Barquq Castle (), also known as the Younis al-Nuruzi Caravansari or simply Khan Younis, was a Mamluk-era fortified mosque and caravanserai. It was one of the most important Mamluk strongholds in the region. Khan Yunis, a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, was named after the castle, which is from the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It lies along the historical road from Cairo to Damascus, known as the Via Maris. It was damaged during the Gaza war.
History.
Construction.
A prominent Arabic inscription above the entrance gateway states that the building was constructed in 1387–1388 by , a dawadar of the Mamluk sultan, Barquq. Both Yunus and Barquq are named in three Arabic inscriptions above the building's main gateway, and the building's two common names – Barquq Castle and Khan Yunis – are thus thought to derive from their names. Others have claimed that the latter refers to the prophet Jonah (also Yunis in Arabic). The word "castle" in the name is a translation of the Arabic word , meaning fortified building, whereas "khan" is another word for caravanserai and refers to its initial primary use as a place for travelling merchants. The name Khan Yunis was subsequently adopted by the town which developed around the building.
Mamluk and Ottoman periods.
It was built as a caravanserai to serve as a center in the middle of the road between Damascus and Cairo, the two largest cities in the Mamluk Sultanate, to protect merchant caravans, pilgrims and travellers. The khan also served as resting stop for couriers of the "barid", the Mamluk postal network in Palestine and Syria.
During the 17th and 18th centuries the Ottomans assigned an Asappes garrison associated with the Cairo Citadel to guard the fortress.
It was visited in 1863 by French explorer Victor Guérin, who described it as follows:
Gottlieb Schumacher visited it in 1886:
Modern period.
Dimitri Baramki wrote a study on the building entitled "Report on Khan Yunus" in the 1930s, which was held in the archive of the Palestine Archaeological Museum (today the Rockefeller Archeological Museum).
By the mid 20th century, much of the building was in ruins, but the front façade, gateway and mosque with its minaret were still standing.
During the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, hundreds of historic sites were damaged or destroyed. The ongoing nature of the conflict makes it difficult to visit sites and evaluate damage and in January 2024 the status of the site was unknown; the following month "+972 Magazine" reported that Barquq Castle had been damaged when the area was attacked. The Israeli news site Ynet also reported damage to the Castle. The historic centre of Khan Yunis was more severely targeted than in previous conflicts, and as a result significant damage was caused to historic sites including Barquq Castle. UNESCO is evaluating the impact of the conflict on cultural heritage sites using remote analysis; they included Barquq amongst 64 sites with verified damage as of 22 July 2024.
Area.
The castle was initially square, with sides measuring about and covering an area of . Each corner had a round tower. The main entrance was in the north-west facing facade.
The castle consists of two floors and a mosque for prayer.