Proceedings of the International Congress on Al-Quds During The Ottoman Era: Damascus, 22-25 June 2009

A scholarly congress was organized on the theme of “Al- Quds during the Ottoman Era” jointly by IRCICA and the Ministry of Culture of Syria within the frameworkof theprogram “Damascus Capitalof ArabCulture,2009”. Thepapers which werepresentedat the congress havebeen collectedin a volume. The articles in English contained in the volume are: “The development of Al-Haram al-Sharif during Ottoman Rule” by Michael Hamilton Burgoyne; “The early period of Ottoman rule in Jerusalem” by Feridun M. Emecen; “Examples of intellectual life in Jerusalem in the late Ottoman period” by Kairia Kasmieh, and those in Arabic, “Inscriptions and decorations of the Dome of the Rock” by Ahmed Mufti; “Hosting of the nomads from Bersabe in the surroundings of Jerusalem during the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II” by Asma R. al-Sheikh Khalil; “The Arabic manuscript heritage in Jerusalem” by Iad Khaled Altabba; “Sufism in Jerusalem asobservedbysome Muslim travelers”by Bushra Kheir Bek; “Waqfsandservices in Jerusalem in the18th century AD (1112-1214H./1700-1799)”by Ziad A. M. Madani; “Introduction on justice andsocial relations in Jerusalem duringthe first halfof16th century AD in the light of the Jerusalem Sharia court registers”by Abla S. Muhtadi; “Urban revival in Biladal-Sham towards the endof the Ottoman period(Jerusalem and Aleppo as examples)”by Omar Addaqaq; “Thephenomenon of the expansion of education in Jerusalem in the light of Ottoman – foreign rivalries” (Fazıl Bayat); “Thephysiciansof the hospitalof Jerusalem in the Ottoman period” (M.Yasser Zekkour); “The wallof Jerusalem: its importance, its characteristics and the related tales” (Yousef Saeed Natsheh). In hisPreface, Dr. HalitEren expresses the hopethat thebook will contributeimportantlytoresearch literatureon al-Qudsandalsoserveitsongoingcause by highlighting myriadaspectsof this heritage city that call for consciousness about its cause in worldopinion. “The causeof al-Quds andPalestine is the