The Kishle

The Kishle compound was established by Mohamed Ali, the ruler of Egypt, and his son Ibrahim Pasha, in 1833. Two years prior to its construction, Mohamed Ali rebelled against the Ottoman Sultan and conquered parts of Israel. Adjacent to the Ottoman wall which was built in the 16^th century by Suleiman the Magnificent, Mohamed Ali built a residential building to house the soldiers, and it was named “Kishle” (Turkish). During the following eras and until today, the place has been used for security and policing purposes. In archeological excavations that took place in the Kishle, the archeologist Amit Reem exposed impressive remnants from different eras in the city’s history. There are also remnants of a fortress from the end of the First Temple Era, made of huge semi-chiseled stones. It may be a continuation of the Jerusalem wall from the times of King Hezekiah, which was exposed in the Jewish quarter and is known as“the Broad Wall”. In addition, remnants of the Hasmonean wall were discovered, in the form of a massive wall made of impressive stones. This wall was built when Jerusalem expanded towards the west, during the times of the Hasmonean kingdom. It may be the wall mentioned by the author of Maccabees 1: “Jonathan set up headquarters in Jerusalem and began to rebuild and restore the city. He ordered the builders to use squared stones for the city walls and for the protecting wall around Mount Zion. This was done.” (Maccabees 1, 10, 10-11). Researchers estimate that this wall, which the historian Yosef Ben Matityahu termed “the first wall”, was built along the route of a previous wall from the times of the First Temple (8^th -9^th centuries BCE). Finally, the foundations of Herod’s castle from the times of the Second Temple, which were built on top of Hasmonean castles and buildings were exposed, as well as paint basins from the crusader era and more. The entrance to this site is via the David’s Citadel Museum. Part of the compound is used for policing purposes in the present day as well, and contains the “David Precinct” of the Israeli police, which is responsible for the Old City, and the wellbeing of the city dwellers of all three religions, as well as the millions of tourists who visit it every year.