User:Nihaltan

= The Ottoman School (al-Madrasa al-'Uthmaniyya) =

Name and Location
The Ottoman School is located at the Ablution Gate, alongside the al-Ashrafiyah School in al-Haram ash-Sharif/the Noble Sanctuary/al-Aqsa compound. It was named after Asfahan Shah Khatun Bin Mahmoud al Uthmaniayh, the Turkish lady who established it in 840 AH/1436 AD.

Architecture
The structure’s entrance is characteristically Mamluk. The school’s architecture comprises two levels. The top level overlooks the Dome of the Rock through a coloured façade, comprising a pointed arch surrounding two rectangular windows that were built with joggled red and black stones. The school consists of two floors and can be reached through a beautiful Mamluk entrance surmounted by inscription of its foundation and decorated with alternating red and white stones. The school consists of a number of rooms and a small open courtyard, overlooking Al-Aqsa Mosque, with a façade made of red and white stones. There are two tombs to the left side of the entrance; one of them is for the lady who endowed it.

The entrance leads to the transitional area of Dirka (vestibule after entrance), leading to a courtyard and a burial room. There is a prayer niche in a lower-level room, known as the Lower Mosque, whereas the large hall that overlooks al-Aqsa Mosque is known as the Upper Mosque.

History
The ‘Uthmaniyya was funded and built by Asfahan Shah Khatun, the daughter of Prince Mahmoud al-Uthmaniyya and bore the referential Khanum. “The Waqf was endowed in 1437.

The structure was restored by the Supreme Islamic Council but was subsequently damaged by Israeli excavations. The musalla at the school was seized by the Israeli state, on the pretext of using it to create ventilation for a Zionist tunnel beneath Masjid al Aqsa. Today, the school stands atop the infamous Israeli tunnel excavation, causing major damage to the building, and many complaints have been submitted to international institutions such as UNESCO.