Nabi Daoud — Dajani Chronicles

Nabi Daoud

Nabi Daoud, between 1898 and 1914. Photographer: American Colony Photography Department. Source: Library of Congress.

Nabi Daoud (which literally translates to Prophet David) is a historic site in Jerusalem that lies on Mount Zion south west of the Old City, just outside the walls of the Old City and its Zion Gate (see map: Nabi Daoud). It is a compound of conjoined buildings that were constructed over centuries. In the heart of this compound lie two chambers: the first is a ground-floor chamber with a gothic cenotaph called Maqam al-Nabi Daoud (King David’s Tomb). Despite the name, this is not the resting place of David but a place that was marked because David may have stayed there. The second is an upper floor chamber, a long room with beautifully paved floors and a vaulted ceiling supported by large pillars. This is the room that is identified as the place where Jesus held the Last Supper with his Apostles. It is known as the Upper Room, Chamber of the Last Supper or the Cenacle (Coenaculum).

The significance of Nabi Daoud to the Dajani family started during the Mamluk era. The site was under the Franciscans’ control from 1309 until 1429 when the ground floor was converted into a mosque and the cenotaph was covered with a shroud embroidered with verses of the Quran. The Franciscans retained control of the Cenacle until they were removed by the Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent in 1523, converting the Cenacle into a mosque in 1524 (the Franciscans were eventually allowed to hold mass in the Cenacle, and Muslims and Christians prayed in the Cenacle, with a wrought iron fence separating the two groups of worshippers). The whole site was then entrusted to the founder of the Dajani family, Sheikh Ahmad Ali al-Dijani, and his posterity as an Islamic waqf, endowment, by way of a firman, decree, issued by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1529. Sheikh Ahmad Ali al-Dijani and his descendants were now the custodians of Nabi Daoud, welcoming Muslim, Christian and Jewish visitors to the holy site. The Dajani family became known as Daoudis or Dawahdeh, in reference to being the caretakers of Nabi Daoud. Some of the Dajanis used to (and some still) either drop the Dajani and use the epithet Daoudi or use those two interchangeably. The Dajanis/Daoudis lived in Nabi Daoud, and over time, expanded the site, building clusters of small quarters and establishing cemeteries.

During the British Mandate, the site remained under the custodianship of the Dajani family as an Islamic waqf, open to worshippers from all faiths, and it remained so until 1948. When fighting intensified between Zionists and Arabs, the Dajanis put up a fight in defending Nabi Daoud and a number of them were martyred during those fights. But ultimately, and upon hearing of the massacres that targeted Palestinian villages around Jerusalem, many of the families feared for their lives and fled their homes, and the rest were forcibly expelled after the creation of the State of Israel in May 1948, when Nabi Daoud fell within the no-man’s-land area, at the edge of the Israeli side.

Whilst the Nabi Daoud emptied of its lawful dwellers, Israelis were slipping into the site, praying on its rooftop facing al-Buraq Wall (the Wailing Wall). And following the Setback of 1967, the whole site of Nabi Daoud came under control of the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs. Maqam al-Nabi Daoud was converted into a synagogue with only Jewish prayers being held there, and the Muslim shroud over the cenotaph was replaced with a Jewish parochet.

Efforts to Judaise the site and erase its Islamic heritage and its connection to its guardians continue to this day: architectural elements such as the Ottoman mosaic tiles that once adorned the site’s walls were destroyed, the quarters that once housed our families were demolished to create a car park, and the Dajani family graves are repeatedly desecrated and vandalised.

Many Jerusalemites from all faiths continue to renounce the violations targeting Nabi Daoud, while non-governmental organisations such as the Jerusalem Intercultural Centre and Emek Shaveh work to protect the site against further attacks and continue to raise awareness of its history, which is undeniably linked to our Dajani family.

Nabi Daoud: the famed entrance
The entrance of Nabi Daoud is distinguished with an arch and a plaque with Arabic inscriptions. This entrance was the spot where the men and children of the Jerusalemite Dajani family (including Daoud Taher Ibrahim Dajani and his nine sons) would gather on Eid days (religious holidays celebrated by Muslims twice a year) to take group photographs (see bottom of this page: Dajani family photos at the entrance of Nabi Daoud).

A series of photographs by Dutch artist and photographer Frank Scholten of Nabi Daoud entrance. Jerusalem, between 1921 and 1923. Photographer: Frank Scholten. Source: Frank Scholten Photographic Collection, Leiden University Library Special Collections.

Entrance of Nabi Daoud with children around (most probably Dajani children who lived there). Jerusalem, between 1921 and 1923. Photographer: Frank Scholten. Source: Frank Scholten Photographic Collection, Leiden University Library Special Collections.

Entrance of Nabi Daoud with silhouettes of people in the courtyard inside the compound. Jerusalem, between 1921 and 1923. Photographer: Frank Scholten. Source: Frank Scholten Photographic Collection, Leiden University Library Special Collections.

Entrance of Nabi Daoud with nuns seen exiting the compound. Jerusalem, between 1921 and 1923. Photographer: Frank Scholten. Source: Frank Scholten Photographic Collection, Leiden University Library Special Collections.

The internal open courtyard of Nabi Daoud with an unidentified man in the middle. Jerusalem, between 1921 and 1923. Photographer: Frank Scholten. Source: Frank Scholten Photographic Collection, Leiden University Library Special Collections.

Nabi Daoud: exterior

The entrance of Nabi Daoud with scores of people going through. Jerusalem, between late 1800s and early 1900s. Source: Lenkin Family Collection of Photography, the Penn Libraries’ Holy Land Collections.

The exterior of Nabi Daoud compound with the top of the entrance arch visible behind the wall. Jerusalem, between late 1800s and early 1900s. Source: Lenkin Family Collection of Photography, the Penn Libraries’ Holy Land Collections.

Nabi Daoud: mosque and minaret

A photo of the mosque and minaret of Nabi Daoud taken from the bell tower of the Dormition Abbey, with the Dead Sea seen in the far distance. Jerusalem, between 1934 and 1939. Photographer: American Colony Photography Department. Source: Library of Congress.

Nabi Daoud mosque minaret (left) was targeted by Zionists militias in 1948 and was partially destroyed. The bell tower of the Dormition Abbey is a short distance behind. Jerusalem, circa 1948. Source: unknown, via Musab Raed Jawad Dajani.

Nabi Daoud mosque minaret (far left) partially destroyed, with the Dormition Abbey and its bell tower. Jerusalem, circa 1948. Source: unknown, via Musab Raed Jawad Dajani.

Between 1948 and 1967, Nabi Daoud site fell partly in the no-man zone and partly under Israeli control. As Jews couldn’t reach al-Buraq Wall (the Wailing Wall), they used to get on the roof of Nabi Daoud (as seen in this photo) and pray facing the Wailing Wall. Jerusalem, circa 1948. Source: unknown, via Musab Raed Jawad Dajani.

After decades of neglect, the minaret was restored in recent years. Jerusalem, circa 2020. Source: Musab Raed Jawad Dajani.

The tomb of Nabi Daoud (David’s tomb)
Until 1948, the Dajani family, as the rightful custodians of the site, looked after the tomb of Nabi Daoud, enshrouding it with a cloth inscribed with the following Quranic verses: ‘David, surely We have made thee a ruler in the land; so judge between men Justly.’ Sura 38, verse 26.

The interior of David's tomb. Jerusalem, between 1900 and 1920. Photographer: American Colony Photography Department. Source: Library of Congress.

From behind an iron gate, the interior of David's tomb. Jerusalem, between 1898 and 1946. Photographer: American Colony Photography Department. Source: Library of Congress.

A member of a Zionist militia called Reuven Aflalo (son of David and Rejina), posing with his elbow resting on the tomb of King David. Jerusalem, 1948. Source: National Library of Israel.

When the site of Nabi Daoud was seized by Israel following the 1967 war, the site was completely changed, with the tomb’s Islamic shroud being replaced by a Jewish one. No Islamic prayers have been permitted on site since then. Jerusalem, 1967. Source: National Library of Israel.

Nabi Daoud: the Cenacle

In Christianity, it is believed that it was in this room that Jesus ate the Passover meal, known as the Last Supper, with his disciples before he was crucified. It is also believed to be the place where his disciples were baptised by the Holy Spirit, known to Christians as Pentecost.

An interior of the Chamber of the Last Supper (the Cenacle): columns with Gothic capitals and six-step staircase. Jerusalem, between 1900 and 1920. Photographer: American Colony Photography Department. Source: Library of Congress.

Nabi Daoud: the Dajani Cemeteries
In Nabi Daoud there are three burial plots for the Dajani family: the biggest is the Suleiman Dajani burial plot, the smaller is the Sheikh Anis Dajani burial plot, and the third one is the children's burial plot, also called Turbet al-Mansi. Burial in these cemeteries stopped when the Dajani family who inhabited the site of Nabi Daoud fled the area in 1948 and Nabi Daoud ended up in the no-man’s-land area.

Nabi Daoud from the east, with the Dajani family Cemetery in the foreground. Jerusalem, between 1898 and 1946. Photographer: either the American Colony Photography Department or its successor, the Matson Photo Service. Source: Library of Congress.

Nabi Daoud. A view from one of the Dajani Cemeteries. Photographer: Frank Scholten. Source: Frank Scholten Photographic Collection, Leiden University Library Special Collections.

The Dajani Cemeteries have been neglected over the years, with the family trying without success to gain access to repair and maintain the graves. On a number of occasions, radical orthodox Jews vandalised the cemeteries with graffiti, smashed Islamic inscriptions on tombs and destroyed gravestones. No one was prosecuted for any of those attacks. Luckily, a number of Israeli/Palestinian institutions, Mount Zion residents from all faiths and representatives from the Dajani family have come together to restore the cemeteries.

Dajani Cemeteries at Nabi Daoud. Jerusalem, 2011. Source: Mohammed Suleiman Mohammed Dajani.

Desecrated Dajani Cemeteries at Nabi Daoud. Jerusalem, 2011. Source: Mohammed Suleiman Mohammed Dajani.

Desecrated Dajani Cemeteries at Nabi Daoud. Jerusalem, 1998. Source: Adel Ahmad Daoud Dajani family photo collection.

Desecrated Dajani Cemeteries at Nabi Daoud. Jerusalem, 2011. Source: Mohammed Suleiman Mohammed Dajani.

Nabi Daoud: destruction and erasure of its Islamic features
Between 2012 and 2013, Jewish extremists stormed into Nabi Daoud in the dead of night, destroying Islamic facades by smashing hundreds of intricate handmade Ottoman tiles and inscribed stones dating back to the 17th century. The site at the time was undergoing conservation, renovation and excavation work by Israel Antiquities Authority. The tiles and stones were never restored onto the walls and no one was charged after such attacks.

The attack on Nabi Daoud’s Islamic architectural features. Jerusalem, 2012–2013 Source: Mohammed Suleiman Mohammed Dajani.

Nabi Daoud today: aerial view of the site. Source: Musab Raed Jawad Dajani.

Dajani family photos at the entrance of Nabi Daoud

Dajani family photo at Nabi Daoud. Jerusalem, 1919. Source: Dajani family photo collection.

From left to right: Ali Daoud Taher Dajani, Fayek Daoud Taher Dajani, Subhi Daoud Taher Dajani, Ahmad Daoud Taher Dajani, Abdel Mohsen Daoud Taher Dajani and on the far right their father Daoud Taher Ibrahim Dajani.

Dajani family photo at Nabi Daoud. Jerusalem, mid 1920s. Source: Dajani family photo collection.

From left to right: Abdel Mohsen Daoud Taher Dajani and Aref Daoud Taher Dajani.

Dajani family photo at Nabi Daoud. Jerusalem, 1932. Source: Dajani family photo collection.

From left to right: Inaam Mohammed Hussein Dajani, Mohammed Hussein Taher Dajani, Abdel Mohsen Daoud Taher Dajani, Saeed Daoud Taher Dajani, Maqbuleh Mohammed Hussein Dajani, Daoud Fayek Daoud Dajani, Itaf Mohammed Hussein Dajani, Aref Daoud Taher Dajani, Hussein Mohammed Hussein Dajani, Suleiman Mohammed Daoud Dajani and Mohammed Daoud Taher Dajani.

Dajani family photo at Nabi Daoud. Jerusalem, early 1940s. Source: Dajani family photo collection.

From left to right: Mohammed Hussein Taher Dajani, Ahmad Daoud Taher Dajani, Daoud Fayek Daoud Dajani, Fayek Daoud Taher Dajani, Abdel Mohsen Daoud Taher Dajani, Hussein Mohammed Hussein Dajani and Suleiman Mohammed Daoud Dajani.

Dajani family photo at Nabi Daoud. Jerusalem, 1942. Source: Dajani family photo collection.

From left to right: Mohammed Hussein Taher Dajani, Musa Mohammed Hussein Dajani, Suleiman Mohammed Daoud Dajani, Mohammed Daoud Taher Dajani, Ahmad Daoud Taher Dajani, Abdel Mohsen Daoud Taher Dajani, Daoud Fayek Daoud Dajani, Fayek Daoud Taher Dajani, Aref Daoud Taher Dajani, Rajai Mahmoud Daoud Dajani, Ali Daoud Taher Dajani, Hussein Mohammed Hussein Dajani and Mahmoud Daoud Taher Dajani.

Dajani family photo at Nabi Daoud. Jerusalem, 2022. Source: Samer AbulWalid Mohammed Dajani family photo collection.