JAFFA, ISRAEL—According to The Times of Israel, conservators at the Israel Antiquities Authority have restored a marble monogram, or tughra, that adorns the southern side of an Ottoman-era clock tower in Jaffa. A tughra incorporated the sultan’s name, titles, his father’s name and his blessings, and symbols of the Ottoman Empire. In 2001, three other marble carvings of Sultan Hamid Abdul II’s seal were removed from the tower and replaced with glass replicas, due to their poor state of preservation. The last of the carvings, positioned 36 feet above the sidewalk, was in danger of collapsing, so it was also removed. Conservator Mark Avrahami created a new support for the marble plaque, and used pigments to accentuate what remains of the image, before it was reinstalled. The tower is one of 100 that were built in the Ottoman Empire to celebrate the twenty-fifth year of the reign of Hamid Abdul II. To read about a recent archaeological discovery in Israel, go to “Sun and Moon.”
