Khan al-Sultan Stands Proud in Jerusalem

Husnieh Ghanayem

Khan al-Sultan, also known as al-Wakalah, is a caravanserai located at the northern end of a covered alleyway leading north from Bab al-Silsila Street, near the eastern edge of the Goldsmiths’ Market Street, in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City. It is only a few hundred meters from the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In the 20th century, the caravanserai’s facilities were converted into shoe factories. At the beginning of the 21st century, the first floor was occupied by shops, warehouses, and small workshops run by Jerusalemites, while the second floor became a residence for dozens of families, housing approximately 120 people. The caravanserai suffers from neglect and a lack of restoration of its houses and buildings. It also suffers from overcrowding, as the Israeli occupation authorities prevent any expansion or construction.

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Christian Wedding in Beit Jala 1940
  • HebaHeba
  • August 22, 2026

See cheese, the camera is waiting. Its a bright day, everyone is there for the happy occasion. This is the wedding of Emile Abu Dayyeh and Widad Makhlouf from Beit Jala, Palestine in 1940. The photo was taken in front of the Makhlouf family home when Abu Dayyeh came to escort the bride to the church and start the wedding ceremony. The photo was subsequently put in color by Husam Abdullah Abu Farha 

 

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Palestinian Photographer Khalil Raad With Family in Early 20th Century

Palestinian littérateur Newspaper (صحيفة المثقف الفلسطيني)

A rare photograph of the Palestinian photographer Khalil Raad with his family in the early 20th century.

Khalil Raad is considered one of the first Palestinian photographers to document life in Palestine at the end of the Ottoman era and during the British Mandate. His collection of more than 3,000 photographs documents social life in Palestinian cities and villages. Raad began his work from a studio he established on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem in 1890, which was destroyed by Zionist militias. He managed to save 1,230 of the 3,000 photographs in the studio with the help of a friend from Italy who was living in Jaffa.

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