By Anees Barghouthy
NABLUS, Palestine
An Ottoman-era school in the Palestinian West Bank has reopened after undergoing restorations funded by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).
"The rehabilitation of the Fatimid School, which dates back to the Ottoman era, highlights the importance of Turkish-Palestinian cooperation and continued Turkish support for Palestine," Palestinian Education Minister Khawla al-Shakhsheer said at a reopening ceremony.
She went on to ask Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to buy a Palestinian school in Jerusalem and provide more academic scholarships to Palestinian students.
The Fatimid School was established under the Ottoman Empire in 1909. It was originally named Western Rashadiyah after Ottoman Sultan Mehmed V Reshad.
The school was built on some 3,200 square meters and was first inaugurated in 1911 during the tenure of District Administrator Sulaiman Bek Toukan. In 1946, the school underwent major renovations.
The school was renamed the Fatimid School in 1920 after Fatima al-Zahraa, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad.
In 2002, during an Israeli invasion of Nablus, Israeli tanks destroyed the school's outer wall and much of its historical archives.
The Fatimid School was not the only school built in Nablus at the time, but it is the only one – out of seven schools in service in Nablus in 1918 – that has continued to function to this day.
Throughout its history, the school produced several notable Palestinian figures, including poet Ibrahim Toukan; the latter's sister, poetess Fadwa Toukan; and veteran Palestinian activist Magda al-Masri.
The reopening ceremony, which included a message from President Erdogan via satellite link, was attended by Turkish Consul-General in Jerusalem Mustafa Sarnic and Nablus Governor Akram Rajoub, along with several Palestinian officials.
-Joy-
Students were overjoyed to see their school in a new, modern condition.
"My father used to study at this school 25 years ago, and I have followed in his footsteps," Mohamed Shakhsheer, 16, told The Anadolu Agency.
"I thank TIKA and the Turkish government for rehabilitating my school. It looks like new again," Shakhsheer, who is in the tenth grade, told AA.
Saleem al-Kawni, a 17-year-old 11th grader, recalls the day Israeli tanks shelled the school.
"Tanks destroyed our school 13 years ago. But today I feel happy that the Turkish government has helped us rebuild it," he said.
"I still have two years before graduating," he added. "Thanks to the Turkish people, I will spend them in a healthy atmosphere."
His brother, Ahmad al-Kawni, now 32, told AA that he had been there when studies resumed at the school two years after it was partially destroyed by Israeli tanks.
"We used to study in wrecked classrooms during the winter. It was really cold; we could barely endure it," he said.
Mohamed Awad, director of education in Nablus, was no less pleased by the school's renovation.
"The school is an important part of the Ottoman heritage in Nablus," he said.
"This initiative by TIKA saved one of the city's important cultural sites," he said. "And it provided a positive atmosphere for the education of more than 300 Palestinian students."
