Taha’s Family Palace
The palace is located in the center of the town of Bidya, northwest of the city of Salfit, on top of a mountain 320 meters above sea level.
The enormous palace located on the main street takes an asymmetrical shape, built on an area of about 2000 meters. The palace was built in two stages: the first was the ground floor, which was built in 1850 AD, while the second stage was the attic in 1904 AD. The yard is in the center of the palace, and is surrounded by 12 rooms, and you can access the yard through a main gate.
Taha Palace is one of the ancient historical buildings that recite historical stories of popular architecture and the Palestinian heritage, which added to the town of Bidya the splendor of history after it was restored to serve its residents by providing services to various societal groups. The owner of the palace, Suleiman Taha, was a Bedouin mayor at that time, then his son Yusuf Suleiman Taha inherited the palace, and they turned it into a diwan and a guesthouse in the late Ottoman period.
The palace was used as a medical clinic before World War I on a weekly basis. In 1936, it was the headquarters of the revolution’s leadership in Salfit governorate. The Iraqi platoon that led by the Commander Al-Hafiz Mahfouz who was originally from Kafr Al-Dik, inhabited the palace as their HQ and secret bunker. The British Mandate seized it and turned it into an English army point after finding the bunker. In 2011 AD, restoration operations were carried out in the palace, and now it is used by the Women for Life Association.