{{short description|Caravanserai in Acre, Israel}} {{Infobox building | name = Khan al-Umdan | native_name = خان العمدان | former_names = | alternate_names = {{langx|he|ח'אן אל עומדאן}}<br> [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]] name: Khán-i-'Avámid | image = Akko BW 13.JPG | caption = | pushpin_map = | altitude = | building_type = [[Caravanserai]] | architectural_style = [[Ottoman Architecture|Ottoman]] | structural_system = | cost = | ren_cost = | location = [[Akko|Acre]], [[Israel]] | address = | client = | owner = | current_tenants = | landlord = | coordinates = | construction_start_date = | completion_date = 1784 | inauguration_date = | renovation_date = | demolished_date = | destruction_date = | height = | diameter = | other_dimensions = | floor_count = 2 | floor_area = | main_contractor = | architect = | architecture_firm = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | awards = | ren_architect = | ren_firm = | ren_str_engineer = | ren_serv_engineer = | ren_civ_engineer = | ren_oth_designers = | ren_qty_surveyor = | ren_awards = | references = [https://web.archive.org/web/20110805053046/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=6862 archnet.org] }} '''Khan al-Umdan''' ({{langx|ar|خان العمدان}}: "Caravanserai of the Pillars" or "Inn of the Columns", also known as '''Khán-i-ʻAvámid''') is the largest and best preserved [[caravanserai]] in Acre, Israel.<ref name="Archnet" /><ref name=Vilnay>Vilnay, 1963.</ref> Located in the Old City of [[akko|Acre]], it is one of the prominent projects constructed during the rule of [[Jezzar Pasha|Ahmed Jezzar Pasha]] in Galilee, under the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman era]].
==History==
===Ottoman period=== Being one of four Khans in Acre, Khan al-Umdan was built in 1784 on the place of the Royal Customs house of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]. Due to its plethora of columns the khan was named Khan al-Umdan which means "Inn of the Columns" or "Caravanserai of Pillars".<ref name="Archnet" /><ref name=Vilnay/> It incorporates forty columns made of [[granite]] that were taken from [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]], [[Château Pèlerin|Atlit]] and the ruins of [[Crusades|Crusader]] monuments in Acre itself.<ref name="Archnet" />
[[File:Acre (Akko) - Han El Umdan clock tower.jpg|thumb|left|The clock tower of Khan al-Umdan]]
Due to its proximity to the port, Khan al-Umdan has throughout its history been an important trading spot. Merchants arriving at Acre used the khan as a [[warehouse]] while the second floor functioned as a [[hostel]].<ref name="Eye">{{cite web|url=http://www.eyeonisrael.com/akko-khan-el-umdan.html|title=Khan el Umdan|work=Eye on Israel|access-date=2009-01-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719070956/http://www.eyeonisrael.com/akko-khan-el-umdan.html|archive-date=2011-07-19|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Flickr">{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/steveslep/2178537199/|title=DSCN0594|work=Steve Slepchik|date=30 December 2007|access-date=2009-01-30}}</ref> [[Camel train|Camel caravans]] once brought produce and grain from [[Galilee|Galilean]] villages to the city's markets and port.<ref name=Dumperp7>Dumper and Stanley, 2006, p. 7.</ref>
The khan later gained importance to the [[Baháʼí Faith]] (as the Khán-i-'Avámid) as it was the site where [[Baha'ullah]] used to receive guests, and later the site for a Baháʼí school.
In 1906 a [[clock tower]] was added adjacent to the main entrance to the khan to commemorate the [[silver jubilee]] of the rule of Ottoman sultan [[Abd al-Hamid II]]. It is similar to the [[Jaffa Clock Tower]], a building dedicated to the same purpose, <ref name="Archnet">{{cite web|url=http://www.archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=6862|title=Umdan Khan|work=archnet.org|access-date=2009-01-29|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805053046/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=6862|archive-date=2011-08-05}}</ref> along with five more towers in Ottoman Palestine (in Jerusalem, Haifa, Safed, Nablus, and possibly Nazareth) and over a hundred across the entire empire.
===Modern era=== In 2001 Khan al-Umdan, together with the rest of Acre's old city, was designated as a [[World Heritage Site]].<ref name="Unesco">{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1042|title=Old City of Acre|work=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=2009-01-29}}</ref> In 2004 Khan al-Umdan ({{langx|he|ח'אן אל עומדאן}}) was featured on a [[Postage stamps and postal history of Israel|stamp of Israel]] worth 1.3 [[Israeli New Sheqel|sheqels]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boeliem.com/content/2004/706.html|title=The Acre Clock Tower, Khan El-Umdan|work=boeliem.com|access-date=2011-09-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032137/http://www.boeliem.com/content/2004/706.html|archive-date=2017-12-01|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Nowadays, the khan is a major tourist attraction open all hours of the day and used as an open-air stage during festivals in the city, such as the theater festival of Acre during the month of October.<ref name="Trek">{{cite web|url=http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Middle_East/photo1020798.htm|title=Inn Of The Pillars|work=TrekEarth |access-date=2009-01-29}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|33em}}
==Bibliography== {{Commons category}} {{Refbegin}} *{{cite book|title=Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: a historical encyclopedia|first1=Michael|last1=Dumper|first2=Bruce E.|last2=Stanley|edition=Illustrated|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2006|isbn= 9781576079195|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC&q=khan+umdan+palestine&pg=PA7}} *{{cite book|title=The Holy Land in old prints and maps|first1=Zev|last1=Vilnay|edition=2nd|publisher=R. Mass|year=1963}} {{Refend}}
{{coord|32|55|11.73|N|35|4|8.57|E|display=title}} {{Hostels}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan Al-Umdan}} [[Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1784]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Acre, Israel]] [[Category:Ottoman caravanserais]] [[Category:Caravanserais in Israel]] [[Category:1784 establishments in the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:18th-century establishments in Ottoman Syria]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in Northern District (Israel)]] [[Category:World Heritage Sites in Israel]] [[Category:Clock towers in Israel]] [[Category:Ottoman clock towers]]