Until the end of the 19th century, the site of al-Manara Square was part of a dirt road that connected Ramallah to the nearby town of al-Bireh. With the establishment of the Friend's Boys School near the site in 1901 and later the Ottoman decree making Ramallah a local administrative center in 1902, the road became increasingly important for the area. By 1905 a new road connecting Nablus with Jerusalem passed through the site of al-Manara Square and the Saraya building, housing the local Ottoman administration, was built 250 meters away.[1]