Khan al-Tujjar (Mount Tabor)
Encyclopedia
Khan al-Tujjar are the ruins of a caravanserai
in the Lower Galilee, Israel
, opposite the entrance to Beit Keshet
.
by Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha
around 1581. 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."
In the early 1760s the Italian traveller Mariti vistited the khan, and wrote that:
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.
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.
In the mid 1850's, W. M. Thomson made a lively description of a marked day there:
Caravanserai
A caravanserai, or khan, also known as caravansary, caravansera, or caravansara in English was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey...
in the Lower Galilee, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, opposite the entrance to Beit Keshet
Beit Keshet
Beit Keshet |Bow]]) is a kibbutz in the Lower Galilee, Israel.Founded in 1944, Beit Keshet was established by HaNoar HaOved graduates who were trained at the Kfar Tabor Agricultural School...
.
History
The caravanserai was established near Mount TaborMount Tabor
-Places:*Mount Tabor, a hill in Israel near Nazareth believed by many to be the site of the Transfiguration of ChristIn the United States:*Mount Tabor, Indiana, an unincorporated community...
by Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha
Sinan Pasha
Sinan Pasha or Sinan Pashë Kahremanliu was an Albanian Grand Vizier, Ottoman military commander and statesman.-Life:...
around 1581. 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."
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.
James Silk Buckingham
James Silk Buckingham
James Silk Buckingham was an English author, journalist and traveller.He was born at Flushing near Falmouth, the son of a farmer, and had a limited education. His youth was spent at sea, and in 1797 he was captured by the French and held as a prisoner of war at Corunna...
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.
The American scholar Edward Robinson
Edward Robinson (scholar)
Edward Robinson was an American biblical scholar, known as the “Father of Biblical Geography.” He has been referred to as the “founder of modern Palestinology.” -Biography:...
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.
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 HauranHauranHauran, , also spelled Hawran or Houran, is a volcanic plateau, a geographic area and a people located in southwestern Syria and extending into the northwestern corner of Jordan. It gets its name from the Aramaic Hawran, meaning "cave land." In geographic and geomorphic terms, its boundaries...
, 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.