The Mamluks did not come to Jerusalem to Daven.

They came with horses and steel and the discipline of men who had once been owned. Slave-soldiers who rose high enough to overcome their task masters and rule an empire.

They built madrasas and minarets and fountains that still spill water into thirsty palms. They carved calligraphy into stone so deeply that even earthquakes couldn’t shake it loose. They stitched geometry into the city like a secret code.

This necklace — small, delicate, almost ALMOST shy — survived........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)