Page 27 - HaMizrachiChayei Sarah AUS 2020

THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND

Rivi Frankel

The Chevron

Lockdown

of 1840

rom 1831 to 1918, in addition Such buildings can still be seen today. us seven days. The health guards had
to malaria, tuberculosis, small- been mistaken, the quarantine time
Fpox and dysentery, the Land of He described the Tomb of the Matri- was indeed seven days the previous
Israel suffered from repeated cholera archs and Patriarchs, the giant com- month, but the government decided
epidemics with high mortality rates. plex built by King Herod the Great to to raise it to 12 days…”
The Ottoman Government imposed house the Cave of Machpelah, as “a
quarantine as the major measure medieval church” surrounded by walls The quarantined quarters in Chevron
but people repeatedly broke it while and accompanied by minarets. “This were also referenced by L. M. Cubley
trying to escape from affected areas, church, converted into a mosque, in her book “The Hills and Plains of
particularly in walled cities. In the contains, it is said, the tombs of the Palestine,” published in London in
mid-1840s, during an outbreak orig- six characters of Genesis… The Turks, 1860. The author and artist visited
inating in Egypt and affecting other who have great veneration for the the Land of Israel in 1853 and cre-
Mediterranean countries, a quaran- Patriarchs, do not let the Christians ated several paintings and drawings
tine center was created in Chevron. enter. They have, because of these of the scenes she witnessed, includ-
Special living quarters were built just traditions, given Chevron the name ing that of the quarantine build-
outside the city to house those who of El-Khalil (the friend, Abraham the ings in Chevron. “We then crossed
were contagious. friend of G-d). It was also in Chev- the bazaar to the wall of the castle
ron that David was crowned king of (Kalha), above which is the wall of the
The quarantine was referenced by Israel.” mosque Haram Sharif, that encloses
Charles de Pardieu, a French count, the cave of Machpelah,” she states.
who wrote of his experiences in his He continues, “this city is now “Here I took the sketch looking over
1851 book “Excursion en Orient: renowned for its glassworks. They the mosque on the part of the town,
l’Egypte, le Mont Sinaï, l’Arabie, la make a lot of vases, ornaments, and Lower Pool, and Jebel Kubbe Janib,
Palestine, la Syrie, le Liban.” In it, he glass bracelets…” on which the quarantine buildings
describes being confined to the living are situated… We then went by the
quarters in October 1849. There were Such is true today, where modern Turkish burial ground to the quaran-
walls, and separate units manned by Chevron produces and exports glass, tine buildings, outside of which the
Turkish soldiers to make sure poten- shoes and other items. De Pardieu Pasha was encamped with his troops.
tially contaminated people were kept also complained that the Turkish After calling on the Pasha and quar-
socially distant from one another. De soldiers were “brutes” and kept him antine doctor, the latter joined us in
Pardieu describes Chevron as a city in and his entourage for longer than our ride to Ayin Jedidi, the supposed
the valley with about 5,000 residents, expected: “…to our amazement, the well of Abraham, and near which it is
both Arabs and Jews, with grey, block- director of the quarantine said… our probable he lived, as it is on the hill
like houses surmounted with domes detention had to be 12 days. We do opposite the mosque, which, there is
set in the middle of roofs that doubled not go out until November. How is it little doubt, is on the site of the Cave
as balconies. 12 days?… the health guards had told of Machpelah.” 

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