Old City of Gaza البلدة القديمة الغزة | |
---|---|
Old city | |
Coordinates: 31°30′12″N34°27′48″E / 31.50333°N 34.46333°E | |
Country | Palestine |
City | Gaza City |
The Old City of Gaza is the historical center of Gaza City, in the Gaza Strip. For much of recorded history it has been the southernmost coastal city in the region of Palestine, occupying a strategic position on ancient trade route of the Via Maris, between Egypt and the Levant. Throughout its history, Gaza has been ruled by various empires, including the Philistines, Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans, and Ottomans. [1] Following Israeli bombardment during the ongoing Gaza–Israel conflict, the Old City has been described in 2024 as "a vast field of ruins". [2]
The city's origins trace back to around 3000 BCE, when it was first established by the Canaanites. Gaza rose to prominence due to its location on the Via Maris trade route that links Africa and Asia, serving as a hub for merchants and travelers. Like the wider region, it subsqeuently fell under the control of the Egyptian, Assyrian, and the Persian empires. Alexander the Great captured the city in 332 BC following a siege which killed most of the inhabitants. The area changed hands regularly between two Greek successor-kingdoms, the Seleucids of Syria and the Ptolemies of Egypt, with a particularly notable battle in 312 BC, until it was besieged and taken by the Hasmoneans in 96 BC. The city was rebuilt by Roman General Pompey, and maintained its prosperity throughout the Roman period, receiving grants from several different emperors. It grew as a center for the trade of spices and perfumes during this period. [1]
The city's conversion to Christianity was spearheaded and completed under Saint Porphyrius, who destroyed its eight pagan temples between 396 and 420 AD. Gaza was conquered by the Muslim general Amr ibn al-As in 637 AD and most Gazans adopted Islam during early Muslim rule. The Crusaders wrested control of Gaza from the Fatimids in 1100, but were driven out by Saladin's forces in a battle in 1239. The city was destroyed during the Mongol raids into Palestine; it was the Mongol's southernmost point of conquest. Gaza was in Mamluk hands by the late 13th century, and became a regional capital. Under the Ottomans the city continued as the regional capital of the Gaza Sanjak, and witnessed a golden age under the Ridwan dynasty from c.1560-1690. Gaza was culturally dominated by neighboring Egypt from the early 19th century; Muhammad Ali of Egypt conquered it and most of Palestine in 1832. [3] When World War I erupted in 1917, British forces were defeated by the Ottomans in the first and second Battle of Gaza. General Edmund Allenby, leading the Allied Forces, finally conquered Gaza in a third battle. [4]
The city expanded outside of the area of the Old City during the twentieth century. In modern times, much of the Old City was destroyed by Israeli bombardment during the ongoing Gaza–Israel conflict. [2]
The Old City of Gaza is divided into four main quarters, some of which have subdivisions. Three of these quarters — Tuffah, Daraj, and Zaytun — were located within the walls of the ancient city, while the southeastern quarter, Shuja'iyya, developed later, mostly outside its walls: [5]
The Old City of Gaza is renowned for its architectural landmarks, many of which date back to the Mamluk and Ottoman periods. The dense urban fabric includes mosques, churches, bathhouses, and markets that showcase a blend of Byzantine, Mamluk, and Ottoman architectural styles. Despite modern development, the Old City retains many elements of its historical layout. [6]
Gaza, also called Gaza City, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. As of 2022, it was the largest city in the State of Palestine, with 590,481 inhabitants in 2017. The city is spread across an area of 45 square kilometres (17 sq mi). Gaza is one of the principal coastal cities in the country, home to Palestine's only port. Located some 76.6 kilometres (47.6 mi) southwest of the country's proclaimed capital East Jerusalem, the city is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Prior to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, it was the most populous city in the State of Palestine, when massive displacement happened during the war.
The Sayed al-Hashim Mosque is one of the largest and oldest mosques in Gaza, located in the ad-Darrāj Quarter of the Old City, off of al-Wehda Street. The tomb of Hashim ibn Abd al-Manaf, Muhammad's great grandfather who died in Gaza during a trading voyage, is located under the dome of the mosque according to Muslim tradition.
The Muslim Quarter is one of the four sectors of the ancient, walled Old City of Jerusalem. It covers 31 hectares of the northeastern sector of the Old City. The quarter is the largest and most populous of the four quarters and extends from the Lions' Gate in the east, along the northern wall of the Temple Mount in the south, to the Damascus Gate—Western Wall route in the west. The Via Dolorosa starts in this quarter, a path Jesus Christ had to take when he was forced by Roman Soldiers, on his way to his crucifixion. The population of the Muslim Quarter is 22,000.
The Christian Quarter is one of the four quarters of the walled Old City of Jerusalem, the other three being the Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter and the Armenian Quarter. The Christian Quarter is situated in the northwestern corner of the Old City, extending from the New Gate in the north, along the western wall of the Old City as far as the Jaffa Gate, along the Jaffa Gate - Western Wall route in the south, bordering on the Jewish and Armenian Quarters, as far as the Damascus Gate in the east, where it borders on the Muslim Quarter.
Sunni Islam is a major religion in Palestine, being the religion of the majority of the Palestinian population. Muslims comprise 85% of the population of the West Bank, when including Israeli settlers, and 99% of the population of the Gaza Strip. The largest denomination among Palestinian Muslims are Sunnis, comprising 85% of the total Muslim population.
The Great Mosque of Gaza, also known as the Great Omari Mosque, was the largest and oldest mosque in all of Gaza, Palestine, located in Gaza City.
Omar Mukhtar Street is the main street of Gaza City, in the State of Palestine, running from Palestine Square to the Port of Gaza in the Rimal district, separating the Old City's al-Daraj and Zaytoun quarters. Gaza's hotel strip is a part of Omar Mukhtar Street and most of Gaza's most important buildings are located along the street. Built during World War I by Ottoman governor Jamal Pasha, the street was originally named after him. However, following the ouster of Ottoman forces from Palestine in 1917, Gaza's city council headed by Fahmi al-Husseini named the street after Omar Mukhtar, a Libyan revolutionary leader.
Katib al-Wilaya Mosque or Welayat Mosque was a small historic mosque located along Omar Mukhtar Street in Gaza City in the Zaytun Quarter of the Old City. The mosque was built by the Burji Mamluks in 1432, however, the structure could date further back to 1344. Additions to the western part of the mosque were commissioned in 1584 by Ahmed Bey, the Ottoman clerk of the Damascus Vilayet. Damascus Vilayet's Arabic transliteration was Wilayat Dimashq, hence the name of the mosque Katib al-Wilaya.
Shuja'iyya, also Shejaiya, Shijaiyeh, Shujayya, Shuja'ia, Shuja'iya, is the southern quarter of Old City of Gaza, and the only quarter of the Old City located outside the historical city walls. It is one of the largest neighborhoods in Gaza, once holding 92,000 to 100,000 residents. It is located east of Gaza's city center, and its nucleus is situated on a hill located across the main Salah al-Din Road that runs north-south throughout the Gaza Strip. Shuja'iyya contains several ancient structures, mosques and tombs. The Commonwealth War Cemetery is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the commercial center of the neighborhood.
Qasr al-Basha, also Pasha's Palace Museum, Radwan Castle, and Napoleon's Fort, is a historic building in the Old City of Gaza, now housing a museum. It served as a seat of power in the Mamluk and Ottoman periods and as a police station during the British Mandate.
The Church of Saint Porphyrius is a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City, State of Palestine. It belongs to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and is the oldest active church in the city. Located in the Zaytun Quarter of the Old City of Gaza, it is named after the 5th-century bishop of Gaza, Saint Porphyrius, whose tomb is situated in the northeastern corner of the church.
The known history of Gaza spans 4,000 years. Gaza was ruled, destroyed and repopulated by various dynasties, empires, and peoples.
Tuffah is one of four quarters of the Old City of Gaza, located in the northeast, and is divided into eastern and western halves. Prior to its expansion and the demolition of the Old City's walls, Tuffah was one of the three walled quarters of Gaza, the other two being al-Daraj and Zeitoun. The local pronunciation of the district's name is at-tuffen.
Al-Daraj or Haraat al-Daraj is the densely populated northwestern quarter of the Old City of Gaza. Its name translates as "Quarter of the Steps." Situated on an oblong hill about 20 meters (66 ft) above sea level and higher than any other area in the city, al-Daraj likely received its name either from stairs that once led to it or from the feeling of climbing steps when attempting to reach the neighborhood. It is also referred to as the "Muslim Quarter" and contains several mosques and other Muslim edifices. Among them are the city's largest mosque, the Great Omari Mosque, as well as the al-Sayed Hashem Mosque, the Sheikh Zakariya Mosque, the Sheikh Faraj Mosque and Madrasa al-Zahrah. Al-Daraj is separated from the southern Zaytun Quarter by Omar Mukhtar Street.
Al-Sham'ah Mosque or Bab ad-Darum Mosque is a historic mosque located in Hayy al-Najjarin of the al-Zaytun Quarter in Gaza's Old City, Palestine. Its name Sham'ah translates as "Candle," although the origin of the name is unknown. The mosque does not have a minaret. It was built on 8 March 1315 by the Mamluk Governor of Gaza, Sanjar al-Jawli.
Sheikh Ali al-Bakka Mosque or Shaykh Ali al-Baka Mosque is a 13th-century mosque in the northwestern section of the Old City of Hebron in the southern West Bank, Palestine. It is situated in the Harat ash-Sheikh quarter, one of the Old City's quarters, which is named after the mosque.
Al-Aybaki Mosque is a historic mosque situated in the al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, Palestine. Built by the Mamluks in the late 13th century, the mosque is named after Sheikh Abdullah al-Aybaki, a Muslim religious leader. According to his nisba "Aybaki", Sheikh Abdullah was a mamluk or relative of Izz al-Din Aybak, the first Mamluk sultan of Egypt. Sheikh Abdullah's son Sheikh Iyad was buried nearby at the Sayed al-Hashim Mosque in al-Daraj while his other son Ahmad al-Aybaki, a local saintly person, was buried in a sanctuary called al-Mazar ash-Sheikh Aybak.
Al-Zaytun is the southwestern and largest quarter of the Old City of Gaza. Prior to the demolition of the Old City's walls, it was one of the three walled quarters of Gaza's Old City, the other two being al-Tuffah in the northeast and al-Daraj in the northwest. Omar Mukhtar Street, Gaza City's main thoroughfare, separates al-Zaytun from al-Daraj.
The Old City of Hebron is the historic city centre of Hebron in the West Bank, Palestine. The Hebron of antiquity is thought by archaeologists to have originally started elsewhere, at Tel Rumeida, which is approximately 200 meters (660 ft) west of today's Old City, and thought to have originally been a Canaanite city. Today's Old City was settled in Greek or Roman times. It became the center of the overall Hebron site during the Abbasid Caliphate.
Burquq Castle, also known as the Yunis al-Nuruzi Caravansari or simply Khan Yunis, was a Mamluk-era fortified caravanserai and mosque, and the eponymous historical monument of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. It is one of the most important Mamluk fortifications in the region of Palestine. The castle is 20 kilometers from the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, along the historical road from Cairo to Damascus known as the Via Maris. The Palestinian city of Khan Yunis is named after the site. The castle was damaged during the Israel–Hamas war.
Whether the Israelis act intentionally or not, "the result is effectively the erasure of a heritage and a history. Symbolically, this is important because this is one of the ways in which people are attached to their territory," warned Benoît Tadié, former cultural adviser to the French consulate general in Jerusalem between 2009 and 2013. He takes as an example the Old City of Gaza, which, like much of the north of the enclave, is now a vast field of ruins. "It wasn't just a site, it was also the heart of today's city. The hammam and the Pacha's Palace were extremely popular places. The museum also served as a place of education for schoolchildren," explained Tadié.