"Bahari dhidi ya mlima" ni mada kuu katika ushairi wa kisasa wa Kipalestina, hasa ushairi wa Mahmoud Darwish, maandishi ya kitamaduni na jiografia-ya-kikabila ya "kiasili" (ona mfano Tamari 2008: 95‒98; pia Furani 2012). Ikiwa mjadala huu wa kitamaduni utawekwa katika muktadha wa kijiografia-kisiasa na kihistoria, mizizi ya wazo hili huenda ikafika hadi Palestina ya kale na ya zama za kati. Kihistoria, miji muhimu ya Palestina ilihusishwa na bahari (Kiarabu: bahr) au na mlima (Kiarabu: jabal). Miji ya Gaza, ‘Asqalan, Jaffa, Kaisaria, Arsuf na Akka ilihusishwa na Bahari ya Mediterania, wakati al-Khalil (Jabal al-Khalil), al-Quds (Jabal al-Quds), Nablus (Jabal Nablus) na Safad (Jabal Safad) zote zilihusishwa na milima ya ndani ya Palestina.

The ‘sea versus the mountain’ is a key theme in modern Palestinian poetry, especially the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, cultural writings and ‘nativist’ geo‑ethnography (see e.g. Tamari 2008: 95‒98; also Furani 2012). Framing this cultural discourse in geo‑political and historical terms, the roots of this idea may go all the way back to ancient and medieval Palestine. Historically, key cities in Palestine were associated with either the sea (Arabic: bahr) or the mountain (Arabic: jabal). The cities of Gaza, ‘Asqalan, Jaffa, Caesarea, Arsuf and Acre were associated with the Mediterranean Sea, while al-Khalil (Jabal al-Khalil), al-Quds (Jabal al-Quds), Nablus (Jabal Nablus) and Safad (Jabal Safad) were all associated with mountains in the Palestine interior.

Sehemu kubwa ya uchumi wa maeneo ya milimani ya Palestina ilikuwa ni kuenea kwa maelfu ya machimbo ya mawe na kuendelea kwa sekta kubwa ya uchimbaji wa marumaru na mawe, ambayo iliupatia mahitaji ya ujenzi wa eneo hilo mawe na vifaa vingine vya ujenzi, na kuuza nje marumaru na mawe meupe yaliyochimbwa kwenda nchi jirani.

A significant part of the economy of the mountainous regions of Palestine was the proliferation of thousands of stone quarries and the development of extensive marble and stone quarry industry which supplied the local construction industry with stones and other building materials and exporting marble and quarried white-stones to neighbouring countries.

Kumbukumbu za kijamii kuhusu machimbo ya mawe ya Palestina (محجر) zilidumishwa milele katika shairi la Mahmoud Darwish la mwaka 1964: 'Kitambulisho'

The social memories of the Palestine stone quarry ( محجر ) was immortalised in Mahmoud Darwish’s 1964 poem: ‘Identity Card’:

Rekodi! Mimi ni Mwarabu.

Record! I am an Arab.

Wameajiriwa pamoja na wafanyakazi wenzao katika machimbo ya mawe.

Employed with fellow workers at a quarry.

Nina watoto wanane.

I have eight children.

Ninawapatia mkate.

I get them bread.

Nguo na vitabu.

Garments and books.

kutoka kwenye mawe’.

from the rocks’.

Machimbo ya mawe yanayozalisha marumaru ya Palestina na machimbo ya mawe meupe ya mkoa wa Kiarabu wa Jund Filastin chini ya Uislamu (Gil M. 1997: 230) yaliyapa miji mikuu ya nchi (Nablus, al-Quds/Yerusalemu, al-Ramla, al-Khalil) sura yao ya kipekee kama ‘miji ya mawe’. Tasnia hii ya machimbo ya mawe pia iliacha urithi mkubwa unaoonekana katika Kuba la Mwamba, Kuta za Yerusalemu za Waothmani za karne ya 16, Kuta za Akka za karne ya 18, na mji wa Petra (‘mwamba’), mji mkuu wa zamani wa Waarabu Wanabatea na mkoa wa Palaestina Salutaris chini ya Wabyzantine. Zaidi ya hayo, ujenzi wa misikiti mikubwa, minara ya msikiti (minareti) na makanisa, pamoja na uchumi wa hija kwenda Nchi Takatifu, vilienda sambamba na uchumi wa uchimbaji wa mawe na uashi wa mawe. Kihistoria, mapokeo ya milima mitakatifu yalistawi sana wakati wa enzi za Ugiriki, Roma na Byzantium; dhana ya milima mitakatifu na miji ya milimani (Nablus, Yerusalemu, al-Khalil, Safad, Mlima Tabori, Mlima Gerizim, Mlima wa Mizeituni, Mlima Sinai) dhidi ya mazingira tulivu zaidi na yasiyo ya kidini ya miji ya pwani ya Palestina (Kaisaria Maritima, Gaza, ‘Asqalan, Yafa, Haifa, Akka) ilichukua nafasi muhimu katika kujenga kumbukumbu ya pamoja ya kidini na utambulisho wa wilaya ya nchi hiyo.

The marble-producing quarries of Palestine and the white-stone quarries of the Arab province of Jund Filastin under Islam (Gil M. 1997: 230) gave the urban centres of the country (Nablus, al-Quds/Jerusalem, al-Ramla, al-Khalil) their distinctive look as ‘cities of stone’. This stone quarry industry also left a monumental legacy which can be seen in the Dome of the Rock, the 16th century Ottoman Walls of Jerusalem, the 18th century Walls of Acre and the city of Petra (‘rock’), the old capital of the Nabataean Arabs and the province of Palaestina Salutaris under the Byzantines. Furthermore, the construction of monumental mosques, minarets and churches and the economy of Holy Land pilgrimage went hand-in-hand with the economy of stone quarrying and stone masonry. Historically the tradition of holy mountains developed greatly during the Greek, Roman and Byzantine eras; the notion of holy mountains and mountainous cities (Nablus, Jerusalem, al‑Khalil, Safad, Mount Tabor, Mount Gerizim, Mount of Olives, Mount Sinai) versus the relatively more relaxed and secular environment of Palestine coastal cities (Caesarea Maritima, Gaza, ‘Asqalan, Jaffa, Haifa, Acre) played an important role in the construction of district collective religious memory and identity of the country.

Kuzingirwa na kuanguka kwa Acre, bandari kuu na mji mkuu wa Ufalme wa Kilatini, kulifanyika mwaka 1291 na kulisababisha upotevu wa ngome ya Crusader na mji wa mwisho uliokuwa chini ya udhibiti wa Crusader huko Palestina kwa Mamluk. Kwa wanahistoria wa kisasa, kuanguka kwa Acre kulikuwa mwisho wa Vita vya Msalaba, lakini kwa Waislamu wa wakati ule, tishio la Crusader wa Kilatini kwa Palestina na Syria kutoka Bahari ya Mediteranea liliendelea kuwepo. Katika zama baada ya Crusader, Mamluk waliendelea kuimarisha mabadiliko ya kimkakati na ya kujihami ya nchi kuelekea Mlimani, sera iliyoanza chini ya Ayyubid.

The siege and fall of Acre, a chief port and the capital of the Latin Kingdom, took place in 1291 and resulted in the loss of a Crusader stronghold and last Crusader-controlled city in Palestine to the Mamluks. To modern historians fall of Acre was the end of the Crusades, but to contemporary Muslims, the Latin Crusaders’ threat to Palestine and Syria from the Mediterranean Sea persisted. In the post-Crusader era, the Mamluks continued to consolidate the strategic and defensive reorientation of the country towards the Mountain, a policy which began under the Ayyubids.

Kupungua kwa miji ya pwani ya Palestina na kuibuka kwa maeneo ya ndani ya miji, hasa chini ya Ayyubid na Mamluk, pia kulidhihirishwa na kupanda kwa mji wa Safad katika Galilaya ya juu, mji uliolindwa na milima mirefu ya Galilaya.

The decline of Palestine’s coastal towns and the rise of country’s urban hinterland, especially under the Ayyubids and the Mamluks, were also illustrated by the rise Safad in upper Galilee, a town protected by the high Galilean mountains.

Baada ya kuukomboa mji wa Safad kutoka mikononi mwa Wakrusedi mwaka 1266, Wamamluk walichukua hatua za kuhamisha madaraka ya mkoa katika Galilaya kutoka mji wa pwani wa Akko kuelekea magharibi, na kuugeuza mji wa milimani wa Safad kuwa mji mkuu wa Palestina ya kaskazini. Mji wa ngome wa Safad ulikarabatiwa na kupanuliwa chini ya Wamamluk, na ukahudumu kama mji mkuu wa kikanda wa Palestina kwa mara ya kwanza katika historia yake (Luz 2014: 36). Muhimu zaidi, Safad ilibaki kuwa mji mkuu wa Palestina ya kaskazini kwa karne kadhaa. Yote yalianza mwaka 1266 wakati Bilad al-Sham ilipoingia chini ya utawala wa Wamamluk, na eneo hili kubwa likagawanywa katika mikoa sita mikubwa ya kiutawala, kila mmoja ukiitwa mamlakat (kihalisi ‘ufalme’) au niabat (‘ubalozi wa utawala’). Mikoa hii ilikuwa Damascus, Aleppo, Hamat, Tripoli (Lebanon ya leo), Safad (Palestina) na Karak (Transjordan). Kiongozi wa kila mkoa (au mamlakah) alibeba cheo cha naib (gavana, au ‘sultani mdogo’). Ikijumuisha sehemu kubwa ya Palestina ya kaskazini na ikiwa na wilaya kumi, Mamlakat Safad (مملكة صفد, ‘Ufalme wa Safad’) (Tarawneh 1982) haikujumuisha tu Galilaya ya leo, bali pia Marj ibn ‘Amer, ikiwemo miji ya al-Lajjun na Jenin – zote mbili zilizochukuliwa wakati huo kuwa sehemu ya Galilaya ya chini – pamoja na maeneo mengine ambayo leo ni sehemu za kusini za Lebanon ya kisasa. Wakati Waothmani walipoitawala Palestina mapema karne ya 16, walihifadhi sifa nyingi za kiutawala za utawala wa awali wa Wamamluk (pamoja na taasisi nyingi za kijamii, kiuchumi, kidini na kisheria za nchi). Hata hivyo, Waothmani walibadilisha jina la mkoa wa kiutawala wa Safad kutoka Mamlakat Safad kuwa sanjak (au pashalik) ya Safad (Kiarabu: Liwa Safad).

Following the recovery of Safad from the Crusaders in 1266, the Mamluks took steps to shift the provincial power in the Galilee from the coastal town of Acre westwards and turn the mountainous town of Safad into the capital of northern Palestine. The fortress town of Safad was renovated and expanded under the Mamluks and served as a regional capital in Palestine for the first time in its history (Luz 2014: 36). Crucially, Safad remained the capital of northern Palestine for several centuries. It all began in 1266 when Bilad al-Sham came under Mamluk rule and this vast region was divided into six large administrative provinces, each called a mamlakat (literally ‘kingdom’) or niabat (‘vice regency’). These provinces were Damascus, Aleppo, Hamat, Tripoli (modern Lebanon), Safad (Palestine), Karak (Transjordan). The head of each province (or mamlakah) bore the title of naib (viceroy, or ‘little Sultan’). Encompassing much of northern Palestine and consisting of ten districts, the Mamlakat Safad ( ,مملكة صفد ‘Kingdom of Safad’) (Tarawneh 1982) included not only modern-day Galilee but also Marj ibn ‘Amer, including the towns of al-Lajjun and Jenin – both of which were at the time considered part of lower Galilee – and other territories which today constitute the southern parts of modern-day Lebanon. When the Ottomans occupied Palestine in the early 16th century they retained many of the administrative characteristics of the previous Mamluk rule (as we as many of the social, economic, religious and legal institutions of the country). However, the Ottomans changed the name of the administrative province of Safad from Mamlakat Safad to sanjak (or pashalik) of Safad (Arabic: Liwa Safad).

Ingawa Galilaya ilibaki kuwa "mkoa wa mpakani" kwa kipindi kikubwa cha utawala wa Mamluk na Ottoman, baada ya mwaka 1266 hadhi mpya ya kiutawala ya Safad ilileta upanuzi wa miji katika mji huo na ujenzi wa majengo mapya, mabafu, misikiti, masoko na caravanserai (Drory 2004). Mpango mpya wa ujenzi katika mji huo ulijumuisha Msikiti Mwekundu, mojawapo ya majengo ya kale kabisa ya Mamluk huko Palestina ambayo bado yamesimama hadi leo. Ujenzi wa msikiti huo mwaka 1276 ulihusishwa na Sultani Baybars, aliyetawala eneo hilo kuanzia mwaka 1260 hadi 1278, ambaye inaonekana alianzisha mpango wa ujenzi wa madaraja kote Palestina, uliokusudiwa kufufua barabara kuu zake na kuboresha mfumo wake wa usafirishaji, kulingana na maandishi yaliyo juu ya mlango wa mbao katika lango la kuingia msikitini. Mmoja wa majaji wa Kipalestina maarufu zaidi miongoni mwa mahakimu wa Palestina ya Mamluk alikuwa Shams al-Din Muhammad al-ʿUthmani (d. 1378), mwandishi wa historia ya kina ya eneo hilo, Tarikh Safad, iliyoandikwa mwaka 1378, ambayo imesalia kwa sehemu tu (Drory 2004: 184). Tarikh Safad inatupa taarifa muhimu kuhusu vijiji vya Galilaya chini ya Mamluk na mtazamo wa kipekee wa ndani wa taasisi za kidini na za Kisufi katika eneo hilo.

Although the Galilee remained a ‘frontier province’ throughout much of the Mamluk and Ottoman periods, after 1266 the new administrative status of Safad brought about urban expansion in the city and the establishment of new buildings, baths, mosques, markets and caravanserais (Drory 2004). The new building programme in the city included the Red Mosque, one of the oldest Mamluk buildings in Palestine still standing today. The building of the mosque in 1276 was attributed to the Sultan Baybars, who ruled the region from 1260 to 1278 and who apparently embarked on a bridge-building programme across Palestine designed to revive its highways and improve its transport system, according to inscriptions above the wooden door at the entrance to the mosque. One of the best known Palestinian judges among the magistrates of Mamluk Palestine was Shams al-Din Muhammad al-ʿUthmani (d. 1378), author of the detailed local history Tarikh Safad, written in 1378, which has survived in only partial form (Drory 2004: 184). Tarikh Safad gives us important information on the villages of the Galilee under the Mamluks and a unique glimpse into the inner workings of the religious and Sufi institutions in the region.