In 1813 the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II had granted Mehmed Ali the nearby Aegean island of Thasos in acknowledgement of his services to the state.  This gift was made with the stipulation that the revenues thus provided were to finance charities.  The Kavala Külliye was thereafter to become the primary benificiary of this gift. It appears that the primary revenue source for the maintenance and upkeep of the Külliye was the tithe from the olive oil produced on the island.  Documents from 1856 establish that this tax was then providing the foundation the annual sum of 50,000 Francs. These funds were augmented by an annual contribution from the estate of Mohamed Ali, as well as various other contributions in cash and kind.  In this regard, the British traveler Abbot reports that coffee beans were sent from Arabia; while a second traveler, Frazer, estimates that 800 lbs. of rice were sent from Egypt each month.