Cotton Merchants' Market
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding articles in Hebrew and Arabic. Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
 The market in 2011 | |
 Interactive map of Cotton Merchant's Market | |
| Native name | سوق القطانين (Arabic) |
|---|---|
| Maintained by | Jerusalem Waqf[1][2] |
| Length | 94.5 metres (310 ft)[1][3] |
| Width | 5.5 metres (18 ft)[1][3] |
| Quarter | Muslim Quarter |
| From | Al-Wad Street[2] |
| To | Cotton Merchants' Gate, Al-Aqsa[2] |
| North | Al-Khatuniyya Madrasa (Jerusalem)[1] |
| East | Al-Aqsa[1] |
| West | Al-Wad street[1] |
| Construction | |
Construction start | 1329[2][4] |
| Completion | 1337[1][2] |
| Other | |
| Known for | Cotton trade |
The Cotton Merchant's Market (Arabic: سوق القطانين, romanized: Sūq al-Qaṭṭānīn) is a souk in the Old City of Jerusalem.[2] The market primarily traded cotton during the Ottoman rule of Palestine, hence the name.[2] The modern-day structure was commissioned in 1329 during the Mamluk period and completed in 1337,[1][4][2] though artifacts dating back to the Crusader period can be found.[2] The construction was commissioned by Tankiz; then governor of Mamluk Syria.[5]: 268
Name
[edit]
Although the market historically traded cotton, in the 21st century, it pivoted to trading perfumes, religious items, and clothing. It is especially busy after prayers conclude.[6] The name "Cotton Merchants' Market" has been in used since the 15th century, though some 13th century references to the market call it al-qayṣarīyah.[1][6] It may be romanized as "al-Qattanin market".[7] The word qaṭṭān (قَطّان) means cotton merchant in Arabic.[8]
Architecture
[edit]![[icon]](/forrestmiller/tailwind-https-en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (May 2026) |
The market is an instance of Mamluk architecture.[1][9] The alley is dimly lit, with 6 holes in the ceiling of the structure to allow sunlight in.[2] A set of transverse arches are found along the length of the alley.[4] The market street is continuously barrel vaulted.[1]
Sites
[edit] | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (May 2026) |
- Al-Shifa bathhouse: Al-Shifa bathhouse (Arabic: حمام الشفاء) is one of 2 bathhouses in the old city of Jerusalem.[10][2] It was constructed in 1336 by Tankiz.[10]
- Khan Tankiz: Khan Tankiz (Arabic: خان تنكيز, lit. 'Tankiz Inn') is an inn found within the market, constructed in 737 AH (1336/1337 CE) by Mamluk prince Tankiz.[11][12] Since 1994, the inn has been used by Al-Quds University.[11]
History
[edit] | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (May 2026) |
16th century chronicler Mujir al-Din mentioned an inscription crediting the markets renewal to Qalawun in 737 AH (1336/1337 CE).[3][1]
Ottoman period
[edit]The cotton merchants market in Jerusalem was one of the few major cotton markets in Palestine during the 16th century.[13]
Also in the 16th century, sūq al-qaṭṭānīn, then one of Jerusalem's principal commercial centers and part of the Haram al-Sharif endowment, underwent extensive restoration after decades of neglect dating back to the late Mamluk period. The market complex, which included a large courtyard, storage depots, and multi-story shops, was reportedly partially deserted by the time of the Ottoman conquest. Starting in 1544, repairs included the clearing accumulated waste, installing new doors and gates, among other structural improvements. Further renovations continued in subsequent decades, accompanied by commercial expansion; between 1564 and 1566, the number of shops at the market entrance was increased from 28 to 32. Contemporary records also indicate a 4-fold rise in rental income, reflecting increased trade activity in the market under Ottoman rule.[14]
British Mandate
[edit]In 1937, the governor of Jerusalem, Ronald Storrs, wrote about the market's neglect under the Ottomans in his diary:[15]
[The suq] had degenerated through neglect into a public latrine. The shops were filled with ordure, the debris was sometimes lying five feet high, and the picturesque doors had been broken up for firewood by the Turks. We restored the vaults, roofing, and the walls of the Suq, put in looms, and by the close of the first year were employing, on a self-supporting basis, some seventy people.[16]
The market was renovated under Storrs and British architect Charles Robert Ashbee, with help from the Pro-Jerusalem Society, which was founded by Storrs.[17][15]
21st century
[edit]In 2024, during the Jerusalem Day march, Jewish Israelis stormed al-Aqsa Mosque through the market.[7]
Gallery
[edit]
The entrance to the inn, a stall selling toys is seen on the right.
A sign found in the market, it contains a translation of an inscription found in the market.
A sign from 2018, commemorating the restoration of the bathhouses.
Arabic inscriptions found in the inn
The entrance to the market, seen on the right, 2013.
The market on a busy day, 2010.
A hole in the markets ceiling, allowing sunlight in.
The market in 1919, by the American Colony, Jerusalem.
The Cotton Merchants' Gate, as seen from inside the market, Al-Aqsa Mosque can be seen through the gate.
The market at night.
_(8683269184).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
See also
[edit]- Khan el-Khalili – Major souk in Cairo
- List of bazaars in Palestine and Israel
- List of bazaars and souks
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 MICHAEL HAMILTON BURGOYNE; D S Richards (1987). Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study on JSTOR. Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL), Al Tajir Trust. pp. 273–293. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "سوق القطّانين بالقدس يحن إلى ماضيه" [The Cotton Market in Jerusalem yearns for its past.]. Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 Golvin, L. (1967). "Quelques Notes Sur Le Sūq Al-Qaṭṭānīn Et Ses Annexes a Jérusalem". Bulletin d'études orientales (in Arabic). 20: 101–117. ISSN 0253-1623. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 Pevsner, Nikolaus (17 October 2023). A History of Building Types. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-25275-9. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- ↑ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. University Press. 1887. Retrieved 9 May 2026. See Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
- 1 2 Pullan, Wendy; Sternberg, Maximilian; Kyriacou, Lefkos; Larkin, Craig; Dumper, Michael (20 November 2013). The Struggle for Jerusalem's Holy Places. Routledge. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-317-97556-4. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Far-right Israelis attack journalists and Palestinians at Jerusalem 'Flag March'". Middle East Eye. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- ↑ "تعريف و شرح و معنى قطان بالعربي في معاجم اللغة العربية". Almaany. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- ↑ Daʿadli, Tawfiq; Barbé, Hervé (30 April 2017). "The development of Sūq al-Qaṭṭānīn quarter, Jerusalem". Der Islam. 94 (1): 66–93. doi:10.1515/islam-2017-0004. ISSN 1613-0928. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- 1 2 "معالم القدس.. حمام الشفا" [Landmarks of Jerusalem...al-Shifa bathhouse]. Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- 1 2 "معالم القدس.. خان تنكز" [Landmarks of Jerusalem...Tankiz inn]. Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- ↑ "خان "تنكز" التاريخيّ في البلدة القديمة بالقدس يتنفّس الحياة من جديد" [The historic Khan "Tankaz" in Jerusalem's Old City is breathing again]. Al-Monitor (in Arabic). Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- ↑ Lewis, Bernard; Cohen, Amnon (8 March 2015). Population and Revenue in the Towns of Palestine in the Sixteenth Century. Princeton University Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-4008-6779-0. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
- ↑ Cohen, Amnon (22 August 2002). "Economic Life in Ottoman Jerusalem". Cambridge University Press. p. 7. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- 1 2 Mazza, Roberto (18 July 2018). ""The Preservation and Safeguarding of the Amenities of the Holy City without Favour or Prejudice to Race or Creed": The Pro-Jerusalem Society and Ronald Storrs, 1917–1926". Ordinary Jerusalem, 1840-1940: 403–422. doi:10.1163/9789004375741_026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ↑ Storrs, Sir Ronald (1937). Orientations: By Ronald Storrs. Nicholson & Watson. p. 369. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ↑ "Discerning Conqueror". Haaretz. November 12, 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
Further reading
[edit]- MICHAEL HAMILTON BURGOYNE; D S Richards (1987). Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study. Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL), Al Tajir Trust. pp. 273–293. on JSTOR
- Golvin, L. (1967). "Quelques Notes Sur Le Sūq Al-Qaṭṭānīn Et Ses Annexes a Jérusalem" [SOME NOTES ON THE SŪQ AL-QAṬṬĀNĪN AND ITS APPENDICES IN JERUSALEM]. Bulletin d'études orientales (in French). 20: 101–117. ISSN 0253-1623. on JSTOR
External links
[edit]
Media related to Cotton Merchants' Market at Wikimedia Commons
