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Description
Property Name : Al-Ibrahimi Mosque (Al-Haram al-Ibrahimi)/The Tomb of Patriarchs, Haram al-Khalil
Inventory No: 972-2-23
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2020-08-11
Country (State party): Palestine
Province: Al-Khalil/Hebron
Town: Old Town
Geographic coordinates: 31°31’28.87″N
35° 6’38.60″E
Historic Period:
Year of Construction:
Style:
Original Use: Mosque
Current Use: worship
Architect: Unknown
Significance
The presence of Al-Ibrahimi Mosque/The Tomb of Patriarchs, a sacred site for the three monotheistic religions, turned Hebron/Al- Khalil into an important pilgrimage destination and played a crucial role in the town’s development during the Umayyad Period. Muslim pilgrims traveled from Jerusalem to Mecca, passing through Hebron/Al-Khalil, Islam’s fourth holiest site. From the first Islamic Period, the people of Hebron/Al-Khalil built structures and facilities to accommodate the pilgrims and caravans crossing the region. The presence of the mosque and other facilities attracted a diverse range of people. In 985, Mukaddasi mentioned a “hospice” in Hebron/Al-Khalil where food was served (lentils and olive oil). Nasîr l-Khusrau (1047), recounts how on some days, more than 500 travelers would arrive in the town (Le Strange 1890, Marmadji 1951). During the Mamluk Period, public and religious buildings, such as mosques, prayer halls, and baths, were erected in order to meet the needs of the numerous pilgrims. These were listed by Mujir al-Din in 1496 (Sauvaire 1875). Unlike in other Islamic cities, the holy site is not located in the center of the city, because the human settlement was influenced by the topography, and because the people of Hebron/Al- Khalil preferred to stay close to the main road leading to Jerusalem, located at the West of the City. However, it was the focal point of the historic center, which greatly influenced the town’s expansion and its urban structure. This can be seen, for example, in the layout of the main road and other auxiliary roads leading to the Mosque.
According to religious traditions, Al-Ibrahimi Mosque (also known as the “Tomb of the Patriarchs”) is said to host the remains of God’s prophet Abraham and several of his descendants: his wife Sara, their sons Isaac and Jacob and their wives Rebecca and Leah, as well as Jacob’s son Joseph (Gen. 23: 17-20).
The sanctity of the site was vouched for as early as the Herodian Period when a monumental enclosure was built around the sacred Cave of Machpelah (Netzer A., 2006). The latter remains a mystery, as its access has been denied since the second Islamic Period. The scarce descriptions of it are insufficient, contradictory, or heavily mystical.
During the Byzantine Period, a church was probably built inside the enclosure, however, contradictory sources and disparity of the information make it impossible to ascertain the existence of a religious building during that time. It is thought that the Christians would have preferred to practice their faith in Mamre (Vincent 1923 and Mader 1957). During the Umayyad Period, around 750 AD, a mosque was built inside the enclosure; the cenotaphs were placed in their present position and a cupola was used to cover Abraham’s tomb (Mukaddasi, 1886 translation). In 1099, Godfrey of Bouillon conquered the town and converted the mosque into a church, which was baptized the Castle of Saint Abraham (Albert d’Aix, 2007 translation). In 1187, after Saladin reconquered the area, the church was converted back into a mosque, which became known as the Haram al-Khalil.
As early as the Mamluk Period, Hebron/Al-Khalil became a pilgrimage site and an important Sufi center. The most outstanding renovations and transformations took place during that time (Sauvaire 1875, Vincent 1923). The main works included the following: construction of the al-Jawaliyeh Mosque under the Emir AddinSanjar al-Djawali (1329); marble lining of the mosque’s walls, ordered by Prince Tankaz al-Nasîri in 1332-1333; placement of the cenotaphs directly above the supposed location of the tombs of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs by order of the Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Qawalun (1293-1340); the opening of two entrances in the sacred enclosure under the Emir Din Ahmad al-Yaghmuri in the late 14th century; construction of the minarets and the crenulated wall on top of the sanctuary, which also dates back to the Mamluk Period. However, the medieval church’s structure was preserved, rendering unique the architecture of the religious Islamic building. During the Ottoman Period, the monument was well maintained, with modifications kept to a minimum.
The current structure is composed of a large enclosure built around a double-chamber cave. There are doubts shrouding even the origin of the enclosure. The Roman historian Josephus (approx. 37 – 100 AD) had listed all structures built by King Herod (rexit: 37–4 BC). However, the site was not on his list and nothing in his writings linked the structure to Herod. Nevertheless, the enclosure’s architecture is undoubtedly Herodian. The structure features the use of large stone blocks the length of which can exceed many meters (7.5 m for the longest), with a height of over one meter (1.4 m for the tallest). A number of archeologists (such as Conder, Betzinger, Robinson, Warren and Heidet) even maintain that the enclosure was built long before Herod’s reign. It should be noted that, despite the structure’s scale and exceptional longevity – in excess of 2000 years, and despite the many powerful earthquakes experienced by the region, it has not lost it stability and has never sustained damage that required restoration. Its stones are finely hewn, with a 10-cm-wide margin surrounding each of them. The original enclosure is a 16m-high southeast-oriented roofless rectangular structure (59.28 m x 33.97 m). Walls are 2.68-meter thick. Each wall consists of two parts. The lower courses are made of normal large and tall stone blocks, while the upper part features a total of 48 protruding square columns (16 on each of the long walls and 8 on each of the short walls), as well as smaller recessed areas between them near the corners. These pilasters increase the structure’s strength and add to it an aesthetic touch that contrasts with the monotony of the lower section’s flat surface. On top of each wall, several clay-plastered courses were added at later times (probably under the Ottomans). This section of the wall was stripped during the last renovation effort and the edges of its stones were lined.
Selection Criteria
ii. to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design
iii. to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared
vi. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance
State of Preservation
The decision of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO to include the Ibrahimi Mosque and the Old City on the World Heritage List on July 7, 2017, in the Polish city of Karakov is a culmination of years of hard work and determination.
Al Ibrahimi mosque has suffered from the Occupation which began in 1967, with gradual meddling in the mosque’s affairs. Attempts to control it started by weakening the Moslem control over the site, then allowing Jews to pray there, before gradually reserving Jewish prayer areas and prohibiting access to Moslems on Jewish holidays and festivities. The site is now subject to extensive restrictions, proposed by the Shamgar Committee, following the Ibrahimi mosque massacre. Today, as a result of the carnage caused by Goldstein in 1994, the Ibrahimi mosque is partitioned and resembles a military outpost. Worshippers have to go through more than one search before being able to perform their prayers. This partitioning has also transformed the site into an arena of repeated clashes and tension. These measures have stripped the mosque of much of its sanctity, with Jewish worshippers and soldiers entering the site in their shoes, thus desecrating the shrine from an Islamic perspective, to say nothing of the wine brought into the mosque for use in Jewish rituals.
Recently 2017, and in collaboration with the Islamic Endowments Department, Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC) has fully renovated the mosque, revealing its delicate features and restoring interior colours to their past splendour. Since its establishment in 1996, the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee has given the Ibrahimi Mosque special attention in terms of restoration and preservation because of its exceptionally high religious, historical, and symbolic value in its association with the Prophet of God. Additionally, the Ibrahimi Mosques’ structural character adds architectural and aesthetic value. The continued preservation of this important landmark is conducted at a high level of accuracy and attention by a number of professional specialists in this type of restoration in order to retain the original image left by our ancestors long ago. Therefore, we focused on restoration work to maintain this landmark without any interventions that would affect its elements and original features with generous funding from the Saudi Fund for Development.
In regards to the restoration of the Ibrahimi Mosque, the year 2017 witnessed a series of works and achievements contributing to the steadfastness of this monumental edifice that distinguishes the city of Khalil al-Rahman:
– Detailed scrubbing of the western façade of al-Ishaqiya, and renovating and dotting its stones.
– Covering the roof with lead sheets.
– Full renovation of the eastern entrance of the Ibrahimi Mosque. Maintenance of ablution spaces in the Ibrahimi Mosque.
– Rubbing of the walls, and cleaning and the dotting of the stones of al-Usifia.
– Detailed scrubbing of the walls, and cleaning and dotting the stones of the podium.
– Painting the Uisfia and Anbar.
– Renovating the stairs of the western entrance.
– Dotting and renovating the stones of the exterior wall.
– Renovating the decorated wall of the eastern entrance.
– Painting and repairing the windows and doors of Al-Jawlia.
Hebron Rehabilitation Committee: Annual Reports: https://www.hebronrc.ps/index.php/en/about-hrc/annual-reports
References
HEBRON-AL-KHALIL OLD TOWN: WORLD HERITAGE SITE NOMINATION DOCUMENT. Hebron/Al-Khalil, PALESTINE, 2017.
UNESCO, (2017) Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town Session Report
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1565/documents/
The Addition of the Old City to the World Heritage List: A Report on the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee’s Efforts and Achievements: ANNUAL REPORT 2017.