Sarahiya House, Ottoman town hall in Beersheba, Israel.
Sarahiya House is a two-storey government building erected in 1901 on a hill at the northern end of the pedestrianised Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael street in Beersheba's Old City, formerly called "20 Metre Street". It has three arches, a large hall and a red-tiled roof, combining Turkish and European architectural elements. The ground floor held the district governor's reception room and government offices, the upper floor the governor's family residence.
Built in 1901, the Sarahiya was Beersheba's first public building, erected on a hill by the Ottomans; the Arabic source credits its construction to Asef Bey al-Dimashqi. Its first governor, Mohammed Jarallah, held office from 1901 to 1904. The ground floor housed the qaimaqam's reception hall and government offices, while the upper floor was the governor's family residence.
The name Sarahiya translates from Turkish as "government house". The lower floor held the district governor's reception hall and government offices, while the upper floor was the governor's family residence. Aisf Bek, the governor of Beersheba, had the building erected and lived in it during the Ottoman period.
Sarahiya House stands on a hill at the northern end of the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael pedestrian mall in the Old City, on the street once called "20 Metre Road". The compound now houses the Beersheba police station and the IDF Southern Command headquarters, so the buildings are working military and police sites and entry is not open to tourists; the exterior and the three-arch facade can be seen from the mall.
The lower floor held the qaimaqam's reception hall and government offices, while the upper floor was the governor's family residence. Asef Bey, the Damascus-born governor credited with ordering the building, lived there during the Ottoman period.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,032 contributors worldwide.