Thousands of fresh meals of a variety of varieties are served daily to Muslims and Christians

Tekke Khasaki Sultan.. 500 years of relief for Jerusalemites

  • Two employees of the Jerusalem Waqf prepare food at the Tekiyya.

    archival

  • Tkiyet Khasaki Sultan does not differentiate between a Muslim and a Christian.

    Emirates today

  • Director General of the Jerusalem Endowments and Al-Aqsa Affairs Azzam Al-Khatib.

    Emirates today

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Next to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, a distance not exceeding hundreds of meters, and inside an ancient archaeological building, which was formerly called the “Sitt Tanshaq Al-Mudhafari” Saraya Building, and is currently called the “Islamic Orphan House School”, nine Jerusalemites spend most of their time cooking many meals And soup, to be served hot and fresh daily to thousands of residents of the old town in the Holy City, which covers an area of ​​900 acres, and its surroundings as well.

In 1551, the wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (Roxilana), of Russian origin, established the “Khasaki Sultan Tekkete”, which means in Arabic (the Sultan’s beloved) in the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, to feed the poor and students, and since that time, and for more than 500 years, this hospice has been Embody the concepts of giving, and relief to the needy and the poor.

rooted giving

A wanderer between the Khan al-Zayt market and Al-Wad Road within the walls and alleys of the old town within the Holy City, can reach the Saraya building (the Islamic orphanage school), and enter it from its northern gate, located in the Mufti Obstacle (The Path of Pain), amid the narrow alleys of the town .

After the visitor enters the palace, he is greeted by a large open courtyard, to walk down stone steps, which leads to the eastern side to another courtyard, embracing between its two sides the “Khasaki Sultan Tekke”, whose construction overlaps with the parts of the ancient archaeological building, as it consists of a kitchen to prepare menus Food, two stone ovens for preparing meals in their finished form, along with a ritual ablution, and a shrine room.

The two ovens are large in size, square in shape, on two opposite sides. On the south side is the kitchen, which the chefs turn into a beehive that is active throughout the year without stopping, and on the other side there is a large dining hall, and several rooms for storing food supplies.

"Emirates Today" met with the Director General of Al-Quds Endowments and the Affairs of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, who directly supervises the work of the archaeological hospice. The Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank.

He points out that the historical hospice was supervised by the Ottoman governor of Jerusalem, as one of the important historical sites for providing food in the city of Jerusalem, while today it depends on the funding of the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem, the Ministry of Endowments in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and on what philanthropists, merchants and businessmen donate.

Nine employees from the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem work inside the Khasaki Sultan Tekkete, who provide hot meals to thousands throughout the year, while this work doubles during the days of the fasting month, as the number of its visitors increases, in addition to the increase in the number of people coming to pray, and those in the courtyards. Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to Sheikh Al-Khatib.

After completing the preparation of food for the families of Jerusalem, the hospice staff cooks fresh meals for the employees, guards and guards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, as they do not leave the Temple Mount during the days of the blessed month.

Incubator for all

Tkiyet Khasaki Sultan provides daily meals of a variety of types, including “mattafia with flowers”, beans, okra, potatoes, rice with chicken or meat, and peas, to be distributed to everyone who settles and lives between the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, which is currently inhabited by 28 thousand Of the Palestinians, including 22 thousand Muslims, and four thousand Christians, including 2,400 people from the Armenian sect.

The Director General of Al-Quds Endowments and Al-Aqsa Affairs says, “We do not differentiate between the Palestinian people who come to the hospice, the sons of the one homeland, and the owners of the same cause, whether Muslim or Christian. ».

He points out that Khasaki Sultan Hospital is currently the most important economic resource for the poor inside the Holy City, especially those who live next to Al-Aqsa Mosque, between the alleys of the Old City, and within the neighboring towns and neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

Sheikh Al-Khatib says, “As a result of the deteriorating economic and living conditions, and the high tax rates imposed by the occupation on the residents of Jerusalem, many Jerusalemites and those coming to the Temple Mount go to the (Khasaki Sultan) hospice to get meals, and we also undertake another task, which is to transport hot food to The homes of the poor and the needy, in order to alleviate their suffering and enhance their steadfastness in the face of settlement displacement schemes.

• Tekke Khasaki Sultan, which was stopped by the wife of the Ottoman Sultan, is considered one of the most important historical hospice in the Palestinian territories, along with the Abrahamic Tekkiye in the city of Hebron in the south of the West Bank.


• Nine employees from the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem work inside the Khasaki Sultan Tekke, who provide hot meals to thousands throughout the year, while this work doubles during the days of the fasting month, as the number of its visitors increases, in addition to the increase in the number of people coming to pray, and those who are in retreat in Courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

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