“To those who pass by, to those who visit Jerusalem and Hebron”: Lala Mustafa Pasha's Wife Fatma Hatun’s Public Kitchen in Jenin

Abstract

Imarets (public kitchens) established in Bilâd al-Sham right after the conquest of Sultan Selim I were perceived as symbolic structures that fulfilled social and political functions in the integration of the region to the Ottoman administration. When Selimiye was restored by Sultan Suleiman in 1554, the second and definitive phase of implementation had already begun. For nearly half a century, successive waqf complexes, certainly bearing the Ottoman traces, provided the region with shelter and food. The waqf complex endowed by Fatma Hatun, which can be considered as a part of this effort in Bilâd al-Sham, offered similar services to passers-by, to those who visited Jerusalem and Hebron. The complex was registered with the waqfiyya that was drawn up on 25 Zilhijja 974/3 July 1567.

The study aims to examine the Fatma Hatun’s waqf complex, which is one of the important institutions of the integration of the region with the Ottoman imagination, in terms of its waqfiyya. In this context, the information available in different sources regarding the public kitchen of the waqf will also be included. Afterwards, the status of the waqf in the late 16th century will be evaluated by taking into account the waqf’s müfredât registers dated 997/1588-89 and 998/1589-90.