Khan al-Tujjar, lit. "Merchant's Caravanserai", also called Suq al-Khan, was a caravanserai in the Lower Galilee, Israel, opposite the entrance to Beit Keshet, now in ruins. History The khan or caravanserai was established near Mount Tabor by Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha around 1581. The reason given for its establishment was that the place was insecure for merchants and people on pilgrimage, and it was argued that if a khan was built, the place would become "inhabited and cultivated." The Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi visited in 1649. He reported that: "It is a square, perfect fortress, built of masonry in the midst of a large, verdant meadow. It has a circumference of six hundred paces. The garrison consists of a warden and 150 men. It has a 'double' iron gate facing north. Inside the fortress are between forty and fifty rooms for the garrison. ... Inside the fortress is the Mosque of Sinan Pasha, an artistically constructed work, with a lead roof, full of light. Its windows have light blue glass enamel fixed symmetrically with rock crystal and crystal(?). It measures eighty feet each side. The sanctuary has three graceful and lofty minarets—Praise be to the Creator, as if they were three young coquettish muezzins—and seven high domes. The wayfarers are lavishly given a loaf of bread and a tallow candle for each person, and a nosebag of barley for each horse—free of charge. On either side of the fortress is a caravanserai with eight shops." In the early 18th century there was one period where the area seemed deserted, and there was no weekly marked. However, Western travellers still noted two buildings, one with a mosque and bath inside, and one which had been used for goods and cattle. In the early 1760s the Italian traveller Mariti visited the khan, and wrote that: "...you arrive at El-Net-Tesgiar, or the Place of Merchants. I was very much struck with the elegance and magnificence of its walls. Incrusted with the most beautiful marble, which the hand of art has disposed with much taste [..] El-Net-Tesgiar is enlivened by a very flourishing commerce. A fair is held here every Monday, which is resorted to by merchants from various countries. It is well furnished with cloth, cattle, and provisions of every kind; and in this respect it is, indeed, not inferior to the richest markets in Europe. Pierre Jacotin marked the place as Kan