described alone or in conjunction with other issues. Descriptive accounts constitute the bulk of architectural literature. Authors have generally concentrated on the outstanding beauty and exotic nature of the ancient city. Thus the first part of this report attempts to cast some light on the more practical, "real-life" issues largely ignored in the past.

In my work as an engineer in charge of technical and administrative affairs related to maintenance and restoration operations in the City's Moslem Quarter, I have come to understand the inconveniences and more serious drawbacks of Old City residence as observed and felt by its own inhabitants. Our work brought us into close contact with the residents during work carried out in their dwellings and led to a clearer understanding of their daily social, political and economic situation.

As an Arab and a native Jerusalemite, I am greatly concerned with the welfare and well-being of my fellow country- and towns-people currently living within the City walls. With the future in mind, I am convinced of the importance of a detailed report on living conditions in general, and, in particular, what is being done to preserve the City's heritage. Technical terminology has been limited in order to reach the widest possible readership. The main goal of the publication is to bring to the attention of all concerned the undesirable features of Old City residence presented within their context, and including a look into the past and to the future. We hope that, once publicised, the findings of the report may encourage local and foreign organisations and individuals to take swift action towards providing material and moral support to the City's residents and bodies working for its preservation.

Chronology of major construction and architectural periods

Pre-Roman peoples in Jerusalem

Kanaanis c. 3000 B.C. onwards

Egyptians 1550-1230 B.C.

Philistines and Israelites 1221-587 B.C.

Ashoreans, Babylonians, Persians and Greeks 560-65 B.C.

Romans 65 B.C.-314 A.D.

An amphitheatre and a huge palace were amongst other structures constructed in the south-western corner of the City during Herod's reign. The City's prestige, temporarily lost to Caesearea, was regained in 37 A.D. when Herod's grandson claimed the throne. Herod Agrippa immediately ordered a costly facelift for the City, building palaces, theatres and other public structures. New neighbourhoods were established within the City walls which in turn expanded to accommodate the new construction. Soon after the Jewish exodus, its new ruler ordered that Jerusalem be razed to the ground, only to be rebuilt in 139 A.D. on its ruins.

Byzantines 314-636 A.D.

Palestine at that time belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium. Christianity soon commanded a large following. In 335 A.D. the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built and the Wall of Jerusalem expanded to include the holy site. During the Byzantine reign, numerous churches, hospitals and other Christian institutions were established in the City. Almost three centuries later, in 614 A.D., the Persian Emperor Kisra conquered Jerusalem; however, only fifteen years later, the legendary Roman Emperor Hercules recaptured the City along with the rest of Syria and Palestine.

Islam

Following successive Moslem military victories over the Romans in Syria and Palestine, the Moslem Caliph Omar was invited by Jerusalem's Patriarch to take over the City.

Umayyads and Abbasids 660 A.D.

Towards the end of the reign of Ali, cousin of the Prophet Mohammad, the Umayyad caliphate was established with Damascus as its capital. The Umayyad rulers however gave favour to Jerusalem. Special attention was allocated to architecture, as the Dome of the Rock and the Aqsa Mosque majestically testify. Umayyad control over Jerusalem came to an end in 750 A.D. with the emergence of the Abbasid dynasty in Iraq. The City's previously strategic role diminished as attention shifted towards the coastal towns such as Ramla.

In 784 A.D., the City suffered a major earthquake, causing severe structural damage to the most stable of its buildings; in particular the Aqsa Mosque. Subsequently it was restored, along with the Dome of the Rock.

Pre-Crusader Jerusalem

Tolonians, Akhsheeds, Seljuks and Fatimids exercised control over Jerusalem during the one hundred or so years before the Crusader invasion. Fatimid ruler Al-Hakem ordered the demolition of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1008.

The Crusaders 1099-1187 A.D.

During fighting between Seljuks and Fatimids, Crusaders overpowered both. After a prolonged siege and many fierce battles, Jerusalem finally surrendered to the invaders and Moslem control over the City was temporarily lost. Historians described the atrocities committed by the invaders as they swept into the City.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was one of the few beneficiaries of the Crusader occupation of Jerusalem. Renovations carried out at the time included the joining of the individual church structures on site under one roof as well as coadditional sections. A new hospital and inn, traces of which are still evident today, were also constructed during their reign.

Ayyubids 1187-1250 A.D.

Salah Eddin Alayyoubi defeated the Crusaders, finally liberating Jerusalem in 1187 A.D. Salah Eddin ordered removal of all Christian imposed decorations in the Dome of the Rock and Alaqsa Mosque. Major achievements in new construction and architecture during his reign include: a hospital, the Muristan, in the vicinity of Dabbagha Market (traces of its stone foundations can be seen today); the Salahieh School near St. Stephen's Gate just inside the City Walls; Al-Khankah Alsalahieh next to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; Yousef's Dome, a few yards from the Dome of the Rock; and the Wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt with added towers.

In order to ensure an Arab majority within the City, the leader brought Arab tribes such as Bani Hareth and Bani Murra into various neighbourhoods. Most influencial of Salah Eddin's descendants was King Issa, who was especially known for his deep affection for Jerusalem. Many architectural accomplishments stand as proof of that today: the Muathamiyya School, a few hundred yards along the Via Dolorosa from St. Stephen's Gate; the seven portal arches just north of the Aqsa Mosque; the central tower of the Castle (Citadel) at Jaffa Gate; Sabil Shaalan to the north side of the Haram; the Badriah School in Alkirami neighbourhood. A side street in the Bab-Hutta neighbourhood is named after him.

According to the terms of a treaty signed between King Issa's brother, Al-Kamel, and the Faranj's (Westerners) King, the City of Jerusalem, excluding the Haram Al Sharif compound, was handed over to the latter for a brief period ending with King Alnaser's invasion in 1239. Ayyubid reign in Jerusalem ended with the death of their King Giath Eddin in 1250 A.D.

Mamluks 1250-1517 A.D.

The first Mamluk Family was established in 1250 A.D. by King Almuizz in Egypt. During the three hundred years of Mamluk dominance over the Holy City, they established schools, ribats, zawiyas and convents throughout the City, particularly close to the Haram perimeter. Magnificent decorated stonework was their trademark in architecture as observed in many of the Old City's existing structures. Souqs, pathed archways, sabils (drinking fountains) and khans (inns) were amongst other Mamluk achievements in architecture. The Mamluk dynasty was finally displaced by the Turkish Sultan Saleem in 1516 A.D. who peacefully conquered Jerusalem a year later in 1517.

Turks 1517-1917

The Ottoman Empire occupied the land for 400 years. Despite being ruthless, the governors of Jerusalem were generous in their efforts towards restoration and new construction projects in the City, especially during Sultan Suleiman's reign (1520 -1566). The Wall of Jerusalem was renovated over a period of five years with the replacement of a considerable number of eroded stones and other material. In addition, the Dome of the Rock was completely retiled, with its walls and dome completely repaired, along with those of the adjacent Haram Alsharif compound. All fountains inside the City walls were repaired and improved. A school (Madrassa Alrasasiyya) and an Orphanage (Tikiyyat Khasqui Sultan) were also established during the Sultan's reign. At that time the City accommodated within its walls the following structures of architectural significance:

Six Turkish baths (hammams);

Eighteen drinking water fountains (sabils);

Five Christian churches and two Jewish synagogues;

Two hundred and forty mihrabs (Moslem praying sites);

Seventeen homes for teaching Koran and Islamic religion;

Seventy convents (ribats, zawiyas, khankas);

Two thousand and forty five stone, vaulted shops;

Six inns (khans) and several markets.

Jerusalem, with the rest of Palestine, was granted to the Egyptians according to a later treaty between the two armies. Turkish troops swept into the City soon after the Egyptian army's departure in 1840 and stayed there until 1917 when the Ottoman Empire was finally dissolved and defeated by the Allied forces at the end of World War I. Other major Ottoman achievements in Jerusalem and Palestine are as follows. A railway line was opened in 1892 between Jerusalem and Jaffa, with a total length of 87 km; the first major highway joining the two cities was completed in 1867. The town hospital was rebuilt in 1891 in the west side of Jerusalem. The first windmill was built in 1839. The Citadel, near Jaffa Gate, was wholly repaired, adding a few adjoining structures in the process. The Clock Tower, a magnificent square tower with four huge towers at the top of each side, was built in 1909 on top of Jaffa Gate. In 1863, the local authority ordered the removal of all market platforms in order to create additional space for pedestrians. In 1885, old street tiles were replaced in all of the City's alleys and main streets, with the provision of side channels for drainage.

Twentieth Century: Turkey, Great Britain, Jordan and Israel

On the eve of the ninth of November 1917, the British army swept into the Holy City following the Ottoman pullout, and immediately assigned a military governor to administer local affairs. Three decades of British colonial rule paved the way for the establishment of a Jewish state in 1948, a year known by hundreds of thousands of homeless Palestinian refugees who were scattered over the adjacent Arab countries as the year of "the Catastrophe" or Al-naqba.

The Jordanian and Palestinian peoples were so interrelated socially and economically, that the inclusion of part of Palestine in the Hashemite Kingdom was not wholly considered as occupation at the time, with all efforts directed towards fighting the common enemy, the state of Israel.

Under Jordanian rule, Jerusalem thrived as a major tourist spot, frequented by visitors from all over the world. In 1967, the weakness of Arab armies and their unwillingness to fight, invited the expansionist Israeli army to an easy victory, which resulted in further homelessness and deprivation for the Palestinians.

Less than six months since the six day war had elapsed before major town planning projects were initiated all over the City. The startling speed with which new suburbs of sky-scrapers and stepped residential buildings were created at strategic locations in and around East Jerusalem exceeded the time period Jeruslamites needed to absorb the shock of their defeat. At present an almost uninterrupted circle of "Settler' Cities" totally engulf East Jerusalem literally strangling the Arab population and greatly limiting their building expansion possibilities. Arab land confiscation orders were issued together with strict local building regulations forcing immigration of local residents into new neighbourhoods outside the City limits.

The recent inaugration of the No. I highway along the western edge of East Jerusalem conveyed the symbolic message to locals and outsiders alike, that Jerusalems unification was irreversible. Further confirmation was provided by intensive new construction activity centred around the new North - South highway, namely the yet to be completed over 100,000 square metre David's Village Project at Mamilla, (just outside the Old City's Jaffa Gate) the Dan Hotel, under construction at the New Gate / Jaffa St. intersection and the swiftly rising new Border Police Headquarters complex in Sheikh Jarrah exactly at the east edge of the new highway. It is worth pointing out that the last project is being constructed on Islamic Waqf (Trust) owned land. Palestinian residents of Jerusalm however vowed to reject and defy the unlawful annexation of the City. Armed with unwavering determination and driven by strong nationalistic and religious beliefs Arab Jerusalemites have not lost hope, despite their seemingly desperate cause, and have continued to defend their rights against extremely unlikely odds.

Over five years of Intifada has left many Jerusalemites dead, injured, imprisoned or deported by Israeli authorities. East Jerusalem City centre and Arab neighbourhoods have become almost completely out of bounds for Israeli citizens in spiof the huge police/military presence.

Palestinians have still not given up their struggle for Jerusalem despite continued Israeli refusal to discuss the subject. Senior Palestinian peace negotiators acknowledge that the issue of Jerusalem is one of the main causes behind the continued lack of success in the eighteen month old Middle East peace process.

Nowadays Jerusalem is again at the centre of attention as the iron - fist government of Yitzhak Rabain continues to forcefully impose the March closure of the West Bank and Gaza restricting their residents' entry to East Jerusalem and causing severe economic hardship for the local population.

With this present day update and the preceeding brief historical review as background, we shall now move to the main core of this text, the most ancient part of Jerusalem, its Old City. The inclusion of a brief reference to twentieth century social and demographic developments inside the Old City aimed to serve as an introduction to more real and relevant issues and to facilitate a transition into the technical part of the text.