Allar, Jerusalem
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Allar ( ar, علار) or 'Allar el-Fawqa ("Upper Allar"), also known as 'Allar el Busl, was a
Palestinian Arab Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
village located southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem near Wadi Surar ("Valley of Pebbles"), along ''Wadi Tannur''. The name was shared by the twin village of Allar al-Sifla ("Lower Allar") or Khirbat al-Tannur, with official imperial ledgers often listing them both under the single entry of Allar.Petersen, 2001, p
92
/ref> Habitation in the village spanned centuries and is attested in architectural remains and documents from the Crusader, Mamluk, Ottoman and Mandate Palestine periods. Allar was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and the area was incorporated into the State of Israel, with the moshavs of Mata and Bar Giora established on its former lands.


History

The older of the two villages appears to have been Lower Allar. Remains of a Crusader-era church and cloister made up of five other vaulted buildings attest to habitation there in the 12th century. One of these buildings is thought to be a Cistercian house, a sister house of Belmont built in 1161, known as ''Saluatio''.Pringle, 1993, pp.
47
51
From the 13th to 16th centuries, the villages were ruled by the
Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16t ...
based in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
and appear together in a document dating to circa 1264 that lists land grants made in Palestine by the sultan Baybars to his
emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...
s.


Ottoman era

Toward the beginning of four centuries of rule over the area by the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, in August 1553, two leaders of Allar were held accountable for the village failure to pay taxes and were arrested by the imperial authorities.Singer, 1993, p
44
/ref> The imperial tax register of 1596 lists Allar as part of the ''
nahiya A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...
'' ("subdistrict") of Jerusalem with 37 households, an estimated 204 inhabitants, all
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. The villagers paid a fixed 33,3% tax−rate on various agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, olive trees, molasses, goats, and beehives; a total of 11,400 akçe. All of the revenue went to a
waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () 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 charitab ...
.Khalidi, 1992, pp. 266-267 The
waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () 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 charitab ...
custodian of the
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
in Allar (and that of
Bayt Nuba Bayt Nuba ( ar, بيت نوبا) was a Palestinian Arab village, located halfway between Jerusalem and al-Ramla. Historically identified with the biblical city of Nob mentioned in the Book of Samuel, that association has been eschewed in modern ti ...
) in 1810 was appointed by the Ottoman authorities, and hailed from the Jerusalem family of notables, the Dajanis.Kushner, 1986,
111
/ref> Also in the village was a shrine dedicated to al-Shaykh Ibrahim ("Abraham the Sheikh"). Western travellers who wrote of the village include Edward Robinson, who travelled throughout Palestine and Syria in 1838 and
Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...
, whose travels spanned many years in the latter half of the 19th century. Both describe Lower and Upper Allar as two distinct villages located in a valley. Robinson calls it er-Rumany
wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water ...
("Pomegranate Valley"), while Guérin calls it ''Oued el-Limoun'' ("Valley of the Lemons/Limes"), so named because of the abundant presence of a variety of citrus tree there known to the Arabs as ''limoun''. Both note the presence of a large, ancient, ruined church in Lower Allar. Robinson describes a fine fountain further up the valley that irrigated fruit trees and gardens below, noting the abundance of olive trees. Guérin describes ''A'llar es-Sifla ou et-Tahta'' as an oasis covered in grape vines, citrus, pomengranate and fig trees, irrigated by an ancient canal and a second inexhaustible water source.Robinson and Smith, 1841, p
340
/ref>Guérin, 1869, pp
379
380
In 1856 the village was named ''Allar el Foka'' on Kiepert's map of Palestine published that year, while an Ottoman village list from about 1870 counted 56 houses and a population of 176, though the population count included men only. In 1883, the PEF's ''
Survey of Western Palestine The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the Survey of Western Palestine and in 1880 for the Survey of Eastern Palestine. The survey was carried out after the ...
'' (SWP) described ''Ellar'' as "A small village on the slope of a ridge, with a
well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
to the south. On the north are rock-cut tombs. The inhabitants of Upper Allar moved to Lower Allar at the end of the 19th century.Kark and Oren-Nordheim, 2001, pp
267

275
276
In 1896 the population of Allar was estimated to be about 243 persons.


British Mandate era

While Upper Allar was repopulated during the period of British rule in
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
and housed a primary school, it is listed in British censuses from the time as a ''mazra'a'' ("farm"). In the 1945 statistics, Allar had a population of 440 Muslims, and the total land area was 12,356 dunams.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
56
353 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards, 2,234 dunams were for cereals, while 12 dunams were built-up (urban) Arab land. File:Ras Abu Ammar 1945.jpg, 'Allar, Mandate survey, 1:20,000 File:Allar 1945.jpg, 'Allar, 1945, 1:20,000


1948, aftermath

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Allar was depopulated as a result of a military assault by Israeli forces on 22 October 1948. It was one of a series of villages occupied during Operation Ha-Har, an offensive launched by
Harel Brigade Harel Brigade (, ''Hativat Harel'') is a reserve brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, today part of the Southern Command. It played a critical role in the 1948 Palestine war, also known as "Israel's War of Independence." It is one of the former ...
and
Etzioni Brigade The Etzioni Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת עֶצְיוֹנִי, ''Hativat Etzyoni''), also 6th Brigade and Jerusalem Brigade, was an infantry brigade in the Haganah and Israel Defense Forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was founded in l ...
to widen the Jerusalem corridor.'Allar, Palestine Family.net Allar, Palestine Family.net
/ref> Refugees who camped in the nearby gullies and caves were driven out in subsequent raids. After the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, the ruin of Allar remained under Israeli control under the terms of the 1949 Armistice Agreement between Israel and
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
. Two Israeli sites were founded on Allar land in 1950: Mata and Bar Giora. Refugees from Allar and other Palestinian villages who are old enough to remember life there express nostalgia for the natural abundance of the land lost. One Umm Jamal recalls eggplants, pomegranates, cucumbers and green beans as among the many products grown on the village lands which were fed by springs known to locals as Umm al-Hasan ("Mother of Goodness"), Umm al-Sa'd ("Mother of Happiness"), Umm Nuh ("Mother of Noah"), al-'Uyun ("The Eyes"), and Umm al-'Uyun ("Mother of the Eyes").Davis, 2011, p
24
/ref> In 1992 it was described: "Stone rubble, concrete blocks and slabs, and steel bars litter the site, together with the remains of stone terraces and walls. One domed stone structure, the former school building, still stands. On the slopes overlooking the site, almond and cypress trees and cactuses grow along the terraces."


Maqam

In 1863
Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...
described a maqam north east of the village, called ''Khirbet Cheikh Houbin''. He noticed it contained ancient fragments used in the building. In 1883 SWP called it ''Khurbet Hubin'', ''The ruin of Hubin'', from personal name, and gave the description: "Foundations of a small ruined village with a
Kubbeh Kubbeh, also known as kubbe, is a family of dishes of Iraqi and Kurdish Jewish origin that are also popular in Syria, and consist of a filled dumpling soup, with a wide array of fillings and soup broths. Once almost exclusively made at home by ...
."Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p
114
/ref>


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * (p
283
) * * * * * *


External links


'Allar
Zochrot Zochrot ( he, זוכרות; "Remembering"; ar, ذاكرات; "Memories") is an Israeli nonprofit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Palestinian ''Nakba'' ("Catastrophe"), including the 1948 Pa ...
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17
IAA
Wikimedia commons Wikimedia Commons (or simply Commons) is a media repository of free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used across all of the Wikimedia projects in ...

Allar
from the
Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center () is a leading Palestinian arts and culture organization that aims to create a pluralistic, critical liberating culture through research, query, and participation, and that provides an open space for the community ...

Allar
fro
Baheth for Studies

Demarcation of Forest Lands
Government of Palestine, November 1932 {{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Jerusalem