Old City of Haifa

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Not to be confused with Haifa el-Atika.
Old City of Haifa
البلدة القديمة الحيفا
Old city
View of the Old City of Haifa, 1840s, The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia
View of the Old City of Haifa, 1840s, The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia
Plan of Haifa, Frederick Palmer, 1923
Plan of Haifa, Frederick Palmer, 1923
Coordinates: 32°48′57″N 35°8′0″E / 32.81583°N 35.13333°E / 32.81583; 35.13333
Country Israel
CityHaifa
Established1761
Demolished1948

The Old City of Haifa (Arabic: البلدة القديمة الحيفا) was the historic core of Haifa from 1761 until its destruction in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

Founded in its modern location in 1761 by Zahir al-Umar, using stones from Haifa el-Atika.[1] It served as the social, religious and commercial center for Haifa's Palestinian Arab community through the Ottoman and Mandatory Palestine eras.It resembled other Muslim-majority cities throughout the Ottoman Empire.[2]

Following the conquest of the city by Zionist forces in April 1948 and the displacement of most of its Arab population, the Old City was largely demolished in the early years of Israeli statehood.

History

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Ottoman era

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The Old City of Haifa in 1929, in the Survey of Palestine

The Old City was established in 1761 when Zahir al-Umar, the autonomous ruler of Galilee, relocated the town of Haifa from its older site at Haifa el-Atika to a new coastal location.

The new town was fortified with a wall and watchtowers and included a central square, mosque, Saraya (government house), and port.[3] Contemporary visitors described it as a small but diverse town with Muslims, Christians, and some Jews living within its walls.[4]

During the 19th century, Haifa expanded beyond its original walls, especially after the arrival of the German Templer community in 1868. The German Colony was established just outside the city walls and became the first planned neighborhood in the city.[5]

British Mandate

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During the Mandatory Palestine period (1918–1948), Haifa developed into Palestine's major port city. The Old City, known as the Lower Town, remained the hub of Arab civic life, housing markets, mosques, churches, and cultural institutions. The population of Haifa became more mixed, with Jewish neighborhoods expanding on Mount Carmel while Arab residents remained concentrated in and around the Old City.[6] In 1926, the large Al-Istiqlal Mosque was constructed near the Old City’s eastern edge.

Immediately prior to the Nabka, Haifa had been a mixed city, with roughly equal Jewish and Palestinian Arab populations.[7]

1948 demolition

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In April 1948, during the lead-up to the end of the Mandate, Haifa was captured by Haganah forces. The majority of the Palestinian Arab population fled or was expelled, leaving the city 96% Jewish. According to Ziva Kolodney and Rachel Kallus this "encouraged the new State to demolish the ostensibly deserted Old City, except for the churches and mosques".

The initial demolition was carried out immediately between May and July of 1948, while the war continued, on the direct orders of David Ben Gurion.[8] A confidential memorandum from the archives of Abba Hushi (File A1/51:3) with the title "A time to destroy and a time to heal" recommended demo lition in order to prevent occupancy of the vacant houses by new Jewish immigrants and returning Arab refugees, and described the rationale as follows:[8]

the exodus of the Arab population from Haifa and the almost complete evacuation of the downtown area and the neighborhoods between downtown and lower Hadar [neighborhood] offer an unprecedented opportunity for conducting preservation work linked to demolition… The designated buildings were damaged during the war and must be demolished according to the dangerous building by-laws. This eases the situation and gives additional reason for the required work.

Following the war, Israeli authorities initiated large-scale demolition of the Old City as part of the “Shikmona Plan”, including the destruction of the Saraya, and the traditional housing and markets. Very few structures from the Ottoman and Mandate periods remain today.

Urban features

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The Old City of Haifa, 14 Sept. 1933 during the funeral procession of Faisal I, in the second-hand market plaza (suq al-‘utaq) in front of the Grand (al-Jurayna) Mosque of Haifa, with its clock tower. The large rectangular building in the upper right-hand corner behind the Grand Mosque is the Haifa Saraya[9]

The Old City had a typical Ottoman urban layout: narrow alleys, central mosque, marketplace, and residential quarters. The city was 125 dunams (31 acres), and divided into three quarters:

  • Al-Harat al-Sharqiyya (Arabic: الحارة الشرقية: the Eastern Quarter, 54 dunums), a primarily Muslim quarter. The Harat al-Yehud (Arabic: حارة اليهود: the Jewish neighbourhood) was built on about 11 dunums within this area in the 19th century.[10]
  • Al-Harat al-Gharbiyya (Arabic: الحارة الغربية: the Western Quarter, 36 dunums), the Christian quarter. Later called the Harat al-Kanayis (Arabic: حارة الكنائس: the Church Quarter). The western and eastern quarters were divided by a north-south axis positioned along the line of the Al-Jarina Mosque[10]
  • The public area (35 dunums), containing the government institutions and some markets[10]

Important structures included:

  • The al-Jarina Mosque, built by Zahir al-Umar as the al-Nasr Mosque (Arabic: مسجد النصر, lit. 'Victory Mosque'). The mosque was on the shoreline; on its southwestern side was a public square, which functioned as the centre of Haifa.[11]
  • The Istiqlal Mosque
  • A cluster of churches in the Harat al-Kanāyis (Quarter of Churches)
  • The Ottoman Saraya (destroyed, first for a park and the central post office, later replaced by the Sail Tower)[12]
  • Hammams, khans, and coastal souqs (destroyed):
    • Eastern market (mostly destroyed, a small corner remains, called the Turkish Market)[13]

Remnants of the wall and clock towers, as well as some religious buildings, still exist.

Legacy

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Following the demolition, modern buildings and roadways were constructed on the site. Since the 2000s, commemorative initiatives by historians and organizations such as Zochrot have sought to raise awareness of the Old City's history. A few remaining landmarks have been partially restored.

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See also

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Bibliography

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Books

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Videos and maps

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References

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  1. ^ Safran 2015, p. 452: "His soldiers were ordered to destroy the settlement and use the same stones to build 'Haifa al-Jadida'... where the distance between the sea and Mount Carmel was narrower."
  2. ^ Safran 2015, p. 455: "The interweaving of the city resembled other Muslim cities that had sprung up during the Ottoman period and which are characterized by the lack of planned and orderly construction."
  3. ^ Safran, 451–465.
  4. ^ Kolodney and Kallus
  5. ^ Mansour, Johnny. Haifa: City of the Carmel. Rimal Publications, 2016.
  6. ^ Seikaly
  7. ^ Kolodney & Kallus 2008, p. 332: "In comparison to Haifa’s 1944 population, estimated at 128,000 inhabitants (52% Jewish and 48% Arabs), by 1948, immediately after the war, the population was estimated at 98,284, of which 96% was Jewish. The circumstances encouraged the new State to demolish the ostensibly deserted Old City, except for the churches and mosques. The demolition left a large portion of the downtown area abandoned and in ruins, and it remains partially so even today."
  8. ^ a b Kolodney & Kallus 2008, p. 338.
  9. ^ Bshara 2017, p. 71-72
  10. ^ a b c Safran 2015, p. 455, 456-460.
  11. ^ Safran 2015, p. 457: "The square at the front of the mosque also served as the social centre of the city. In the twilight hours, the city residents used to gather... to hear storytellers."
  12. ^ Bshara 2017, p. 71: “In 1949, Israel decided to implement a project called Shikamona, under which the Arab city ought to be demolished, with the exception of places of worship… A public park was constructed on parts of the saraya land before it was, in turn, destroyed to make room for the central post office building. In 2002, the mayor of Haifa and the Israeli government decided to establish the government and administration offices building known as the Sail Tower on the site where the saraya and the plaza associated with it once stood.”
  13. ^ Pappe, Ilan (2010-03-01). "Haifa: planned death of a city". Le Monde diplomatique. Retrieved 2025-11-30. Destruction was meant to reinforce the "Jewish character" of the city and pre-empt the return of those expelled. That is why Haifa's eastern market was demolished. The market was the temporary shelter for the masses and a convenient target for the Carmeli's artillery. It was an Ottoman architectural gem of white dressed stone. All that has remained is a small corner, named the Turkish Market by the new city administration.