Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town

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Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town: A Crossroads of History and Religion

Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017, offers a unique blend of history, culture, and religion that has made it a significant destination for travelers and scholars alike. Situated in the southern West Bank, this ancient city has been a focal point for various civilizations throughout history due to its strategic location at the crossroads of trade routes connecting southern Palestine, Sinai, Eastern Jordan, and the northern Arabian Peninsula.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

The use of a local limestone shaped the construction of the old town of Hebron/Al-Khalil during the Mamluk period between 1250 and 1517. The centre of interest of the town was the site of Al-Ibrahimi Mosque/The tomb of the Patriarchs whose buildings are in a compound built in the 1st century AD to protect the tombs of the patriarch Abraham/Ibrahim and his family. This place became a site of pilgrimage for the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The town was sited at the crossroads of trade routes for caravans travelling between southern Palestine, Sinai, Eastern Jordan and the north of the Arabian Peninsula. Although the subsequent Ottoman Period (1517-1917) heralded an extension of the town to the surrounding areas and brought numerous architectural additions, particularly the raising of the roof level of houses to provide more upper stories, the overall Mamluk morphology of the town is seen to have persisted with its hierarchy of areas, quarters based on ethnic, religious or professional groupings, and houses with groups of rooms organized according to a tree-shaped system.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (ii): Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town represents an outstanding example of a community built around the interchange of human values. Since its creation, the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque/The Tomb of Patriarchs monumental complex has been a source of great inspiration to surrounding communities and to their social, religious, and spiritual values. The site has been in continuous religious use since the early Roman Period to this day. Herod, a Roman Client King of the region probably built a monumental enclosure “Temenos” around the sacred Cave of Machpelah (al-Ghar al-Sharif). The main roads of the town connect the different quarters in Hebron/Al-Khalil to Al-Ibrahimi Mosque/The Tomb of Patriarchs monumental complex. The relation with the prophet Ibrahim and the presence of Al-Ibrahimi Mosque/The Tomb of Patriarchs monumental complex has attracted pilgrims from around the world, making Hebron/Al-Khalil a meeting place for a great variety of faiths, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. This intermixing has led to a high degree of socio-economic and cultural exchange throughout the centuries reflected in the many public buildings of the property and beyond, including Suqs, Khans, Zawiyas, Maqams, Hammams, and the Takiyya. In the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, Hebron/Al-Khalil became a significant centre of Sufism. Sufis, who came from different cultural backgrounds, found a promising environment in the vicinity of Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi, and subsequently Sufi zawaya (sing. zawiya) were built throughout the city’s quarters and become one of their distinguishing features. For more than a millennium, the Takiyya’s tradition (Hospice- free kitchen) of the Hebron/Al–Khalil influenced the whole region as evidenced in early historic accounts from the 9th century AD presented in the Takiyya of this day. Similar charitable institutions were later established in Jerusalem, Istanbul, Damascus, and Cairo.

Criterion (iv): Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town is an outstanding example of an urban district which has remarkably preserved historical fabric. It has also preserved the morphology and residential typologies dating back to the Mamluk period, all of which contribute to the visual and structural integrity of the cityscape. The residential neighbourhoods of the old town were built in a hosh system. The hosh system is a congregation of separate room units or groups of rooms clustered around several small courtyards. They are found in different locations and levels, which have organically evolved into distinctive tree-shaped residential structures. The continuity of buildings on the outer edges of the town made it difficult to access the town and created an effective defence system of “rampart houses”. These included hidden nooks and circuitous alleyways that played a protective role against intrusions. This system can still be observed clearly within the old town in the road system and urban structures, which are perfectly preserved to this day.

Criterion (vi): The Hebron/Al-Khalil’s Old Town is one of the holiest cities in the world for three monotheistic religions. For centuries, Hebron/Al-Khalil was a town in which prophets visited, lived, and were buried. Traditions and religious beliefs for the three monotheistic religions, have been its cultural foundation and the source of enduring values carried from one generation to the next. Furthermore, the prophet Ibrahim/Abraham’s spirit of generosity and hospitality has been and continues to be deeply ingrained into the traditions of Hebron/Al-Khalil. A key attribute of these traditions is the prophet Ibrahim/Abraham’s Takiyya (Hospice), established before the 9th century AD, which has continued until today to offer meals to the poor and visitors. In the Mamluk period, 13th century AD, Hebron/Al-Khalil became a significant centre of Sufism. Sufis found a promising environment in the vicinity of Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi and, subsequently, sufi zawaya (sing. zawiya) were built throughout the city and have become one of its distinguishing features.

Encyclopedia Record: Old City of Hebron

The Old City of Hebron is the historic city centre of Hebron. The Hebron of antiquity is thought by archaeologists to have originally started elsewhere, at Tel Rumeida, which is approximately 200 meters (660 ft) west of today's Old City, and thought to have originally been a Canaanite city. Today's Old City was settled in Greek or Roman times. It became the center of the overall Hebron site during the Abbasid Caliphate.

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