Qula | |
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The remains of the Crusader tower at Qula. The village mosque was located about 10m to the east of it.
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Arabic | قولة |
Name meaning | from a personal name |
Also spelled | Kouleh Cola, Chola |
Subdistrict | Ramle |
Coordinates | 32°02′15″N 34°57′12″E / 32.03750°N 34.95333°ECoordinates: 32°02′15″N 34°57′12″E / 32.03750°N 34.95333°E |
Palestine grid | 146/160 |
Population | 1,010 (1945) |
Area | 4,347 dunams |
Date of depopulation | 10 July 1948 |
Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
Qula (Arabic: قولة, Hebrew: קולה) was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine. It was located 15 km northeast of Ramla and was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Hasan Salama and his son Ali Hassan Salameh (1940-1979) were from Qula.
During the twelfth century the Hospitallers established an administrative and collection centre in the village, comprising a tower and a vaulted structure.
In 1596, Qula was part of the Ottoman Empire, nahiya (subdistrict) of al-Ramla under the Liwa of Gaza, with a population of 380. It paid taxes on goats and beehives, and a press that was used for processing either olives or grapes.
In 1870, the French explorer Victor Guérin visited, and an Ottoman village list from about the same year showed Kula with a population of 159, in 38 houses, though the population count included men only.
In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) the village of Qula was described as being situated on a slope at the edge of a plain; its historical relics dating back to medieval times. The SWP also noted ancient remains.
The village mosque stood approximately 10m east of the Crusader tower. It comprised a large vaulted iwan and a smaller room with an inscription above the entrance.