West Bank: Khan al Wakala, Nablus Heritage Site
old town, Nablus, West Bank 25/11/2016
Few would have imagined that this ancient caravanserai (Khan in Arabic) could be restoredto itsformerglories afterit hadbeen reduced to rubbleby apowerful earthquake in 1927. Priorto that, generations of merchants had spent the night here on their travelsfrom Asia to North Africa. But the earthquake left the site in such a state that nobody really believed it could be rebuilt…until the European Union decided to act and kick-start a restoration project. In the first 12 years ofthe project, only aboutthree and a half years of constructionworkwas done on the site due to conflicts,politicalstandstill and civil unrest. But now the Old Khan is well and truly back and ready to take on a new challenge: to become an incubator for handicrafts, tourism and culturalservicesfor the city of Nablus.