Old City of Hebron

Hebron, State of Palestine

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The Old City of Hebron (also called Al-Khalil, meaning "the friend") is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, with over 6,000 years of history, located about 30 kilometers south of Jerusalem at 1,000 meters elevation in the State of Palestine.

Situated at the crossroads of ancient trade routes connecting southern Palestine, Sinai, Jordan, and the Arabian Peninsula, it has long been a vital cultural, commercial, and religious center. The city’s heart is the Ibrahimi Mosque (Tomb of the Patriarchs), a 1st-century AD compound protecting the tombs of Abraham/Ibrahim and his family, which became a sacred pilgrimage site for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, making Hebron the fourth holiest city in Islam after Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.

The Old City flourished during the Mamluk period (1250–1517), when it was built using distinctive local limestone, and later expanded under Ottoman rule (1517–1917) with additional upper stories while preserving its original Mamluk urban layout.

It originally comprised thirteen neighborhoods organized around the mosque, each with secure gates, courtyards, alleys, markets, mosques, schools, and inns, featuring narrow winding streets, flat-roofed stone houses, and traditional Islamic architecture that transitions from public roads to private residences.