| Khan al-Tujjar | |
|---|---|
| Fair at Khan al-Tujjar.jpg A fair at Khan al-Tujjar around 1850, by W. H. Bartlett |
|
| Alternative names | The Merchant's Caravansary |
| General information | |
| Type | Caravanserai |
| Architectural style | Ottoman |
| Location | Mount Tabor, Current Israel |
| Completed | 1581 |
Khan al-Tujjar are the ruins of a caravanserai in the Lower Galilee, Israel, opposite the entrance to Beit Keshet.
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The caravanserai was established near Mount Tabor by Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha around 1581.[1][2] The reason given for its establishment was that the place was insecure for merchants and people making pilgrimage, and it was argued that if a khan was built, the place would become "inhabited and cultivated."[2]
In the early 1760s the Italian traveller Mariti vistited the khan, and wrote that:
"...you arrive at El-Net-Tesgiar, or the Place of Merchants. I was very much struck with the elegance and magnificence of its walls. Incrusted with the most beautiful marble, which the hand of art has disposed with much taste [..] El-Net-Tesgiar is enlivened by a very flourishing commerce. A fair is held here every Monday, which is resorted to by merchants from various countries. It is well furnished with cloth, cattle, and provisions of every kind; and in this respect it is, indeed, not inferior to the richest markets in Europe.[3]
James Silk Buckingham visited the place in around 1816, and described how, on a Monday, they found four to five thousand people assembled around the Khan, in addition to numerous herds of cattle.[4]
The American scholar Edward Robinson visited in 1838, a day after the weekly Monday fair which had "drawn away from their home a large portion of the people of Nazareth". As Buckingham, he describes two large buildings, one a Khan, and one building looking more like a castle.[5]
In the mid 1850's, W. M. Thomson made a lively description of a marked day there:
On Monday of each week a great fair is held at the khans, when, for a few hours, the scene is very lively and picturesque. These gatherings afford an excellent opportunity to observe Syrian manners, customs, and costumes, and to become acquainted with the character and quality of Syrian productions. Thousands of people assemble from all parts of the country, either to sell, trade or purchase. Cotton is brought in bales from Nablus; barley, and wheat, and sesamum, and Indian corn from Huleh, the Hauran, and Esdraelon. From Gilead and Bashan, and the surrounding districts, come horses and donkeys, cattle and flocks, with cheese, leben, semen, honey and similar articles. Then there are miscellaneous matters, such as chicken and eggs, figs, raisins, apples, melons, grapes and all sorts of fruits and vegetables in season. The pedlars open their packages of tempting fabrics, the jeweller is there with his trinkets; the tailor with his ready-made garments; the shoemaker with his stock, from rough, hairy sandals to yellow and red Morocco boots; the farrier is there with his tools, nails, and flat iron shoes, and drives a prosperous business for a few hours; and so does the saddler, with his coarse sacks and gaily-trimmed cloths. And thus it is with all the arts and occupations known to this people.... But long before sunset not a soul of this busy throng remains on the spot. All return home, or to take refuge in some neighbouring village.[6]