Barquq Castle

Construction

An Arabic inscription above the entrance states that the building was constructed in 1387–1388 by Yunis al-Nawruzi [ar], a dawadar of the Mamluk Circassian sultan Barquq.^[3][4] 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).^[1] The word castle in the name is a translation of the Arabic word qal'a, meaning fortified building, whereas khan is another word for caravanserai and refers to its initial use as a place for travelling merchants.^[1]

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.^[5] The khan also served as resting stop for couriers of the barid, the Mamluk postal network in Palestine and Syria.^[6]

During the 17th and 18th centuries the Ottomans assigned an Asappes garrison associated with the Cairo Citadel to guard the fortress.^[7]

It was visited in 1863 by French explorer Victor Guérin, who described it as follows:^[1]

[…] apart from the western facade and some parts of the perimeter wall, this castle is now very degraded and completely falls into ruin. It formed a large square, flanked, at its four angles, by a round half-turn. A mosque, still quite well preserved, bears the name of Jamia Sultan Barquq; it is decorated inside, and in particular the pulpit to preach or member, placed near the mihrab, with quite beautiful pieces of gray-white marble, coming, according to all appearances, from old buildings. The other materials that were used to build this mosque as well as the rest of the castle must also be partly antique; but they have been diminished. The inside of the fortress is currently occupied by very dilapidated private dwellings. It was once preceded by another larger enclosure, also flanked by towers, which is three-quarters demolished.

Gottlieb Schumacher visited it in 1886:^[8]

[…] the fine minaret and mosque, together with the ancient Khân building erected by Sultân Barkûk, built in the Arabic style of architecture, of sandstone and marble, with fair architectural details. The whole building has a length of 237 feet, and a width of 38 feet at the gate, and was flanked on each of its four corners by a round tower; a large wing added to the southern end is fallen. The "Khân" had two stories, the lower being the Khân itself, the upper evidently rooms for guests with the Jâma'. The main entrance facing west is spanned by a pointed arch, and in its bay a second gate with a segmental arch was constructed. The entrance is ornamented with lion figures, Kor'an citations and arabesques, above which on each side of the gate the name of "Sultan Barkûk" and a dedication to him is engraved. The entablature of the second story ended in a sort of ridge flower. To the right of the entrance a stairway leads to the Minaret, an octagon with an upper panel of later date, and to the left some passage must have led to the beautiful cupola spanned over the Jâma'... The cupola has a height of 24 feet, and is spanned over a room of 17 feet square; its layers run in concentrical rows, the stones being exactly worked; just the eastern half of this fine cupola is fallen. In the eastern wall a neat little pulpit of pure white marble and moresque work, with marble stairs leading up to it, is yet preserved.

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).^[9]

Quick facts External videos ...

External videos
Video showing some of the damage to Barquq Castle in 2024
"Palestinian mourns history as Israel destroys archaeological sites in Gaza", from Xinhua

Close

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.^[10]

During the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, hundreds of historic sites were damaged or destroyed.^[11] 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;^[12] the following month +972 Magazine reported that Barquq Castle had been damaged when the area was attacked.^[13] The Israeli news site Ynet also reported damage to the Castle.^[14] 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.^[15][2] UNESCO is evaluating the impact of the conflict on cultural heritage sites using remote analysis; they included Barquq amongst 157 sites with verified damage as of February 2026.^[16]