World Heritage Identification Number: 1565
World Heritage since: 2017
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: Yes
Country: 🇵🇸 State of Palestine
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Arab States
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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.
More to come…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.
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.Additional Site Details
Area: 20.6 hectares
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
(vi) — Directly associated with events or living traditions
Coordinates: 31.5244444444 , 35.1083333333
