Gallery
Description
Property Name: Al-Ashrafiyah School (in Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa)
Inventory No: 972-2-9
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2020-07-17
Country (State party): Palestine
Province: Al Quds/Jerusalem
Town: Old town
Geographic coordinates: 31°46’38.73″N
35°14’3.97″E
Historic Period: Mamluk
Year of Construction: 1426 AC
Style: Early Islamic
Original Use: School
Current Use: School
Architect: Unknown
Significance
Prince Hassan bin Tatr Ath-Thahiry built this school as a gift for King Ath-Thaher Khashqoum in 872 AH/1426 AC. However, the latter died before the construction was completed; thus, Prince Ath- Thahiry decided to dedicate it to Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitbay who assigned scholars and teachers to it. When Sultan Qaitbay came to Jerusalem he visited the school, but was not quite impressed by the building, so he demolished it and ordered its reconstruction in 885 AH/1470 AC. Al-Ashrafiyah School is considered to be the third architectural jewel of Al-Aqsa Mosque besides Al-Qibly Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Half of the school is located inside Al-Aqsa, while the other half is outside the Mosque’s borders. The school consists of a two-storey building, and has a beautiful entrance decorated with white and red bricks. It also has a mosque that was once used by the followers of the Hanbali principle. There are two graves inside its mosque; one of them is thought to be Sheikh Al-Khalil’si tomb.
Selection Criteria
ii. to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design
iii. to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared
vi. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance
State of Preservation
Today, a significant part of the school is used as Al-Aqsa Shar’ia School for Girls; another part is used as an office for the Department of Manuscripts subordinate to the Islamic Waqf Directorate, while the remaining parts are used as houses where some Jerusalemite families live. In 2000, the Islamic Waqf Department and the Welfare Association carried out a comprehensive renovation of the building.
References
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Archnet website: archnet.org