Tkiyet Prophet Ibrahim (Ibrahimi Hospice)
The Tkiya is considered an ancient historical landmark of the city, and is regarded as a beacon of the beacons of Hebron. Throughout the years, the hospice was known as "The Ibrahimi Soup" called "Jaresha" as well. It is also called the charity table, offered accessible to the visitors of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron at all times, and to the needy. This food is made of cracked wheat that is cooked in water, olive oil, and sometimes meat is added to it. It is an authentic Arab-Islamic custom associated with the generosity of the prophet Ibrahim and his Sunnah (habit), in honoring his guests. This tradition was implemented during the different Islamic periods related to the Ibrahimi Mosque to feed its visitors, worshipers, travelers, the poor, and the ascetics. This habit did not stop except during the period of control of the Crusaders over the city, and then resumed after its liberation by Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi. At the beginning of the Mamluk period in 1263 AD, the Khalil charity table was transformed into an official institution supervised and organized by the state.Many leaders and sultans endowed it with funds and real estate, to provide the Ibrahimi Mosque and the hospice with money and supplies to preserve its permanence. The funds of this endowment came from Egypt, the Levant, East Jordan, and all parts of Palestine, such as Jezreel Valley (Marj Ibn Amer) in the north, the cities and villages of Nablus, Jerusalem, and Beersheba, and the Khalil Rahman endowment in Hebron. Likewise, the tithe tax, and others, in addition to the alms, vows, and gifts received from the hospice residents. The hospice was mentioned by travelers and tourists who visited Hebron, including al-Maqdisi in the tenth century AD, Nasir Khusraw in the eleventh century who visited Hebron before the start of the Crusades, and the famous traveler Ibn Battuta in the fourteenth century.