![Manara clocktower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Manara_clocktower.JPG)
The Manara Clock Tower or al-Manura clock tower is a
clock tower
Clock towers are a specific type of structure which 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 buildi ...
located in the middle of the central square (''casbah'') in the Old City of
Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
next to the
An-Nasr Mosque in the
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...
.
[Semplici, Andrea and Boccia, Mario]
- Nablus, At the Foot of the Holy Mountain
Med Cooperation, p.17.
Five stories high, it was erected in 1906 on the orders of the
Ottoman sultan
Abdul Hamid II
Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...
to celebrate 30 years of his reign.
[ The tower is similar to those also built by Sultan Abdul Hamid in ]Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
(today in Lebanon) and Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
.[ The Manara Clock Tower has an ode to the sultan in elaborate ]Arabic calligraphy
Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy based on the Arabic alphabet. It is known in Arabic as ''khatt'' ( ar, خط), derived from the word 'line', 'design', or 'construction'. Kufic is the oldest form of th ...
.
The Manara Clock Tower is currently the symbol of the Municipality of Nablus, established as such after the Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
political party Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
won the 2006 local elections in that city.[Barnard, Anne]
Hamas campaign throws politics into confusion, Palestinians and Israelis unsure if it is moderating
Globe Newspaper Company. 17 January 2006.
References
Bibliography
*
{{coord, 32.218887, 35.261409, type:landmark_region:IL, display=title
Towers completed in 1906
Clock towers
Buildings and structures in Nablus
Architecture in the State of Palestine
Ottoman clock towers
1906 establishments in the Ottoman Empire