Ahmad Agha Fadhelaldin Agha Al-Asali Duzdar () was

Mayor of Jerusalem The Mayor of the City of Jerusalem is head of the executive branch of the political system in Jerusalem. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within Jerusal ...

and Governor of Jerusalem from 1838 to as late as 1863. In 1838 Ahmad Agha accompanied David Roberts from Jerusalem to the river Jordan, together with 4,000 Christian pilgrims. His name appears in a petition by Muhammad Sharif in 1840 demanding that "the Jews must not be enabled to carry out the paving, and they must be cautioned against raising their voices and displaying their books at the

Western wall The Western Wall (; ; Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: ''HaKosel HaMa'arovi'') is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Its most famous section, known by the same name ...

." His official title was 'Ottoman Governor of Jerusalem'. He was known for his dealings with

Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...

, having sold him the land to acquire

Mishkenot Sha'ananim Mishkenot Sha'ananim (, ''lit.'' Peaceful Dwellings) was the first Jewish settlement built outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, on a hill directly across Mount Zion. It was built in 1859–1860. This guesthouse was one of the first ...

, which was built in 1860.Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore : comprising their life and work as recorded in their diaries from 1812 to 1883, Volume 2
pages 51-52: “Ahhmed Agha Dizdar, who had been Governor of Jerusalem during the reign of Mohhammad Ali, and who since the year 1839 had stood in friendly relations with Sir Moses, was the owner of the land in question. When Sir Moses broached the subject of the purchase to him, his answer was: "You are my friend, my brother, the apple of my eye, take possession of it at once. This land I hold as an heirloom from my ancestors. I would not sell it to any person for thousands of pounds, but to you I give it without any money: it is yours, take possession of it." " I myself, my wife, and children, we all are yours." And this was his reply to Sir Moses day after day, whenever he was asked the price for which he would sell the said property. Ultimately, after a whole day's most friendly argument, which almost exhausted all my stock of Arabic phraseology (having acted as interpreter between him and Sir Moses), he said to me: "You are my friend, my brother; by my beard, my head, I declare this is the case. Tell Sir Moses to give me a souvenir of one thousand pounds sterling, and we will go at once to the Ckadee." In 2005, the Turkish government in consultation with the

Wakf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charit ...

built a marker for his grave which is in the southern end of the

Mamilla Cemetery Mamilla Cemetery, sometimes called Ma'aman Allah Cemetery (), is a historic Muslim cemetery in West Jerusalem that dates back to the Crusades, and lies just to the west of the north-west corner of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, near th ...

in west

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Gallery

Image:AhmadAghaDuzdar.jpg, The Grave of Ahmad Agha Fadhelaldin Agha Al-Asali Duzdar in the

, Jerusalem File:David Roberts - Banks of the Jordan - 1927.78 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, David Roberts' ''Immersion of the Pilgrims''; the accompanying text notes: "In this View Achmet Aga, the Governor of Jerusalem, with a part of his Arab guard, occupy the foreground."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duzdar, Ahmad Agha Al-Asali Arab people from Ottoman Palestine Palestinian politicians Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Year of death unknown Place of death unknown 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century mayors Mayors of Jerusalem