Al Omari Great MosqueLocation:
al Daraj quarter in the old city of Gaza
The mosque with its smart minaret is one of the most important and ancient
mosques in Gaza. The oldest part of the mosque is a basilica
style that dates back to the 12th century . Caliph Omar bin Al
Khatab built his mosque in the 7th century on the site. Many
additions were made to the mosque during the Mamluk and the
Ottoman periods. During World War I the mosque was destroyed,
but the High Islamic Legislative Council renovated it in 1920
AD. It is characterized by its strong construction, the beauty
of the marble pillars and the inscriptions dating back to the
Mamluk and the Ottoman periods.
The entrance of the Haram (sanctuary) is in a beautiful marble Gothic
style with two wooden doors. It is believed that the mosque
was built on the same spot where, during the pagan period, the
temple of the god of Marna was erected and replaced by the
church of Afdoxia in 407 AD Opening Hours:
Daily except Fri
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Qassr Al BashaLocation:
Al Daraj quarter in the old city of Gaza.
A two storey building that goes back to the Mamluk period. It was the
headquarter of the Deputy of Gaza during the Mamluk and the
Ottoman periods. There are links to the Redhwan family, who
owned the premises at the beginning of the Ottoman period, and
it was used as a police station during the British
mandate.
Napoleon spent three nights there during his campaign against Egypt and
Syria in 1799. This is why it is sometimes called “Napoleon’s
Citadel”. The Castle is characterized by the accuracy,
strength and beauty of it’s facades which are decorated with
different patterns such as the emblem of Al Thaher Babers (a
sculpture of two facing lions) in addition to geometrical
patterns and unique archaeological elements such as domes, fan
and cross vaults.
The castle was provided with means of defense such as arrow slits; narrow
openings from the outside expanding inside for flexible use of
cannons. |
El Sayyed Hashem
MosqueOne of the biggest and most beautiful ancient
mosques in Gaza. The big uncovered yard is surrounded by four
porticoes. It is believed that the tomb of El Sayyed Hashem
Bin Abdumnanf (grandfather of the Prophet Mohammed), who died
in Gaza during his trading voyage “the summer voyage” is
buried under the dome of the western portico.
The structure is a Mamluk style built during the Ottoman period and
renovated during the reign of Sultan Abdulmajid in 1850
AD |
The Greek
Orthodox ChurchLocation: Al Zaytoon quarter in the old
city of Gaza
The original construction of the church from the beginning of the 5th
century, while the existing structures date back to the 12th
century. The church is a rectangular shape ending with a
half-domed roofed temple. The roof of the church has two
crossing vaults with a pointed arch between them. There are
three entrances for the church: the western one has a portico
with three marble columns supporting two pointed
arches.
The church is characterized by its colossal walls supported by horizontal
marble and granite columns and pilasters. The tomb of Saint
Porphyrius, who died in 420, is in the north eastern corner.
The church was renovated in 1856.
There are two other churches in the old city of Gaza:
1.The Catholic church in the el Zaytoon quarter, which was established by
the Austrian monk Herr Got in 1879.
2.The Protestestant Church which was erected in 1893 at the then Baptist
Hospital, now Al Ahli Hospital. |
Ali Bin Marwan
MosqueLocation: Al Tuffah quarter outside the Eastern
walls of Gaza.
One of Gaza’s well known mosque with an oratory for women that dates back
to the Mamluk period. Inside is the tomb of a holy man (Sheik
Ali bin Marwan) who came from Morocco settled in Gaza and died
in 1314 AD.
The mosque was renovated in 1324 AD. The stones of the tombs in the
cemetery, close to the mosque, are considered to be historical
documents. |
Al-BalakhiyaLocation:
North east of Gaza
There is the old Port of Gaza dating back to the Greek and Roman periods. In
addition there is a Byzantine cemetery, where one of its tombs
is decorated with plants and a cross with two pine trees on
the sides, and walls made of bricks. |
The Roman
Byzantine CemeteryLocation: Jabalia
It is a hill of rough sand about 48m above sea level. It gets higher
(75m) going east. There are stone cisterns covered with
rooting to prevent leakage. There are also some pottery
fragments and bone remnants. Tombs of different types were
found containing skeletons, jewels, glass, pottery, metals and
decorated stones. |
Al Qissariya Market
Location: Al Daraj quarter in the old city of
Gaza.
The structure of Qissariya which is adjacent
to the southern wall of the Al Omari Great Mosque dates back to the Mamluk
period. It is a pointed roofed road with vaults. The small shops on both
sides are hooded with cross vaults. It is called the Gold market due to gold trading there.
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Sultan Abdulhamid Public
Fountain
Location: Al Daraj quarter in the old city of
Gaza
There were lots of public fountains during the
Ottoman period funded with charitable donations.
They were established to meet people’s need for
water. There were about 200 of them in Gaza during that period
as they were cheap compared to other constructions.
This fountain was established by Behram Bin Mustafa
Basha in the 16th century. It was renovated during the reign of Sultan
Abdulhamid in 1893 AD. It is a recess with a pointed arch having two stone
seats on both sides and pipes to bring water out for the people to drink. |
Al Ahmediya Prayer Corner
Location: Al Daraj quarter in the old city of
Gaza
It was established in the 14th century by the
followers of El Sayyed Ahmed El Badawi who died in Tanta in 1276 AD. Inside
is a polygon room with six pointed arches and a big beautiful Mihrab. The
high dome, supported by a cylindrical neck has twelve windows. Six spherical
triangles support this neck in addition to the crossing vaults roofing
the hall and the fan vault roof of the mid western hall, which has a beautiful
fountain highlighting the beauty of the place.
The outside courtyard has a beautiful marble
tomb in the corner. Its two stones are decorated by an emblem inside a
circle are two polo sticks. |
Kateb al Wilayah Mosque
Location: Al Zaytoon quarter in the old city
of Gaza
The oldest part of the structure dates back to
the Mamluk period 1334 AD The western additions by Ahmed Bek, the clerk
of the state, date back to the Ottoman period. That is why the mosque is
called Kateb al Welaya. The minaret of the mosque is adjacent to the bells
of Prophyrius Church. |
Al Shuja’iya
Location: East of Gaza
It is named after the leader Shuja’ el-Din el-Kurdi.
The southern part of the area is called el-Torokman while the
northern part is called al-Judaida. There are several ancient
structures, mosques and tombs. |
Ibn Othman Mosque
Location: Al-Shuja’iya Market Street
It is one of the biggest ancient mosques in Gaza
outstanding for its wonderful Mamluk architecture and elements of patterns.
It was established at different stages during he Mamluke period, and eventually
built by Ahmed bin Othman who was born in Nablus, came to Gaza and died
there in 1402 AD. |
Mosaic Floors
Location: Near the Port of Gaza
Excavated in 1966 these are decorated with drawings of
animals, birds & scripts that date back to the beginning
of the 6th century A.D. The Israelis moved the mosaic floor to
the Israeli Museumsin the 1970’s leaving part of its frame.
The original written script of the foundation is in
old Greek. “We the lumber merchants, Minamos, Izos the sons
of Izis offer this mosaic to the holiest place - in the month
of Linos of 569 Gaza Calendar, 508/509 A.D.”
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Tell el Ejoul
Location: South of Gaza
One of the most important archaeological sites in
Gaza. A Canaanite town used to be here.
Flinders Paterie, who excavated the hill between 1931
- 1934, believes that the site of Old Gaza was here; the
people deserted the place because of malaria and moved to the
existing location of Gaza. The most important excavation is a
wall of 2.5 feet wide and 50 feet high. Tombs of horsemen
buried with their horses, a tunnel 500 feet long and five big
castles were also found. The earliest of these castles dates
back to 3000 BC.
One dates back to the Egyptian Family 1580-1350
BC. The rest date back to families in the 16th, 15th and 12th centuries.
Clay and copper pots, golden bracelets, earrings,
wooden beds, cork pillows and other things were also found there.
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Beit Hanoon
Location: North of Gaza
The area is well known for it’s fertile soil and
fresh sweet water. It was the capital of King Hanoon who
fought the Assyrians in the 8th century BC. It has a mosque
dating back to the Ayoobi period. Scattered pottery fragments
can be seen on the site.
The checkpoint leading to the Palestinian Northern
Governorates is called Beit Hannoon.
The Ayoobits won a battle against the Crusaders
at Um el Nasser Hill east of Beit Hanoon, and built a mosque there as a commemoration of the victory. A Mamluk post office
was in Beit Hanoon as well.
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El Nassr Mosque
The mosque is a unique example remaining from
the Ayoobi period and was founded in commemoration of the Ayoobi victory
against the Crusaders at the battle of Um el Nassr in 1239 AD. Nothing
is left of the mosque apart from the southern portico with its beautiful
roof, which consists of fan vaults and shallow dome in the centre.
The hall ends with a room to the east roofed
with a dome supported on spherical triangles.
The foundation plate is inscribed in Ayoobi script.
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Jabalia
Location: North of Gaza
This is known for its fertile soil and citrus
trees. The Mamluk ruler Sinjer Alamudin el Jawli owned the area and designated
its land for his mosque in Gaza to house his soldiers, who came from the
mountains. |
The Omeri Mosque at Jabalia
Nothing is left from the ancient mosque apart
from the portico and the minaret. The rest of the mosque is a modern building.
The portico is three arcades supported by four stone columns. The arcades
have pointed arches and the portico is roofed by crossing vaults.
Recently, a cemetery dating back to the Byzantine
and the Roman periods and a mosaic floor of a church dating back to the Byzantine period were excavated. The floor is
decorated with drawings of wild animals and birds, plants, trees and written
scripts.
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Beit Lahaia
Location: north Jabalia
The word “Beit Lahia” comes from Syric and means
“desert” or “fatigue”. It is well known for Its fresh,
sweet water and growing berries as well as citrus trees. It
has an ancient hill and old destroyed villages. A mihrab is
the only thing left from an old mosque to the west of Beit
Lahia dating back to the Ayoobi period, and two other mosques
dating back to the Ottoman period.
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Wadi Gaza (the Valley of Gaza)
There are three valleys in Gaza. The valley of
Gaza begins in the at Hebron mountains descends into the Mediterranean
Sea. A new bridge was built over the valley in order to link the south
of Gaza together with the north of Gaza. There are archaeological sites
on both sides of the valley.
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Deir el Balah
Location: About 13 km to the south of Gaza.
It was known as “Daroum” which means “south”
in the Semitic language. The first monastery in Palestine was
built at Deir el Balah by Saint Helena in 372AD. Muslims
conquered the town after the battle of “Dathen”; Daroum
then had an important role during the Crusader wars.
Deir El Balah is well know for its beaches and
palm trees. Recent excavations, along the coast uncovered a cemetery dating
back to the late Bronze Age with lots of pottery tombs, bronze pots, small
statues, jewels and pottery; in addition to a wall made of bricks and a
mosaic floor.
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Khan Younis
The Khan lies at the coast road between Egypt
and Syria. It was built by Prince Younos bin Abdullah el Nawruzi (the clerk
of the Mamluk Sultan el Thaher Barquq) in 1387. The Khan is a square, two
storey building. It is decorated with emblems on both sides of the entrance.
There are some important archaeological sites to the west of the city.
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Rafah
Location: South of Gaza
A Cannaanite town described by ancient Egyptians
as Robihio, by Assyrians as Rifihio, by the Greek and the Romans as Rafia
and by Arabs as Rafah. There are some ancient hills at Rafah. The airport
and a modern hospital have been established there. The town has some ancient
mosques and archaeological sites such as mosaic floor. |
PALESTINE 
