Gaza City
Gaza
غزة Gaza City | |
|---|---|
 Crowded beach in Gaza City | |
| Nickname: Gaza City | |
 Map of the Gaza Strip from The World Factbook | |
| Territory | Gaza Strip |
| First occupied | 15th century BCE |
| Government | |
| • mayor | Majid Abu Ramadan[1] |
| Population | |
| • Total | 400,000 |
| Website | http://www.mogaza.org/ |
Gaza (Arabic: غزة Template:ArTranslit; Hebrew: עזה Azzah) is the largest city within the Gaza Strip. The city, which has a population of approximately 400,000, has been inhabited since 3000BC[citation needed] and is frequently termed "Gaza City" in order to distinguish it from the larger Gaza Strip.
History
Strategically located on the Mediterranean coastal route, ancient Gaza was a prosperous trade center and a stop on the caravan route between Egypt and Syria. The city was occupied by Egypt around the 15th century BCE. Philistines settled the area several hundred years later, and Gaza became one of their chief cities.
In 145 BCE Gaza was conquered by Jonathan the Hasmonean (Brother of Judah the Maccabee). There was a prospering Jewish presence in Gaza until the Roman ruler Gavinius expelled them in 61 CE as part of the First Jewish-Roman War. In the times of the Mishnah and the Talmud there was a large Jewish community in Gaza, and on one of the pillars of the Great Mosque of Gaza there was a Greek inscription which read "Hananiah bar Yaakov" (a Hebrew name) with a menorah carved above it. This column was originally part of a Byzantine-era synagogue, destroyed at an unknown date and reused (recycled) as part of a grand Church of St. John Baptist, built by Crusaders. When the Crusaders were driven out, the church was commandeered for use as a mosque. At an undetermined date between between 1987 and 1993, during the intifada a very tall ladder or scaffolding were erected and the carving was chisled off.[2] The remains of the ancient Gaza synagogue, built around 500 CE, were found near the city wharf.
Starting in the early 1800s, Gaza was culturally dominated by neighboring Egypt. Though Gaza was part of the Ottoman Empire, a large number of its residents were Egyptians (and their descendants) who had fled political turmoil. [1]
Gaza was occupied by Arabs in the 630s after a siege during which the Jewish population of the city defended it alongside the Byzantine garrison.[3] Believed to be the site where Muhammad's great grandfather was buried, the city became an important Islamic center. In the 12th century, Gaza was taken by Christian Crusaders; it returned to Muslim control in 1187. The city fell to the Ottomans in the 16th century and was taken by the British in the Third Battle of Gaza on 7 November 1917 during the First World War.[citation needed]
Following World War I, Gaza became part of the British mandate for Palestine. In 1929, following deadly Arab rioting, the last Jewish residents of Gaza City were forced to leave. After the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, Egypt occupied Gaza and its surrounding area. The city's growing population was augmented by an influx of Arab refugees fleeing Israel. The Egyptians never accepted the inhabitants as citizens of Egypt and prohibited them from leaving Gaza Strip. Israel captured the city and the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Six Day War, and Gaza remained occupied by Israel for the next 27 years. With the onset of the Palestinian uprising known as the intifada in 1987, Gaza became a center of political unrest and confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians, and economic conditions in the city worsened.[citation needed]
In September 1993, leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the Oslo Accords calling for Palestinian administration of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, which was implemented in May 1994. The Israeli forces left Gaza, leaving a new Palestinian Authority to administer and police the city, along with the most of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority, led by Yasser Arafat, chose Gaza as its first provincial headquarters. In September 1995, Israel and the PLO signed a second peace agreement extending the Palestinian Authority to most West Bank towns. The agreement also established an elected 88-member Palestinian National Council, which held its inaugural session in Gaza in March 1996.[citation needed] Following the Second Intifada, Israel withdrew from the remainder of the Gaza Strip, including the nearby Erez bloc. Much of the fighting in Hamas' June 2007 takeover of the Gaza Strip took place within the city, and they declared Gaza "liberated".[4].
The last mayor of Gaza was Majid Abu Ramadan.[1]
Jewish communities in Gaza
The Jewish community in Gaza was destroyed during the Crusades, but returned and was rebuilt with the return of the Mamluk occupation. In February 1799, when the French forces led by Napoleon entered the city, it was struck by a terrible plague which caused the Jews to move to other areas in Palestine. By the year 1886, thirty Jewish families had returned to Gaza, but they were deported by the Ottomans during World War I. Jews returned to Gaza after the war ended but they were forced to leave once again after the 1929 Palestine riots and the subsequent massacre of Jews in Safed and Hebron by Arabs. Following these riots, in which over 130 Jews were killed, the British prohibited Jews from living in Gaza to quell tension. Jews didn't return to Gaza, though in 1946 they established kibbutz Kfar Darom nearby in the central Gaza Strip.[5]
Famous Gazan Jews have included the medieval liturgical poet Israel Najara, who is buried in Gaza's local cemetery, and the Sabbatean prophet Nathan of Gaza. Rabbi Abraham Azulai lived in Gaza in 1619, and it was there that he wrote the book for which he is remembered, his cabalistic work "Hesed le-Avraham".[6]
People and Culture
 |
Gaza's population is composed almost entirely of Muslims, though it also has a small Christian community. In Gaza, Arabic is spoken in the Egyptian dialect[2]. A massive influx of Palestinian refugees swelled Gaza's population after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. By 1967, the population had grown to about six times its 1948 size. The city's population has continued to increase since that time, and poverty, unemployment, and poor living conditions are widespread. Gaza has serious deficiencies in housing, educational facilities, health facilities, infrastructure, and an inadequate sewage system, all of which have contributed to serious hygiene and public health problems. As in the rest of the Palestinian territories, the birth rate is extremely high. The vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza live in poverty (less than 2$ per day)[3], and rely on United Nations food aid to survive.
Economy
|
Gaza is the economic center for a region in which citrus fruits and other crops are grown. Many Gazans work in Israeli service and industry when the border is open. The city contains some small industry, including textiles and food processing. A variety of wares are sold in Gaza's street bazaars, including carpets, pottery, wicker furniture, and cotton clothing; commercial development in the city is minimal. Gaza serves as a transportation hub for the Gaza Strip, and contains a small port that serves a local fishing fleet. Overall economic development has been slow and hampered by frequent political unrest.
Attractions
|
Places of interest to the visitor are the Great Omari Mosque, the Mosque of Al Sayed Hashem, the Mosque of Ibn Othman, the Mosque of Ibn Marwan, The Sheikh Abul Azm sanctuary, the Sheikh Ajlin sanctuary, Tell al Mintar, Napoleon's fort (Al Radwan Castle), and the Church of St. Porphyrius. The city also has many new resorts where tourists and local people can swim and relax by the beach or swimming pools.
- The Great Mosque (Al-Omari Mosque)
Located in downtown Gaza, Al-Omari Mosque with its splendid minaret, reputedly occupying the site of the first ancient temple of Marnas and then a Greek Orthodox Church. The mosque was also the site of a Norman church built by the Crusaders in the 12th century.
- Napoleon's Fort (Qasr El-Basha)
Also located in downtown Gaza, this imposing stone building dates back to the Mamluk period. It is known as Qasr El-Basha because Napoleon spent a few nights here on his way through the town in 1799.
- St. Porphyrus Church
This 4th century church is where St. Porphyrus died and was buried (420 CE) It is located in the Gaza's old city and still in use today by the Greek Orthodox Community.
- Al-Sayed Hashem Mosque
Located in Al-Daraj Quarter, the mosque is one of the largest and most beautiful ancient mosques in Gaza. The tomb of Hashem bin Abd-Manaf, Mohammad's grandfather who died in Gaza during a trading voyage, is believed to be under the dome of the mosque.
Transport
Gaza shared Yasser Arafat International Airport with the rest of the Gaza Strip. It was opened in 1998, but is currently inoperational, its runways and support facilities having been largely destroyed by Israeli armed forces during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Following the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in autumn 2005, discussions took place between the Palestinian and Israeli sides on its reopening. So far, Israeli negotiators have not agreed to allow the airport be reopened.
Arriving to Gaza:
- By air:
Gaza International Airport, 40 km south of Gaza. Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv, 75 km north of Gaza.
- By car:
Northern access: Erez Crossing point (border with Israel). Southern access: Rafah crossing point (border with Egypt).[7]
Mayors of Gaza
- Maged Awni Abu Ramadan (current)
- Sa’ed Kharma[citation needed]
- Aown S. Shawa (1994-2001)
See also
- Al-Azhar University - Gaza
- Battle of Gaza (disambiguation)
- Little Gaza
- Porphyry of Gaza
References
- ^ a b "Sewage flood brings more misery to Gaza". The Australian. March 29, 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Shanks, Hershel. "Peace, Politics and Archaeology". Biblical Archaeology Society.
- ^ Stillman, Norman (1979). The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America. pp. p. 24. ISBN 1590454936.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6754499.stm
- ^ "A Brief History of the Gaza Settlements". Jewish Virtual Library.
- ^ "Azulai, Azulay", Jewish Encyclopedia
- ^ "Palestinians take over key border". BBC News. November 25, 2005.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
