[OTTOMAN SYRIA - BEYRUT] [1342] February 14, 1924 A manuscript document in Arabic: From Ottoman 'mufti' in Safed to The Supreme Islamic Council Presidency, on an unpaid amount of foundation deed (with 3 stamps of HJZ & ODPA

[OTTOMAN MANUSCRIPT - OTTOMAN SYRIA - OTTOMAN LEBANON]

Ottoman Manuscript Document., [AH 1342] = 1924.

Original manuscript document sent to the Ottoman court with postal stamps "OPDA" (Ottoman Public Debt Administration) [= Osmanli Kamu Borç Idaresi] ve "HJZ" (Hejaz Railway) [= Hicaz Demiryollari]. 28x21,5 cm. In Arabic. 1 p. 11 lines. On a paper with Grifon and "W" initial and "Original" watermarks. Paper probably from a British paper manufacturer produced the paper for the Middle Eastern market. It starts with "Yüksek İslâm Meclisi Re'isi Âlîsi'ne". There is talk of a deal made by the Safed mufti and the person concerned - stating that he has been waiting for two years for an unpaid amount after an agreement with a certain amount of Egyptian junaihs, Safed mufti demands that the rest of the money. Sayyidî, who states that he is getting older and that the money must be kept in order to be able to do the title deeds from the foundations, says that otherwise the title deed procedures will not be completed. Signed by Safed mufti named Seyyidî. On the bottom, signed by/as "Reisü'l Camiü'l İslâmiü'l Âlî, Mehmed (or, Muhammed) Sehvî]. "Safed is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of 900 meters (2,953 ft), Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with Sepph, a fortified town in the Upper Galilee mentioned in the writings of the Roman Jewish historian Josephus. The Jerusalem Talmud mentions it as one of five elevated spots where fires were lit to announce the New Moon and festivals during the Second Temple period. Safed attained local prominence under the Crusaders, who built a large fortress there in 1168. It was conquered by Saladin 20 years later, and demolished by his grandnephew al-Mu'azzam Isa in 1219. After reverting to the Crusaders in a treaty in 1240, a larger fortress was erected, which was expanded and reinforced in 1268 by the Mamluk sultan Baybars, who developed Safed into a major town and the capital of a new province spanning the Galilee. After a century of general decline, the stability brought by the Ottoman conquest in 1517 ushered in nearly a century of growth and prosperity in Safed, during which time Jewish immigrants from across Europe developed the city into a center for wool and textile production and the mystical Kabbalah movement. It became known as one of the Four Holy Cities of Judaism. As the capital of the Safad Sanjak, it was the main population center of the Galilee,