The Ottoman Court:
It is located in the center of the old city of Ramallah and is considered one of Ramallah's oldest historical buildings, which bears a distinctive architectural character. It was built in the late Ottoman period. The Jerusalemite Ahmad Murad was appointed a director for the district by the Ottoman Government when the city of Ramallah was considered the center of the area in the year 1902 AD. As a continuous city development, the government established primary pillars that were deemed essential achievements of the Ottoman authority, which were a police station and a court.
The building consists of two floors; the ground floor: contains three rooms taking the Arabian style, each room has its door, and the area of each room is approximately 25 square meters. And for the upper floor: consists of three rectangular rooms with Arabic arches, smaller than the rooms on the ground floor, and an equipped external theater with a capacity of about 100 people. A large children's playground surrounds the building.
The building has had many uses throughout the years, alongside being used as a court. In 1883 AD, Quaker missionaries used it as a medical clinic. During the 1948 war, it was used as a residence for the refugees. In the middle of the last century, part of it was used as an olive press. Part of it was used for banana fermentation, and other parts were used as stores and animal barns. In 2003, Ramallah Municipality was keen to confiscate, restore and preserve the building. Therefore they sought the assistance of Riwaq, a center for architectural conservation.
The Ottoman Court building contains a library for children, and the estimated number of books and library materials is about 8,000 books and CDs, with two research units developed for children's use. It is worth mentioning that many corporations were formed with leading publishing houses, and essential libraries in children's literature in Palestine and the Arab world, so that children can access newly published books at the local and regional levels. The Ottoman Court building manages many projects and events for children and youth, such as the Ramallah Children's Municipal Council, the Children's Marathon, the Children's Festival, Nowar Nissan, and Let's Go to the Garden.
The role of the children's library is not limited to lending books; it is also a space to hold workshops and programs, such as workshops of art, including ceramics and porcelain art craft, a space to examine the early learning problems, music workshops, cooking workshops, Puppet Theater, parent activities space, and public play spaces.