
In the wake of the June 1967 Six-Day War, the Israeli army expelled the inhabitants of the Maghariba Quarter in Jerusalem then proceeded to demolish it to create a broad piazza that today stretches all the way to the Wailing Wall (The Buraq Wall). This incident remained unknown for a long time and now, for the first time, Vincent Lemire, tells the tale of that pre-planned demolition, the exodus of the quarter’s inhabitants, and the history of a quarter built by Sultan Saladin in 1187 to accommodate Muslim pilgrims from North Africa (The Maghrib) coming to Jerusalem.
To revive the memory of this historic quarter, the author undertakes a journey among scattered sources, starting with the archives of Jerusalem’s Muslim institutions, then the Red Cross Archive in Geneva, and on to the Ottoman archives in Istanbul. He also takes in the testimonies of residents as well as recent archaeological excavations which have revealed the domestic utensils of that quarter that had been buried under the rubble.
At a time when the Holy City finds itself at the very heart of geopolitical tensions that are rocking the entire region, this book presents a unique insight, allowing a deeper understanding of what is taking place in Jerusalem.