Khan al-Umdan (: "Caravanserai of the Pillars" or "Inn of the Columns", also known as Khán-i-ʻAvámid) is the largest and best preserved

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

in Acre, Israel.Vilnay, 1963. Located in the Old City of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

, it is one of the prominent projects constructed during the rule of Ahmed Jezzar Pasha in Galilee, under the Ottoman era.

History

Ottoman period

Being one of four Khans in Acre, Khan al-Umdan was built in 1784 on the place of the Royal Customs house of the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...

. Due to its plethora of columns the khan was named Khan al-Umdan which means "Inn of the Columns" or "Caravanserai of Pillars". It incorporates forty columns made of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

that were taken from Caesarea,

Atlit Atlit or Athlit may refer to: Places * Atlit, an historical fortified town in Israel, also known as Château Pèlerin * Atlit (modern town), a nearby town in Israel Media *Athlit (album), ''Athlit'' (album), an ambient music album by Oöphoi *Atli ...

and the ruins of Crusader monuments in Acre itself. Due to its proximity to the port, Khan al-Umdan has throughout its history been an important trading spot. Merchants arriving at Acre used the khan as a

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

while the second floor functioned as a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

. Camel caravans once brought produce and grain from Galilean villages to the city's markets and port.Dumper and Stanley, 2006, p. 7. The khan later gained importance to the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

(as the Khán-i-'Avámid) as it was the site where Baha'ullah used to receive guests, and later the site for a Baháʼí school. In 1906 a

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

was added adjacent to the main entrance to the khan to commemorate the

silver jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

of the rule of Ottoman sultan Abd al-Hamid II. It is similar to the Jaffa Clock Tower, a building dedicated to the same purpose, along with five more towers in Ottoman Palestine (in Jerusalem, Haifa, Safed, Nablus, and possibly Nazareth) and over a hundred across the entire empire.

Modern era

In 2001 Khan al-Umdan, together with the rest of Acre's old city, was designated as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. In 2004 Khan al-Umdan () was featured on a stamp of Israel worth 1.3 sheqels. Nowadays, the khan is a major tourist attraction open all hours of the day and used as an open-air stage during festivals in the city, such as the theater festival of Acre during the month of October.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan Al-Umdan Commercial buildings completed in 1784 Buildings and structures in Acre, Israel Ottoman caravanserais Caravanserais in Israel 1784 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 18th-century establishments in Ottoman Syria Tourist attractions in Northern District (Israel) World Heritage Sites in Israel Clock towers in Israel Ottoman clock towers