"Dengiz va tog' o'rtasidagi" ziddiyat zamonaviy Falastin she'riyatining, xususan Mahmud Darvish ijodining, madaniy yozuvlarning va "nativist" geo-etnografiyaning asosiy mavzularidan biridir (qarang: Tamari 2008: 95‒98; shuningdek Furani 2012). Bu madaniy diskursni geosiyosiy va tarixiy nuqtai nazardan ko'rib chiqsak, bu g'oyaning ildizlari qadimgi va o'rta asrlardagi Falastinga borib taqalishi mumkin. Tarixan Falastinning asosiy shaharlari yo dengiz (arabcha: bahr) yoki tog' (arabcha: jabal) bilan bog'liq edi. G'azo, Asqalan, Yoffa, Qaysariya, Arsuf va Akko shaharlari O'rta yer dengizi bilan, al-Xalil (Jabal al-Xalil), al-Quds (Jabal al-Quds), Nablus (Jabal Nablus) va Safad (Jabal Safad) esa Falastin ichki hududlaridagi tog'lar bilan bog'liq edi.

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.

Falastinning tog' hududlari iqtisodiyotining muhim qismini minglab tosh karerlarining ko'payishi va mahalliy qurilish sanoatini toshlar hamda boshqa qurilish materiallari bilan ta'minlagan, marmar va qazib olinadigan oq toshlarni qo'shni mamlakatlarga eksport qilgan keng ko'lamli marmar va tosh karerlari sanoatining rivojlanishi tashkil etgan.

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.

Falastin tosh karerining ijtimoiy xotiralari (محجر) Mahmud Darvishning 1964-yilda yozilgan "Shaxsiy guvohnoma" she'rida abadiylashtirildi:

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

Yozib oling! Men arabman.

Record! I am an Arab.

Karerda hamkasblari bilan birga ishlash.

Employed with fellow workers at a quarry.

Mening sakkizta farzandim bor.

I have eight children.

Men ularga non olib beraman.

I get them bread.

Kiyimlar va kitoblar.

Garments and books.

“toshlardan”.

from the rocks’.

Islom davrida Falastin marmar qazilma konlari va Jund Filastin arab viloyatining oq tosh karyerlari (Gil M. 1997: 230) mamlakatning shahar markazlariga (Nablus, al-Quds/Quddus, ar-Ramla, al-Xalil) ularning o‘ziga xos ko‘rinishini, ya’ni “tosh shaharlar” qiyofasini berdi. Bu tosh qazib olish sanoati, shuningdek, Qubbat as-Sahro, XVI asrdagi Usmonlilar davriga oid Quddus devorlari, XVIII asrdagi Akko devorlari hamda nabatey arablarining qadimiy poytaxti va Vizantiya davridagi Palaestina Salutaris viloyati shahri Petra (“tosh”) kabi ulkan yodgorliklarda aks etgan monumental meros qoldirdi. Bundan tashqari, ulkan masjidlar, minoralar va cherkovlarning qurilishi hamda Muqaddas zamin ziyoratining iqtisodiyoti tosh qazish va toshga ishlov berish iqtisodiyoti bilan qo‘shilib ketgan edi. Tarixan muqaddas tog‘lar an’anasi yunon, rim va vizantiya davrlarida keng rivojlangan; muqaddas tog‘lar va tog‘li shaharlar (Nablus, Quddus, al-Xalil, Safad, Tavor tog‘i, Gerizim tog‘i, Zaytun tog‘i, Sinay tog‘i) tushunchasi hamda Falastinning dengiz bo‘yidagi shaharlari (Kesariya Maritima, G‘azo, Ashqalon, Yaffa, Hayfa, Akko) — nisbatan erkinroq va dunyoviy muhit — mamlakatning mintaqaviy jamoaviy diniy xotirasi va o‘ziga xosligini shakllantirishda muhim rol o‘ynadi.

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.

1291-yilda Akko — asosiy port va Lotin qirolligining poytaxti — qamal qilinib, qulatildi; natijada salibchilar so‘nggi qal’asi va Falastinda salibchilar nazorat qilgan so‘nggi shahar mamluklar qo‘liga o‘tdi. Zamonaviy tarixchilar uchun Akkoning qulashi salib yurishlarining tugashi edi, ammo o‘sha davr musulmonlari uchun Lotin salibchilarining O‘rta er dengizi tomonidan Falastin va Suriyaga tahdidi davom etardi. Salib yurishlaridan keyingi davrda mamluklar ayyubiylar davrida boshlangan mamlakatni strategik va mudofaa jihatidan tog‘ tomon qayta yo‘naltirish siyosatini izchil davom ettirdilar.

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.

Falastin qirg'oq shaharlarining inqirozi va mamlakat shahar ichki hududlarining, ayniqsa Ayyubiylar va Mamluklar davrida yuksalishi, yuqori Jalila tog'lari bilan himoyalangan shahar Safadning ko'tarilishida ham yaqqol namoyon bo'ldi.

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.

1266-yilda salibchilardan Safad qaytarib olingach, mamluklar Galiley viloyatidagi ma'muriy hokimiyatni Akka shahridan g'arb tomonga ko'chirish va tog'li Safad shahrini shimoliy Falastinning poytaxtiga aylantirish choralarini ko'rdilar. Safad qal'a shahri mamluklar davrida qayta tiklandi va kengaytirildi hamda o'z tarixida birinchi marta Falastinning mintaqaviy poytaxti vazifasini o'tadi (Luz 2014: 36). Muhimi shundaki, Safad bir necha asrlar davomida shimoliy Falastinning poytaxti bo'lib qoldi. Bu 1266-yilda Bilad al-Sham mamluklar hukmronligi ostiga o'tganida boshlandi va bu keng hudud olti yirik ma'muriy viloyatga bo'lindi, ularning har biri mamlakat (so'zma-so'z "qirollik") yoki niyabat ("noiblik") deb atalardi. Bu viloyatlar Damashq, Halab, Hamat, Tripoli (zamonaviy Livan), Safad (Falastin) va Karak (Transiordaniya) edi. Har bir viloyat (yoki mamlakaning) boshlig'i naib (noib, yoki "kichik sulton") unvonini olardi. Shimoliy Falastinning katta qismini egallagan va o'nta tumandan iborat bo'lgan Mamlakat Safad (, مملكة صفد "Safad qirolligi") (Tarawneh 1982) nafaqat zamonaviy Galileyni, balki Marj ibn 'Omerni ham, shu jumladan o'sha paytda quyi Galiley hisoblangan al-Lajjun va Jenin shaharlarini hamda hozirgi Livanning janubiy qismlarini tashkil etuvchi boshqa hududlarni ham o'z ichiga olardi. XVI asr boshida Usmonlilar Falastinni egallaganlarida, mamluklar hukmronligining ko'plab ma'muriy xususiyatlarini, shuningdek mamlakatning ko'plab ijtimoiy, iqtisodiy, diniy va huquqiy institutlarini saqlab qolishdi. Biroq, Usmonlilar Safad ma'muriy viloyatining nomini Mamlakat Safaddan Safad sanjog'i (yoki poshshalik) ga (arabcha: Liwa Safad) o'zgartirdilar.

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).

Garchi Galiley Mamluk va Usmonli davrlarining ko‘p qismida "chegara viloyati" bo‘lib qolgan bo‘lsa-da, 1266 yildan keyin Safadning yangi ma’muriy maqomi shaharning kengayishiga va yangi binolar, hammomlar, masjidlar, bozorlar hamda karvonsaroylar qurilishiga olib keldi (Drory 2004). Shaharda amalga oshirilgan yangi qurilish dasturiga bugungi kungacha saqlanib qolgan Falastindagi eng qadimgi Mamluk binolaridan biri bo‘lgan Qizil masjid kiradi. Masjid 1276 yilda, 1260 yildan 1278 yilgacha mintaqani boshqargan Sulton Baybars tomonidan qurdirilgan deb hisoblanadi; masjid kirish eshigi ustidagi yog‘och eshik yuqorisidagi yozuvlarga ko‘ra, u Falastin bo‘ylab yo‘llarni tiklash va transport tizimini yaxshilashga qaratilgan ko‘prik qurish dasturini amalga oshirgan. Mamluk Falastinining sudyalari orasida eng mashhur falastinlik qozilardan biri Shams al-Din Muhammad al-ʿUsmoniy (vafoti 1378) bo‘lib, u 1378 yilda yozilgan, faqat qisman saqlanib qolgan batafsil mahalliy tarix "Tarix Safad" asarining muallifidir (Drory 2004: 184). "Tarix Safad" Mamluklar davrida Galiley qishloqlari haqida muhim ma’lumotlar beradi hamda mintaqadagi diniy va sufiylik institutlarining ichki faoliyatiga noyob nazar tashlash imkonini beradi.

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.