The Name
The building was named after the Prussian Consul who resided in the building around the middle of the 19th century. Ruth Kark reports "The Prussian Consulate purchased a large building in the Muslim quarter to serve as an important German center in the city, and rented another adjacent building that was converted to a Prussian hospice".
The property of the building was then transferred to the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem around the year 1882. Conrad Schick was then asked to document the building through plans, and these plans became the major source for understanding the building. The upper floors of the building were used as a political and cultural center for Prussian activities and for around three decades it was a major site in the Old city. The upper floors have been drastically changed since then and additional buildings were constructed, changing the original shape. In spite of that some of its 19th century components can be reconstructed.
The name "Dar al-Consul" was kept in the local oral tradition until today.
Location and function
The building is one of a chain of huge buildings located on the eastern side of the Bab Khan Al-Zait Market (Suq Khan Al-Zait). The current extension of the Khan Al-Zait Market can be traced back to the second century AD. This was part of the Cardo Maximus, constructed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as the main colonnade street of "Aelia Capitolina" in the second century AD.
Opposite of Dar al-Consul, on the southern side of 'Aqbat Asitt, there are still remains of different periods, the most important of them is the Khan Al-Zait (Olive-Oil Caravanserai), which is used now as a restaurant and café (previously Khalil al-Rahman Hotel). Major parts of this building are still intact.
Mujir ad-Din al-Hanbali, the Jerusalem Historian (late 15th century) once said the location of the Khan is to the west of Asitt Tunshuq palace (currently the western building of Dar al-Ayatam al-Islamiyya), which means that the Khan building was extended to the Suq Al-Zait. The Khan, as reflected in its name, was specialized in Soap production. Additionally, the whole Suq Khan Al-Zait and the eastern alleys connected to it were engaged in soap production as well as several olive-oil and sesame presses (ma'asir simsim). These kinds of productions can be traced back to the 10th century AD., or even much earlier. Maqddisi, a Jerusalemite geographer of the 10th century mentions these activities in the market.
It seems that the production of soap had also continued in the Crusader period, but flourished and reached its peak in both the Mamluk and the Ottoman periods.
Mujir ad-Din called the road leading from Traiq al-Wad to Khan Al-Zait, "Aqabat as-Suq" (the market ascends the hill), in which he states that "at the western end of the hill is al-Fakhr Market (suq al-fakhr) …where all the soap factories are located and soap is produced”. In accordance, the Consul building and other buildings around it on both sides of the road were part of the Suq al-Fakhr, which was engaged in soap production also.
In the Ottoman period "Aqabat Asitt" was still called Suq al-Fakhr, which was famous for soap production.
The level of the building
The current level of the market (Suq Khan Al-Zait) was most probably defined in the Middle Ages, which existed during the Crusader period, or even much earlier. The buildings which are located below the current level most likely belong to different periods. Approximately, four-five meters below the current level are remains of the Cardo Maximus, which were discovered in different locations in the Suq.
The other side of the street (south)
On the southern side of the "Aqabat Asitt" is the location of Khan Al-Zait (the Olive Oil Caravanserai or the Soap Factory). At the end of the 19th century most of the components of the factory were still intact, so Conrad Schick had managed to draw a plan and a section of the building (see annex 1). It consisted of a huge domed hall with four aisles in which the dome had an octagonal drum. The hall is roofed with 20 cross archings on two rows of huge stone pillars. It is difficult to date this structure since some elements of it can be dated back to the Crusader period and others to the Mamluk period. Moreover, the building actually was built in a deep pool, which was cut in the bedrock. The date of the pool is unknown, but it was constructed on the eastern border of the Cardo Maximus and on the northern edge of 'Aqabat Asitt, so it could be dated back to the Roman period or even earlier. Three water cisterns and several oil cisterns were also discovered beneath the building. Schick also noticed in the Khan, as well as in the neighboring shops, several limestone columns, similar to those used in the Cardo, which proves that it was built on the border of the Cardo and these columns were part of the eastern side of the colonnaded street.
Depending only on Schick's description and documentation it is difficult to determine whether these columns are made of Byzantine or of Roman origin, hence why these are not accessible today. Schick's documentation is not considered sufficient; therefore we cannot determine the exact date of the building unless the architectural elements are identified.
The sources mentioned above did not describe the building as "Khan" until the beginning of the Ottoman period (16th century), however, that does not mean that the Khan did not exist. It is possible that it carried another name, but since the Ottoman period it appears regularly in the documents of the Islamic Shari'a Court (sijillat al-mahkameh al-shar'iyya) as "Khan Al-Zait".
The topographical relationship between Khan Al-Zait and Dar al-Consul
It is to assume from the sources mentioned above, that the basement of Dar al-Consul was also part of a soap factory. It is very difficult to identify it today due to the many changes that occurred over the previous centuries. In the 20th century the building had witnessed drastic changes leaving little evidence and possibility for identification. Indeed, archaeological excavations and further exploration could be of great value for further exploration.
Depending only on Schick's description and documentation it is difficult to determine whether these columns are made of Byzantine or of Roman origin, hence why these are not accessible today. Schick's documentation is not considered sufficient; therefore we cannot determine the exact date of the building unless the architectural elements are identified.
Comparing the level and the huge spaces in both structures, besides similarities of building materials and techniques, it is to assume that there is a joint level as well as the shape of the stone and dressing in both structures is similar.
The bedrock in the Khan Al-Zait building is the same extension of the bedrock of Dar a-Consul. This is also true if we compare the depth of the water cisterns in both buildings. Additionally, the location of both buildings is on the eastern edge of the Cardo.
Soap factories at Khan Al-Zait Market
Gad Frumkin (before 1929) reporting that "The largest oil-press in the city, the sesame press, was located at Khan Al-Zeit Market", one of those is still to be seen opposite to Ja'far Sweets shop, called the Qutaina soap factory (now the Qadamani shop for sweets), it is two floors building, the ground floor consist of a factory which includes the cooking bots as well as the olive-oil cisterns and other components. The upper floor of the building is one huge open vaulted hall roofed through cross vaults carried on pillars, liquid fresh soap was poured on the its floor for gradual cooling. When it became solid, it was cut in small cubic pieces and organized in forum of a tower and left for few weeks for further cooling, before wrapping it in paper and preparing it for marketing in Palestine or outside.
Other examples of Soap factories can be traced along the Khan Al-Zait Market, besides some olive-oil and sesame presses
The eastern border
To the east of Dar al-Consul is another large building, which belongs to the Hussaini Family. This building played an important role in the Ottoman history of Jerusalem and its common name is "ad-Dar al-kabira" (the huge house complex). Further exploration of the building cannot add much to understanding Dar al-Consul, unless we excavate below it. Most of the visible structures in ad-Dar al-Kabira belong to the Ottoman period.
Part of the eastern border, disregarding the ownership, includes a shop, which consists of two parallel spaces; one smaller than the other. To the north of the shop is part of the ground floor of Dar al-Consul. It is easy to identify two stages in the shop, one is a Crusader (the northern) and the other (the southern) is most probably 19th century.
The western border
The western border consist of a chain of shops, which were most likely added in a certain period extending from the Mamluk to the Ottoman period (14-17th century). Their relationship to Dar al-Qunsl is difficult to determine. It is assumed that some of these shops were part of the building, and that most likely one of the shops was also used as an entrance to the ground floor directly from Suq Khan Al-Zait.
The northern border
In the northwest corner of Dar al-Consul is a clear soap factory, which is also a Hussaini property (see below). Beside the soap factory there are several commercial and residential buildings among them the Lutheran house, which was connected to Dar al-Consul in the second half of the 19th century (both buildings were part of the Prussian presence in the city). The northern border of Dar al-Consul is in need of further study and exploration.
The ground floor of Dar al-Consul
Description, analyses and comparison between 1882 and the current situation.
Thanks to Conrad Schick, through his drawings and illustrations we know how the building looked like before the drastic 20th century interventions. Detailed analyses of the drawing can lead to better understanding of the building.
The ground floor consisted of several unites, most probably they belong to different periods, in order to deal with it, each unit will be analyzed separately.
1. The first unit
Is located in the southern part of the ground floor (inscribed on the ground plan as "stable") and along the road (Aqabat Asitt). It is a rectangular shape building extending from south to north, and consists of 13 rooms almost equal in size.
Partitions between some of the rooms were removed, most likely when this unit became a stable. The western wall of this unit was totally removed, and all of the rooms are covered with cross vaults. It could be that this building used to have direct access to the road through one of the shops in the southern façade of Dar al-Consul. The staircase, located in the center of the unit, which was removed in the modern times led to the upper floor (first floor).
It is clear that this unit was not built to be used as a soap factory, and indeed not as a stable. The utilization of it as a stable came in a later period, when the building had lost its ventilation system, after constructing more buildings in the upper floor and human use became impossible. Most of the changes that were made were on the circulation of the unit. There was an open courtyard in the center of it, located to the north of the staircase, resulting in most of the rooms organized around the courtyard. The assumed courtyard was later covered with two volumes covered with cross vaults and in one of them, an open sky window (oculus) of an octagon shape. This can be seen until today.
If this assumption can be proved, then this unit can be seen as two floors Khan (caravanserai). If the theses of the existence of an open courtyard cannot be proved, then the other option that can solve the problem of ventilation and daylight is that above the two mentioned rooms there was a dome with a drum. The drum windows could be very useful for the whole unit.
Today most parts of this unit are still traceable. Some of the rooms lost their partitions, new partitions were added, some cross vaults were replaced with barrel vaults, and the interior staircase was destroyed, but its ramp is still visible in form of a thick wall.
The dating of this structure is problematic. Drawing a comparison with the building of Khan Al-Zait (cross the road) uncovers some similarities, but not identical. The arches are different, the building technic is also different, but they both were built on the same level. Conrad Schick dated the Khan Al-Zait to pre-Crusader period without naming the period, but his hints lead to assume that he means Byzantine or Early Islamic. Unfortunately Schick does not present any proof of his assumption. Denys Pringle is referring to the Khan as a Crusader structure. The Crusader date is based on the fact that this area had witnessed intensive building activities. This is true but it was also a very important part of the Roman-Byzantine period, hence why it is not far from the location of the Holy Sepulcher Church as well as the eastern side of the Cardo. It is possible that the whole area was part of a Crusader covered market hall, located parallel to Suq Khan Al-Zait, so I support the Crusader dating of Khan Al-Zait, but taking into consideration the intensive Mamluk interventions including the shaping of some of the arches.
Without disregarding the Crusader date of this unit in Dar al-Consul, the current building belongs to the Mamluk period. It is not clear if there was a crusader building before or not, hence several Crusader elements can be identified in the building.
In the north-eastern room of this unit, a flight staircase was added to connect the upper floor. Below the ground of this room there is a room with three semicircular arches. The distance between the arches is less than one meter, the eastern side of the room is full with fill, so it is not clear if the room extends further to the east or not.
In Jerusalem we know three examples of a similar structure. The first is part of the lower floor of al-Qubba al-Nahawiyya in the Haram al-Sharif (the southwestern corner of the esplanade of the Dome of the Rock), the arches there are dated to the Umayyad period, and the roofing reached through stone slaps laid from one arch to the next. Other similar examples can be seen in the ground floor of the sixth Station on the Via Delarosa (St. Veronica) as well as in the second station (The Church of the Flagellation). This kind of arching and roofing is dated back between late Byzantine and early Islamic (Umayyad). Other examples were discovered in Nabatean settlements in southern Palestine.
Therefore, the date of this unit can be set in post Umayyad, which actually supports our hypothesis of the Crusader and Mamluk building activities.
It is possible that this room is part of larger structure extending below the ground, which could be evidence why underground roofing can be seen.
The secondary use of the unit as a stable is clear through some holes in the corner of the pillars used to tie the animals; this can be dated to the Ottoman period, and has to be related to the second units use.
2. The second unit
Is located in the northwest corner of the ground floor. It is located outside Dar al-Consul, but can be considered an important building for the comprehension and understanding of the whole structure. This unit is labeled as "soap factory" on the map. The current access to this building is from the Via Delarosa road and is intact and in very good condition. It is now used as a storage hall for the souvenir shop located below it. The architecture of the building is either can be dated back to the early Ottoman period or late Mamluk. It consists of a huge open hall divided by two rows of stone pillars, (each stone containing three pillars) with an additional three wall pillars on both the western and the eastern walls, and nine cross vaults covering the hall. It was connected to the ground floor of Dar al-Consul as apparent from analyzing the drawings of Schick.
On the southern border of this unit there was an additional structure (part of the project), which consists of a large center square chamber, and two anti-chambers, one located to the west and the other to the east. It is likely that the center chamber was used to connect the soap factory with the ground floor of Dar al-Consul, especially the Khan. The connected parts between the two buildings were severely damaged.
The southern extension of this structure is damaged through the modern cement pillars, but can easily be reconstructed. It is also apparent that in front of this structure (east and south) there was an open courtyard, which was roofed in a later period.
This building had a second floor, an art of mezzanine, which parts of it were destroyed in the 20th century, and consisted of several cross vaulted rooms and used by the soap factory
3. The huge wall
In the center of the building there is a huge stone wall, built from mostly reused stones. Some of these stones, especially in the lower two rows and at the corner, can be dated back to the Roman/Byzantine period. This can also be applied to the column, which is laid vertically in the wall. The wall is in the northwest corner of an undefined structure, which is at least two floors high. The wall was built prior to the stable so the building of the stable integrated the wall in it. The date of its construction can be set back to the Crusader period or Mamluk period.
4. The northeast structure
It is very complicated to be understood unless we uncover the northern and western extensions of it, as well as remove the rest of the destruction. Much of the destruction took place in the 20th century when the cement pillars were added. From the drawings of Schick these were illustrated as two large rectangular halls, each covered with two cross vaults and to the east another small anti-chamber connected to the eastern hall with a door. The northern border consisted of a very thick wall, an indication of a second floor.
Two water cisterns are associated with this building, but it is difficult to relate it to Dar al-Consul. It could be assumed to be part of the northern building. The architectural remains are indicating a Crusader dating.
Conclusion
The Consul Building is on the residential land marks list of the Old City. It consists of a long social, political, economic and architectural history of Jerusalem, and it should be conserved in a very careful way.
The Consul building cannot be separated from the history of the Roman Cardo Maximus, hence, parts of it are built on the edge or even on the top of the Cardo. When the Cardo lost its level (four-five meters below the current level) and new levels were added (after the Islamic invasion), the area began to be involved in the soap industry, which can be dated back to a period before the 10th century.
Intensive building and remodeling began on the site, including an integration of old structures from the Crusader period, and a covered market hall. The soap production had accelerated in the Mamluk period so the whole area of the Dar al-Consul was engaged in soap production.
The collapse of the soap industry in the 18-19th century led to the abandonment of the ground floor of the Dar al-Consul, while the upper floors were converted into residential floors and the ground floor was used as a stable. When the Prussian Consul purchased the building in the second half of the 19th century, most parts of the ground floor were left without use and used as dump containers for building garbage and waste, while other parts were also used as stables for animals.
During the modern construction work of the 20th century of the upper floor, the ground floor was dug through and (the three floors building) the foundations of the pillars were planted, which led to tremendous destruction of large parts of the historical structure of the ground floor.
Several periods and architectural styles are presented in the ground floor of Dar al-Consul:
1. Roman/Byzantine/Umayyad: located below the current level, evidence of this period is the arched room discussed above.
2. The Crusader period is represented in several halls (pillars and roofing); most probably parts of the shop belong to this period, but also different arches and walls.
3. The Mamluk is clear in the "Khan" building but also may be in the northwest corner of the ground floor.
4. Early Ottoman is clear in the northwest building (the second unit) with its extensions.
5. Nineteenth century in the shops and several other interventions.
6. Twentieth century resulted in major destruction by planting the cement pillars.
This dating is built on architectural style and building techniques. This kind of dating is not absolute, sometimes it is impossible to differentiate between Crusader and Ayyubid or even Mamluk, and therefore reservation can be kept until other evidences are discovered.
