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International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)

Volume 9, Issue 9, September 2018, pp. 1217–1233, Article ID: IJCIET_09_09_118

Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijciet/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=9&IType=9

ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316

© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed

ARCHITECTURAL AND HISTORICAL

DEVELOPMENT IN PALESTINE

Mumen Abuarkub and Faiq M. S. Al-Zwainy

Faculty of Engineering, Isra University, Amman, Jordan

ABSTRACT

This research paper gives a historic overview of the Palestnian architecture from

the ancient times until today. The first chapter treats the ancient architecture. It

introduces us to the first architectural findings on the territory of Palestine and the

earliest Palestinian houses. We will see the differences of styles and buildings in

prehistoric and ancient times from those built during Roma-Byzantine rule and later

during ancient Greek-Roman influence. It is the time of the emergence and spread of

Christianity, thus the period of building its temples - the churches. With the conquest

of Palestine by the Arabs and islamization of the country the architecture suffers

changes and is influenced by this new religion and new lifestile. Jerusalem becomes

the beacon of islamic religion and culture. This period is the subject of the second

chapter that gives us overview of the Palestinian architecture starting from Arabs

installation in the 7th

century and the crusaders wars, followed by the rule of

Mamluk's dynasty. We finalize this period of influence in the Palestinian architecture

with the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Despite the change of religions and cultures,

churches and mosques are being constructed in each rule. In crusader time we notice

increased activity in building fortifications. With the decline of the Ottoman Empire,

in the 20th

century there is a drastic change in building types and building techniques

in Palestine. The western influence that came with the British occupation is evident

and reflects the changing lifestyle, especially of those in the high society. Attention is

paid to new urban plans and British planners are engaged for this purpose. The rise

of the tourism in the 20th

century demands construction of roads that can connect

different cities as well as the country with the rest of the world. What was done during

the British, Jordanian and Egyptian occupation, as well as the Israeli occupation of

the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967 of Palestine is presented in the third chapter.

The historical overview could not be complete if we do not give a brief look at the

contemporary architecture in Palestine in the fourth chapter. It is evident that the

political situation in Palestine has a decisive impact in Palestinian architecture. The

emergence of architectural schools and educated architects that are influenced with

the modern and contemporary movements of the global architectural scene are

making changes in the urban and rural environment in Palestine. The constraints they

endure are certain. This new time demands the use of new building techniques and

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new building materials. The contemporary Palestinian architecture is a strugle

between the tradition and the modern.

Keywords: Palestinian architecture, ancient architecture, historic overview,

architectural influence.

Cite this Article: Mumen Abuarkub and Faiq M. S. Al-Zwainy, Architectural and

Historical Development in Palestine, International Journal of Civil Engineering and

Technology, 9(9), 2018, pp. 1217–1233.

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=9&IType=9

1. INTRODUCTION

The geographical situation of Palestine represents the curse and the blessing at the same time.

Situated in the Middle East, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan river, including

ad joint lands, Palestine occupies the strategic geographical place and is a crossroad between

three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. It is the land where the three biggest monotheistic

religions were born - the Islam, the Judaism and the Christianity. It is a crossroad of many

civilizations and therefore by its position - connecting Eurasian with the African continent,

contributed to intermingling of the people from these three continents and their mutual

interaction and influences. As a small country, with glorious history and a cradle of

civilization, Palestine had a global influence. Despite its religious, etnical and political

questions, there are still many economic, social, ecological, political, and of course

architectural changes that take place.

During its history, Palestine was under control by many civilizations and thus a crossroad

of different religions and cultures. Some of the civilizations who left their inprint here had

historical influence on the entire human history. Starting from the Canaanites, Amorites,

Ancient Egyptians, Moabites, Ammonites, Tjeker, Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonias,

Persians, ancient Greeks and Romans from ancient times and antiquity passing to the

Byzantine Empire, different dynasties of the early Muslim period (Umayads, Abbasids,

Seljuks, Fatimids), Crusaders, Late Muslim dynasties (Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottoman Turks),

arriving to the the British, Jordanians, on the West Bank and Egyptians in Gaza Strip, and

ending with the modern Israelis and Palestinians.

All these rulers left their lifestyle and made cultural and architectural impact. Our

ancestors would have a hard time to recognize this land today that was once described as a

land of (milk and honey). Today this territory is overinhabited and polluted. In terms of

architecture, there are no global urban plans. Unfortunatelly, Palestine is a clear example

today of an organic connection between the degradation of the urban space and the existing

political conflict. Palestinian case differs from the examples in other countries due to its

specific political situation. Palestinian territory transited from the state of occupation to a

state of freedom and local self-administration, without the possibility to decide how to

manage and organize the use of their land. When this topic is concerned it is less

disputable to use the term Architecture in Palestine then the term Palestinian Architecture; the

first term has a wider meaning and it refers to all architectural styles met in Palestine. They

reflect various periods in Palestinian history: Hellenic, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad,

Abbasid, Fatimid, Crusades, Ayoubid, Mamluk, Ottoman, and British occupation - until

today.

It should be also noted that these architectural styles are often found in cities and rarely in

villages. In the case of Palestine - that played a relatively marginal political and economic

role in comparison with cities like Cairo, Damascus, and Baghdad, these architectural styles

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are mostly met in Jerusalem (Mamluk and Ottoman), Acre, and to a lesser extent in the city

of Nablus. Architectural styles are often met in noblemen households; architecture of the

political elite and urban noble families.

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.

2. FROM THE BEGINNING UNTIL THE ARAB-ISLAMIC CONQUEST

Many historical books describe the history of Palestine. At the same time, beside this

abundance in the historical litterature, there are also many testimonies that come from the

books of travel from 19th and 20th century, which portray the architecture in Palestine in

these last two centuries. In this chapter we will gave a short overview of the history of

architecture in Palestine starting from ancient times to the antiquity.

2.1. Ancient architecture

Archaeological artifacts imparting information as to the nature of monumental construction,

such as city walls, palaces, tombs and cult centers, in ancient Palestine are abundant. The

paucity of written records, and the incompleteness of archaeological remains of ancient

Palestinian housing available to early scholars, resulted in biblical archaeologists often

looking to modern Palestinian houses to determine how ancient housing in Palestine was

constructed.

Cautioning against the conclusiveness of such comparisons, H. Keith Beebe writes that,

(Arab houses are structured with regard to specific social customs and economic conditions,

different from those of ancient Palestine). Beebe notes that a full account of the architectural

details of ancient Palestinian housing is rarely possible, but that written records and

archaeological findings available to scholars at his time of writing (1968), provide (a quite

reliable picture of houses in the common life of ancient Palestine).

Excavations in Beidha in modern day Jordan indicate that the earliest Palestinian houses

were constructed about 9,000 years ago. Consisting of stone foundations with a

superstructure made of mud-brick, they were simple structures, most often not more than one

room with a single doorway, and likely without windows. Four different floor plans

preserved from this period have been identified: multagonal circular, true circular, square,

and rectangular. Roofs were normally made of wooden supports upon which woven reed

mats or brush were laid, atop of which were added layers of clay mortar, rolled smooth to

make an impermeable surface. Many of these early houses contained burial chambers beneath

the floor. Food was prepared outside the house where the storage silos were also located.

Houses were grouped closely together, and sometimes shared a back or side wall in common.

Among the foundations discovered in the Beidha excavations were those of a six-sided,

one room house dated to 6800 B.C. Circular house foundations in Beidha dating to about

6000 B.C. resembled those found at pre-Pottery Neolithic A Jericho. The floors of the Jericho

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round houses differed in that they were sunken beneath ground level, with wooden steps

leading down into the house. This sunken feature is interpreted as a sign of continuous

occupation of these houses over a long period of time.

By 5,000 B.C., the houses in Jericho were of a rectangular shape, with more than one

room. These rooms had straight walls, but with rounded corners that may be a remnant of the

prior round house building tradition. Some of the doorframes were reinforced by timber,

perhaps to reduce the wear and tear to the mud-brick structure that would be incurred from

constant human contact. The floors were covered with hard lime plaster, extending up the

walls. By this time, water and grain storage had moved to house interiors, while thick layers

of charcoal uncovered in house courtyards indicate that food preparations were carried out

there.

2.2. Classical Antiquity

Five types of housing are seen in the Roman-Byzantine period. Two of these, the simple

house and the courtyard house, typify the domestic architecture of Palestine for some three

millennia into the modern age. The other three, seen as characteristic of the Roman-

Byzantine period, are the big mansion (domus), the farmhouse and the shop-house. The

relatively high number of domus structures dated to the late Hellenistic and Roman periods

reveals the extent of Greco-Roman influence on domestic architecture in Palestine at that

time. The oldest known examples of this kind of structure in the Galilee were situated in

Philoteria/Bet Yerah and date to the late Hellenistic period. Examples of the farmhouse type

found thus far date exclusively to the Herodian period.

Architectural remains from the early Christian period are scant in Palestine. Scholars like

Walter E. Rast attribute this to the relative powerlessness of the early Christian communities

prior to the institutionalization of the Christian church. The earliest known building from this

period, a church built in octagonal form, dates to the 2nd or 3rd centuries CE. While there is

evidence that Christians venerated a number of sites associated with Jesus at this early time,

very few structures have been found that were constructed at this time. One notable exception

is evidence of a pre-4th century CE structure that was found under the mosaics of the Church

of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

3. ROM THE ARAB-ISLAMIC CONQUEST UNTIL OTTOMAN

OCCUPATION (640-1516)

Palestine witnessed many historical events. Even though it is only about the period of 900

years, the architecture in Palestine goes through many phases during the Arab - Islamic

period, starting from the the time of Crusader wars and Mamluks up till the Ottoman invasion

of Palestine.

3.1. Arab-Islamic period (640-1099)

Major changes to the monumental architecture of Palestine followed the Arab Islamic

conquest of the region in 637 CE. The Roman and Byzantine churches, predominant features

in many towns and villages in Palestine over the previous six centuries, were quickly joined

by mosques, though the construction of churches continued. Much of the construction in this

period was centered in Jerusalem. One of the most famous early monuments expressing the

new role of Islam in the region was the Dome of the Rock (Qabbat Al-Sakhra). Dedicated in

692 CE, the structure was built over the rock where Islamic tradition holds Abraham acceded

to God's request that he sacrifice his son. The (Al-Aqsa) mosque, built shortly thereafter, was

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reconstructed many times since with its form today deriving from a renovation carried out

during the Crusader period in Palestine. [1]

While these buildings and the construction of the Royal Palace established Jerusalem as a

religious and cultural centre of Islam, the administrative capital of the Umayyad and Abbasid

caliphates was Ramla, a new town established in the years following the Arab conquest. [2]

The White Mosque was built in that city by the caliph Sulayman ibn Abd Al-Malik in 715-

717 and was completed by his successor Umar II by 720. [3]

Figure 1 Planned Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem [4]

Legend

1. West door (Bab El-Gharb);

2. Door to paradise (Bab El-Jenneh);

3. David,s Gate of Judgement (Bab El-Silsileh);

4. South door (Bab El-Qibleh);

5. Prayer Niche (Mihrab);

6. Slab which coverd Solomon,s tomb and into which Mohammed is Said to have

knocked 12 gold nails;

7. Fingerprints of the Archangel Gabriel who is said to have held back the rock when

Mohammed ascended into Heaven;

8. Footprint of a prophet;

9. Steps to the Fountain of Souls (Bir El-Arwah).

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Figure 2 Model of the Dome of the Rock [5]

Photo 1 Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem [6]

Archaeological finds indicate that the major cities of the Byzantine period Lydda, Bisan,

Tiberias, Gaza, Caesarea, and Acre continued to be occupied in this period and a number of

new settlements were built outside the cities and in the Negev as well. Of these, some were

agricultural centres while others were palaces or summer resorts for the elite. Examples

include palace of (Khirbat) Al-Mafjar, also known locally as Hisham's Palace, outside Jericho

and (Khirbat) Al-Minya near Tiberias. (Khirbat) Al-Mafjar is described as, (the most

elaborate palace of the period in the state of Palestine). A statue of the Caliph Al-Walid II,

who likely commissioned its construction in the period 743-748, stands at the entrance to the

palatial baths. The architectural form and detailing exhibit a melange of Sassanian and Syrian

styles. [7]One of the earliest Umayyad palaces was known as (Al-Sinnabra) and served as a

winter resort to Mu'awiya, Marwan I, and other caliphs in Umayyad-era Palestine (c. 650-704

AD). [8]The ruins of (Al-Sinnabra) were initially misidentified as belonging to the

Byzantine-Roman period; it and other sites in the process of being similarly re-dated are said

by archaeologists to indicate an architectural continuity between the Roman and early Arab

empires. [9]

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Photo 2 An Arabic Umayyad mosaic from (Khirbat) Al-Mafjar in Jericho [10]

Monumental construction was rarer during the later Abbasid and Fatimid dynasties due to

increasing political fragmentation. Two large monuments that can be dated to the 10th and

11th centuries are fortified structures designed to guard against Byzantine invasion. The ruins

of Kfar Lam, a fort made up of rectangular enclosures built of thin slabs of kurkar stone with

solid corner towers and semi-circular buttresses, can still be seen today, though the village of

the same name was depopulated during the 1948 Palestine war. Another fort at Ashdod is of

the same basic construction but includes a line of marble columns in the centre that were

taken from a nearby Classical site. Just outside that fort lie the remains of a building topped

with a dome that had holes cut into it to let in the light, which is thought to have served as a

bathhouse. [11]

3.2. Crusader period (1099-1291)

The most well-known architectural legacy left by the Crusaders was the fortified castles built

in prominent positions throughout Palestine. A typical Crusader castle consisted of a square

or rectangular tower surrounded by irregular enclosure walls that followed the shape of the

land and famous castles include those of Belvoir and Monfort.[12] .

Another major focus of the Crusader building effort was building of churches. Hundreds

of churches were constructed during the Crusader period in Palestine, with 60 built in

Jerusalem alone. Some of these were built on the ruins of earlier Byzantine churches; in other

cases, mosques were transformed into churches. The Dome of the Rock, for example, was

converted into Augustinian church, while (Al-Aqsa) mosque was transformed into a palace

by Baldwin I. Fine carved capitals and sculpture were features of the Crusader churches.

After Jerusalem was reconquered by the Mamluks in 1187, the Crusader presence in Palestine

shrank to be centered in Acre where some of the finest Crusader architecture was built until

their final defeat by the Mamluks there in 1291. [13].

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Photo 3 The remains of Belvoir Castle in the north of Palestine [14]

The influence of Crusader architecture on the Islamic architecture of Palestine that

followed was both direct and indirect. The direct influence can be seen in the cushion-shaped

voussoirs and folded cross vaults that were adapted for use in the Mamluk buildings of

Jerusalem. Additionally, Arab castles constructued following the Crusades, like those of

Ajloun Castle (Qa'lat Al-Rabad) and Nimrud, adopted the irregular shapes introduced by the

Crusaders. The influence could even be seen in religious architecture, such that the minaret of

the Great Mosque in Ramla bears a striking resemblance to a Crusader tower. The indirect

influence manifested in the development of the counter Crusade movement which saw

propaganda incorporated into the architecture, specifically via the use of monumental

inscriptions and carved elements. For example, on the Lion Gate in the Old City of

Jerusalem, the lion of Baybars, the famous Mamluk leader and warrior, can be seen catching

a mouse. [15]

3.3. Mamluk period (1250-1517)

The Mamluks focused on revitalizing the road network, which was essential to their postal

system in Palestine. Numerous bridges and khans were built, some of which constituted

larger compounds complete with a mosque and minaret. An impressive example of one of

these larger khan compounds can be seen in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. Some of the

Mamluk bridges also remain standing, such as (Jisr Jindas) (Jindas Bridge) which is flanked

by two lions and sports Arabic inscriptions. [16]

Photo 4 (Jisr Jindas) Baybers Bridge it is the most famous of the several bridges erected by

Sultan Baybars in Palestine [17]

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Also under Mamluk rule, the construction of religious buildings such as madrassas,

mosques, khans and commemorative mausoleums proliferated in Palestine and these

constitute some of the finest examples of medieval architecture in the Middle East. Mamluk

architecture in Jerusalem was characterized by the use of joggled voussoirs, ablaq masonry,

muqarnas mouldings, and multi-coloured marble inlay. [18]

In Ramla, the Crusader church was converted into a mosque and the Great Mosque there

was rebuilt. One of the most beautiful Mamluk era structures is the tomb of Abu Hoeira in

Yibna. With a triple-domed portico, the central area is also covered with a dome set on

squinches. Decoration is restricted to the mihrab and doorway, which are covered, in inlaid

marble and inscriptions. [19]

3.4. Ottoman occupation (1516-1918)

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. [20] 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 (Al-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. [21]

Photo 5 Entrance to the (Al-Jazzar) Mosque, with the (Sebil), public water fountain, often decorated

with stone carvings) to the right of the steps [22]

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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 differed in their use of transverse

stone arches that supported short beams over which the roof was laid. [23]

Ottoman fortresses that served as garrisons for the Janissaries (Ottoman troops) were

abundant outside of Jerusalem. These large squares 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. [24]

Photo 6 Interior of the house of a Palestinian Christian family in Jerusalem [25]

4. DEVELOPMENT OF SPATIAL STRUCTURE IN THE 20TH

CENTURY (1918-1995)

The history of Palestine in the 20th century was very hard, enduring several occupations: the

British, the Jordanian and the Israelian occupation which contributed to regression in

architecture, infrastructure dammage and deterioration. Today in Palestine, the infrastructure

is still underdevelopped and the urban space suffered substantial degradation. This all is a

consequence of the afore mentioned political events. Further in this text we will expose and

present different occupation periods and how the Palestinian people experienced these

occupations.

4.1. British occupation (1918-1948)

In 1917 during the First World War, the British army occupied Palestine. In 1922 the British

occupation of Palestine was founded according to the decision of the League of Nations at the

San Remo conference in 1920 to implement the (Balfour Declaration) announced by the

British government on 02 November 1917.

The first two decades of British occupation in Palestine is characterized with fast city

development and with construction of new large housing settlements outside the historical

city centres. Luxurious individual city villas are built with many decorative elements made by

local architects. These villas/mansions reflected the new lifestyle of high society, which

separated as a new social layer in most Palestinian cities.

British occupiers invested vast amounts of money in Palestine due to its convenient

geographic position and great political importance, as well as the increased need of service

development such as: security, education and infrastructure. The improved security

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conditions, infrastructure, road and railway that now connected Jafa with Jerusalem

influenced a development of tourism and injected additional investments in Palestine. The

plantations of citrus fruit and the ports of Haifa and Jaffa enabled opening of new job

positions for local inhabitants. During this period, Palestinian emigrants settled in both

Americas begun sending money to their families in Palestine in order to build luxurious

palaces.

City palaces in Palestinian Bethlehem and in Beit Jala confess of European influence,

which had been carried indirectly through both Americas. For example, sculptures in both

palaces of those cities have western influence, because the sculptures are rare in other

Palestinian palaces. Authors of these sculptores had been local citizens.

The British sent a succession of six town planners to Mandate Palestine to try to manage

intercommunal tensions that were a feature of this period. One of these was Charles Robert

Ashbee, a prominent British Arts and Crafts designer, who served as Civic Adviser to the

City of Jerusalem (1919-1922) and as a professional adviser to the Town Planning

Commission. Described as (the most pro-Arab and anti-Zionist) of the six planners, Ashbee's

view of Jerusalem, (was colored by a romantic sense of the vernacular). Aiming to protect

this Palestinian vernacular and the city's secular and traditional fabric, Ashbee personally

oversaw conservation and repair work in the city, and revived the craft industry there to

repair the damaged Dome of the Rock.

4.2. Jordanian and Egyptian occupation (1948-1967)

The United Nations announced the division of Palestine between the Arabs and the Jews in

1947. The British withdrew their troops from Palestine on 14 May 1948. The following day a

war broke out due to the proclamation of the Jewish state of Israel. Ceasefire was announced

in 1949. However, in the meantime, Israel controlled 77 % of the Palestinian land while

900.000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes.

Jordan occupied the annexation of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem (formerly

Transjordan), during a period of nearly two decades (1948-1967) in the aftermath of the 1948

Arab-Israeli War. During the war, Jordan's Arab Legion, conquered the Old City of Jerusalem

and took control of territory on the western side of the Jordan River, including the cities of

Jericho, Bethlehem, Hebron and Nablus. At the end of hostilities, Jordan was in complete

control of the West Bank. Jordan formally annexed the West Bank on 24 April 1950. The

annexation was regarded as illegal and void by the Arab League and others. It was recognized

by the United Kingdom, Iraq and Pakistan.

During the Jordanian occupation of the West Bank territory, Jordan adopted a set of

municipal laws including the municipal law for the years 1951, 1954 and 1955. The total

number of Palestinian municipalities was 25.

The Jordanian authorities did not change the planning law inherited from the British.

Their work was limited to some general plans for some of the cities and issuing

authorizations for the village councils to have their own committees. During the Jordanian

occupation, there was no particular architectural development and planning for the West

Bank as a consequence to the Palestinian immigration after the 1967 War and the Jordanian

interest to develop the eastern side of the Jordan River instead of the West Bank.

The Egyptian government adopted a law for the Gaza Strip in order to change the

Palestinian laws before 1948. In that period, the cities of Gaza and Khan Yunis have

remained as municipalities as well as three other village councils.

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4.3. Israel occupation (1967)

The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967 led to an immigration of

the Palestinian population in the refugee camps located outside the West Bank and Gaza

territory. This caused a huge demographic pressure on the Palestinian cities and villages due

to the lack of the housing space, reduced living area and insufficient infrastructure. This led

to urban chaos in the Palestinian architecture that is present until today.

After the occupation, Israel founded its own planning institutions and made amendmends

in the planning laws under military orders to get a complete control over the urban

development of Palestinian territories. In this period, several local master plans have been

adopted for some cities and villages. Furthermore, comprehensive sectoral and regional

schemes have been prepared for some areas of the Palestinian territories, such as part of the

regional plan for roads - Military Order no. 50 of 1979. These schemes had a clear goal - a

regional space organization and achieving Israeli interests to control the land.

Photo 7 Traditional Palestinian house in Ramallah

Land confiscation by Israel as well as the building of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem

and the West Bank caused a lack of available land for rural development. The situation got

worse after the dissolution of the regional and village councils that existed before 1967.

Figure 3 Map of Palestine from 1946 - 2010 in various stages of occupation

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In that period the Palestinian participation in Israeli institutions was very limited, the

urban development was constructed in favor of Israel for the building of Israeli settlements on

Palestinian territory.

5. CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN PALESTINE, BETWEEN

THE TRADITION AND THE MODERN WORLD

The situation of the present Palestinian architecture is far more complex than before. The

Palestinian territory is occupied by Israel and divided into three categories A, B, and C with

different Palestinian and Israeli control. This prevents the normal expansion of cities and

villages. However, the control of the territory is the essence of the conflict between Palestine

and Israel.

Although Palestine is a small country, it has a great architectural heritage that reflected

many defferent periods of its history. The problems that we face mainly due to the political

situation can be complemented with the architectural problem as well.

Until the Second World War, people in Palestine were generally building without

(academic) architect and engineer professional help, apart from some buildings, mainly in the

area of Jerusalem, that were designed by foreign architects. After 1948, the West Bank came

under the Jordanian administration and remained so until the Israeli occupation in 1967. The

architecture of this period was mainly influenced by changes in the use of building materials

and methods. Although the use of bearing wall systems continued, there was a tendency

towards using beams and columns, thus reducing the thickness of the masonry walls.

However, stone was still considered and treated as part of the structural system. During this

period, concrete buildings started to appear, openings in the buildings became larger and the

use of stone ornamentation in facades decreased.

By the end of the 1960s, there were still few academically trained architects and civil

engineers while master builders carried out most of the work. In the 1970s, the number of

architects increased, the majority of them having graduated in Arab countries, mainly Egypt,

Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Until the end of the 1970s, the first generation of architects was

influenced by modern architecture and they did not pay much attention to local traditional

architecture. At that time, their main purpose was to convince the people of the benefit from

architects. People were not able to distinguish between the role of the civil engeneer and that

of the architect. Moreover, the role of the master builder was still stronger than that of the

academic engineers.

Therefore, this first generation of architects had to offer something new. They had to

show that they had something different from the existing buildings. They needed to prove

that they were able to do things which neither the civil engeneer nor the master builder were

able to do. This was reflected in the design concept, forms and aesthetic values of the time.

Today’s architecture in Palestine reflected various attitudes and different interpretations,

mostly in dealing with traditional architecture. This indicates a growing tendency towards

regionalism in architecture. The major factor for this is the issue of identity, which is crucial

for the Palestinians today.

The following factors contribute in one way or another to the shaping of contemporary

architecture in Palestine:

1. Increasing awareness of traditional architecture and the need for continuity.

Despite the wrong and meaningless interpretation of traditional architecture in

many cases, there are still some good and successful examples. Research on and

studies of the architecture heritage are still needed.

Architectural and Historical Development in Palestine

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 1230 editor@iaeme.com

2. The schools in Palestine. They are relatively new and still have not established a

defined policy toward the needs of the local community. Students are influenced

by examples in foreign magazines and books that have nothing to do with

Palestinian culture. There is less discussion and explanation of the buildings

around them. However, teachers continue to study and analyze the architectural

heritage. They concentrate on traditional architecture and urge students to learn

from it. Graduates of these schools still play a vital role in defining the features of

contemporary architecture in Palestine.

3. The role of architects who have graduated from foreign countries and who have

different background. This is very clear in the first generation of architects.

Recently graduated architects from foreign countries are faced with a growing

movement that takes into consideration our national heritage, something that they

did not learn at foreign universities. They try to cope with this movement without

any previous knowledge of traditional architecture.

4. The cultural and educational background of people varies widely from one area to

another in the West Bank. Architecture in villages and small towns is not similar

to that of the cities. Aesthetic values are also different from one place to another.

For example, in the Ramallah region many people involved in construction there

come from the United States of America or work there. In addition, this area is

also central to Palestinian investors returning from other countries. This has a

great influence on the architecture of the area.

5. There is mutual influence between architecture in Israel and the West Bank. This

is more obvious in the Arab architecture of Israel. The mutual influence is

transmitted mainly through master builders who have worked for many years in

the building industry in Israel. Thus, they have created their own aesthetic values

that have been clearly reflected in the architecture of Palestinian rural areas.

6. The most unifying factor for the architecture of the whole region is definitely the

use of stone as the predominant building material, in its various forms and uses.

[26]

To summarise, architects in Palestine are working under difficult and contradictory

pressures. They cannot isolate themselves from international architectural development and

contemporary trend in the world. At the same time, they are required to respond to local

cultural needs and aspirations. There are indications that conscious efforts are being made in

that direction.

5. CONCLUSION

In a general way, presenting a historical overview of the architecture in Palestine is very

important. We have shown that during all these occupations from various people with

different religion, culture and lifestyle, the architecture in Palestine was shaped to its own

unique way and today we have a distinct Palestinian architecture with its own characteristics.

The political situation in Palestine was always an issue. The need of different architectural

building type: primitive dwellings, monuments, churches, mosques, fortifications, luxurious

residences or summer resorts for upper classes, as well as new settlements, new urban plans

and new infrastructure always reflected the current need of the Palestinians, but in the same

time the need of the certain ruler. The development in architecture reflects the global

movements as well, like the development of tourism and the need of new roads and railways,

or the need for implementation of new building techniques and materials, both from the 20th

century.

Mumen Abuarkub and Faiq M. S. Al-Zwainy

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 1231 editor@iaeme.com

Can be believed that by understanding the history of Palestine we can better understand

the history of architecture in Palestine, which of course, is inevitably connected to its

geographical situation. Positioned as a crossroad of three continents, on the coast of the

Mediterranean Sea, its architecture was influenced by its climate and the need to satisfy

demands of a certain lifestyle.

Today, the contemporary architecture shows the importance of tradition and modern, and

the rising importance of the role of architects in the process of planning and construction.

Regarding its political situation and struggle for recognition, in October 2011, UNESCO

admitted the "State of Palestine" as a member and consequently was upgraded to a non-

member observer in November 2012. This status gives opportunity to Palestine to take part in

General Assembly debates, thus forward-looking to join other UN agencies.

REFERENCES

Basic Literature

[1] Andrew, P. (2002.), Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, Routledge, New York

[2] Awad, J. (1999.), “Contemporary Architecture in Palestine”: A Critical View, in O'Reilly,

W., Architectural Knowledge and Cultural Diversity, Lausanne

[3] Beebe, H. K. (1968.), Ancient Palestinian Dwellings. The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol 31,

No. 2, The American Schools of Oriental Research

[4] Banister, Sir F. (1996.), A History of Architecture, Twentieth Edition, Edited by: Dan

Cruickshank, Architectural Press, London

[5] Benvenisti, E. (2004.), The International Law of Occupation. Princeton University Press,

U.S.A

[6] Benvenisti, M. Khayat, S. (1988.), The West Bank and Gaza atlas, Jerusalem Post,

Jerusalem

[7] Khasawneh, D. (2001.), Memoirs Engraved in Stone: Palestinian Urban Mansions, Riwaq

Centre for Architectural Conservation & Institute of Jerusalem Studies, RIWAQ’s

Monograph Series on the Architectural History of Palestine 2, Ramallah

[8] King, A. (2004.), Spaces of Global Cultures: architecture, urbanism, identity, Routlege,

London and New York

[9] Kroyanker, D. (1994.), Jerusalem Architecture, Tauris Parke Books, London

[10] Moxnes, H. (1997.), Constructing Early Christian Families: family as social reality and

metaphor, CRC Press, London and New York

[11] Pringle, D. (1988.), The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: Volume II, L-Z

(excluding Tyre), Cambridge University Press, New York

[12] Rast E. W. (1992.), Through the Ages in Palestinian Archaeology: An Introductory

Handbook, Trinity Press International, Philadelphia

[13] Laheeb Ali Al-Sayigh and Dr. Asmaa M.H. Al-Moqaram, Architectural Design

Methodology by Typology. International Journal of Architecture (IJA), 3(1), 2017, pp.

18–26.

[14] Ar. Chinna Saidulu, Architectural and Urban Design Interventions to Mitigate Impacts of

Urban Heat Islands on Urban Dwellers. International Journal of Architecture (IJA), 3(1),

2017, pp. 36–42.

[15] Laheeb Ali Al- Sayigh and Dr. Asmaa M.H.Al-Moqaram, Architectural and Type.

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(1), 2017, pp. 44–62.

Architectural and Historical Development in Palestine

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 1232 editor@iaeme.com

Media

[16] Associated Press, (Ancient Muslim Ruins Found in Israel Again). Fox News

[17] 7th century Arab palace identified in Israel, Al-Arabiya News Channel

Internet Sources

[18] www.PALDF.NET, [Arabic]

[19] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki, Wikipedia: Wiki Project Palestine/Article

draft/Architecture of Palestine

[20] Israel in photos; Lod: Baybars Bridge (a.k.a. Jisr Jindas), www.israelinphotos.com

[21] http://www.algerianhouse.com/mountada

[22] Liberals, the Jews, and Israel (National Vanburad), nationalvangard.org

INDEX FOR ORIGINATED ARABIC WORDS Qabbat Al-Sakhra Dome of the Rock

Al-Aqsa It is the third holiest site in Islam and is located in the old city of Jerusalem

Bab El-Gharb West door

Bab El-Jenneh Door of Paradise

Bab El-Silsileh David’s Gate of Judgement

Bab El-Qibleh South door

Mihrab Prayer niche

Bir El-Arwah Steps to the Fountain of Souls

Khirbat A small village

Al-Sinnabra It is the Arabic place name for a

historic site on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee in Palestine

Qa'lat Al-Rabad Ajloun Castle

Jisr Jindas Bridge Jindas or Baybars Bridge

Al-Jazzar One of the most important mosques

in Acre northern Palestine

Al-Basha

At first it was called (Hamam Al-Jadid) the new Hamam, but its name

was subsequently changed to (Hamam Al-Basha) the Pasha's Hamam, in honor of Al-Jazzar

Sebil Public water fountain

Qa’lat Castle

NOTES

1. Rast, 1992: 195-196

2. Andrew, 2002: 230

3. Pringle, 1988: 182 - 185

4. Kroyanker, 1994

5. www.PALDF.NET, [Arabic]

6. Banister, 1996: 584

7. 7th century Arab palace identified in Israel, Al-Arabiya News Channel, 16 March

2010

8. Associated Press, (Ancient Muslim Ruins Found in Israel Again). Fox News, 17

March 2010

Mumen Abuarkub and Faiq M. S. Al-Zwainy

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 1233 editor@iaeme.com

9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki, Wikipedia: Wiki Project Palestine/Article

draft/Architecture of Palestine

10. Andrew, 2002: 231

11. Andrew, 2002: 231

12. Andrew, 2002: 231

13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki, Wikipedia: Wiki Project Palestine/Article

draft/Architecture of Palestine

14. Andrew, 2002: 231

15. Andrew, 2002: 232

16. Israel in photos; Lod: Baybars Bridge (a.k.a. Jisr Jindas), www.israelinphotos.com

17. Andrew, 2002: 232

18. Andrew, 2002: 232

19. Andrew, 2002: 232

20. Andrew, 2002: 232

21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki, Wikipedia: Wiki Project Palestine/Article

draft/Architecture of Palestine

22. Andrew, 2002: 232

23. Andrew, 2002: 232

24. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki, Wikipedia: Wiki Project Palestine/Article

draft/Architecture of Palestine

25. Awad 1999: in O'Reilly, 60-62