page_title: Architecture of Palestine
section_title: Ottoman era (1516-1918)
hierarchical_section_title: Architecture of Palestine / History / Ottoman era (1516-1918)
caption_attribution_description: Acre English: The entrance to Al-Jazaar mosque in Acco (Acre), Israel. עברית: הכניסה למסגד אל ג'זאר בעכו, ישראל.
context_page_description: The architecture of Palestine covers a vast historical time frame and a number of different styles and influences over the ages. The urban architecture of Palestine prior to 1850 was relatively sophisticated. While it belonged to greater geographical and cultural context of the Levant and the Arab world, it constituted a distinct tradition, "significantly different from the traditions of Syria, Lebanon or Egypt." Nonetheless, the Palestinian townhouse shared in the same basic conceptions regarding the arrangement of living space and apartment types commonly seen throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. The rich diversity and underlying unity of the architectural culture of this wider region stretching from the Balkans to North Africa was a function of the exchange fostered by the caravans of the trade routes, and the extension of Ottoman rule over most of this area, beginning in the early 16th century through until the end of World War I.
context_section_description: New architectural techniques introduced by the Ottoman rulers were gradually adopted, though not universally. Jerusalem was redeveloped under Ottoman rule, its walls rebuilt, the Dome of the Rock retiled and the water system renovated. Acre also underwent a massive renovation during this time and it is the best example of urban Ottoman architecture in Palestine with several khans, two bath houses, three main souqs, at least ten mosques and a citadel. The el-Jazzar Mosque is particularly impressive with its pencil-like minaret and large central dome. Hammam al-Basha features fine decorative detailing in the form of Armenian tilework and inlaid marble floors. Houses in Acre built during this period range between two and four-storeys and many have wooden ceilings decorated with paintwork. Other important cities during the period of Ottoman rule include Hebron, Nablus, Ramla, Jaffa, Safad, and Tiberias. Most of these cities were surrounded by fortifications, and the best surviving example from this period is the wall re-constructed around Tiberias by Zahir al-Umar.
  Housing varied by region, with mud-brick houses common along the coast, of which there are few surviving examples today. Predominant features of stone houses were the domed roofs which in the 18th century were often decorated with swirls, rosettes and semi-circles formed of carved plaster. Roofs in the Galilee region were differed in their use of transverse stone arches that supported short beams over which the roof was laid.
  Ottoman fortresses that served as garrisons for the Janissaries (Ottoman troops) were abundant outside of Jerusalem. These large square or rectangular structures with square corner towers can still be seen at Ras al-Ain near Tel Aviv, Khan al-Tujjar near Kafr Kanna, and Qal'at Burak south of Jerusalem.
caption: Entrance to the el-Jazzar Mosque, with the sabil to the right of the steps
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