Architects' Tombs

Architects' Tombs
קבר המהנדסים בשער יפו
Architects Tombs

The Architects Tombs at Jaffa Gate are two Turkish graves located adjacent to the Jaffa Gate on the inner side of the city wall. These graves are attributed to the engineers of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, who, according to Jerusalem legend, built the city's wall.

Description

The graves are situated in an elevated area measuring approximately 3 by 3 metres (9.8 by 9.8 ft) among the shops, a short distance from the Jaffa Gate. In this small area, fig and cypress trees (up until 2008) grew to great heights, with two graves at their base. The trees were removed because they posed a danger to the public and the graves. The preservation state of the left grave is worse than that of the right one, which is fully preserved. Each grave measures about one meter in length and half a meter in width. They are made of stone, with a stylized turban – a Turkish fabric cap – adorning the top. The turban on the left grave has not survived, but testimonies from pilgrims over the past centuries indicate its existence.

In January 2019, a storm knocked down one of the cypress trees in the grave area onto the intact grave, "beheading" it.

Dating

Based on their style, the graves are dated to the Ottoman period and belong to men. To this day, it is customary in traditional parts of Turkey to design men’s tombstones with hats and turbans (while women's tombstones feature flower wreaths or potted plants).

Identification

In 1572, about thirty years after the construction of the Ottoman city wall of Jerusalem, Flemish cartographer Franz Hogenberg visited the city. In the map of Jerusalem he drew following his visit, he depicted a relatively empty area separating the Jaffa Gate from the city's houses, with a sheikh’s tomb in it. If this identification is correct, it can be inferred that the graves were once in a mausoleum structure that was destroyed over the years.

The only source shedding any light on the graves was identified by the archaeologist of the Jerusalem Waqf, Dr. Yousef Al-Natsheh. According to his testimony, there is one document referring to these graves, identifying them with a Muslim family from the city of Safed in the 16th century, hence their surname: Al-Safadi, and this area is their Waqf land.

Despite this, a tradition of unknown origin and time was documented by J. E. Hanauer in the beginning of the 20th century, attributing these graves to two brothers, both engineers, who built the Jerusalem wall for Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. According to this tradition, the Sultan beheaded the two engineers for various reasons: some claim it was due to his fear that they would reveal the secrets of the wall to the enemy; others say it was because he feared they would build a similar wall for enemies; another opinion holds that it was due to his anger at them for leaving Mount Zion, which overlooks the entire city, outside the wall – something that gives the enemy a significant advantage during a siege. Another Muslim tradition ties the graves to a warrior contemporary to Salah-ed-din, and his namesake, who was in charge of the gate when the Christians besieged the city, and whose severed head held his scimitar and fought back the Christians for seven days and seven nights. It is clear that none of these claims have any historical basis, and it is doubtful that these graves are related in any way to the wall’s engineers, but the nickname "Engineers' Graves" stuck with them, and they are referred to by this name in many travel guides in all languages, indicating how strong this tradition is.