empires throughout its history

Gaza (Arabic: غزة‎ Ghazza, Arabic pronunciation: [ˈɣazːa]; Hebrew: עזה‎ "Azza", Hebrew pronunciation: [ˈʕaza]; also referred to as Gaza City) is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 410,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.
Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC, Gaza has been dominated by several different people and empires throughout its history. The Philistines made it a part of their pentapolis after the Ancient Egyptians had ruled it for nearly 350 years. Under the Romans and later the Byzantines, Gaza experienced relative peace and its port flourished. In 635 AD, it became the first city in Palestine to be conquered by the Rashidun army and quickly developed into a center of Islamic law. However, by the time the Crusaders invaded the city, it was in ruins. In later centuries, Gaza experienced several hardships—from Mongol raids to floods and locusts, reducing it to a village by the 16th century when it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. During the first half of Ottoman rule, the Ridwan dynasty controlled Gaza and under them the city went through an age of great commerce and peace.
Gaza fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of the British Mandate of Palestine. As a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip territory and several improvements were undertaken in the city. Gaza was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967, but in 1993, the city was transferred to the Palestinian National Authority. Following the 2006 election, conflict broke out as the Fatah party seemed unwilling to transfer power to Hamas, resulting in Hamas taking power in Gaza by force. Since then Gaza has been under a blockade by Israel and Egypt.
The primary economic activities of Gaza are small-scale industries, agriculture and labor. However, the economy has been devastated by the blockade and recurring conflicts. Most of Gaza's inhabitants adhere to Islam, although there exists a Christian minority. Gaza has a very young population with roughly 75% being under the age of 25, and today the city has one of the highest population densities in the world—refugees make up over half of the residents.
Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Ancient period
2.2 Islamic era
2.3 Ottoman rule
2.4 Modern era
3 Geography
3.1 Old City and districts
3.2 Climate
4 Demographics
4.1 Population
4.2 Religion
5 Economy
5.1 Nineteenth century
5.2 Contemporary economy
6 Culture
6.1 Cultural centers and museums
6.2 Cuisine
6.3 Costumes and embroidery
6.4 Sports
7 Government
7.1 Mayors
8 Education
9 Local infrastructure
9.1 Landmarks
9.2 Utilities
9.3 Health care
9.4 Transportation
10 International relations
10.1 Twin towns and sister cities
11 See also
12 References
13 Bibliography
14 External links
[edit]Etymology

According to Zev Vilnay, the name "Gaza," from the Arabic "Ġazza", originally derives from the Canaanite/Hebrew root for "strong" (ʕZZ), and was introduced to Arabic by way of the Hebrew, "ʕazzā", i.e. "the strong one (f.)"; cpr. English stronghold.[4] According to Mariam Shahin, the Canaanites gave Gaza its name, the Ancient Egyptians called it "Ghazzat" ("prized city"), and the Arabs often refer to it as "Ghazzat Hashim", in honor of Hashim, the great-grandfather of Muhammad, who is buried in the city, according to Islamic lore.[5]
[edit]History

Main article: History of Gaza
Gaza's history of habitation dates back 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.[6] Located on the Mediterranean coastal route between North Africa and the Levant, for most of its history it served as a key entrepot of southern Palestine and an important stopover on the spice trade route traversing the Red Sea.[6][7]
[edit]Ancient period
Settlement in the region of Gaza dates back to Tell as-Sakan, an Ancient Egyptian fortress built in Canaanite territory to the south of present-day Gaza. The site went into decline throughout the Early Bronze Age II as its trade with Egypt sharply decreased.[8] Another urban center known as Tell al-Ajjul began to grow along the Wadi Ghazza riverbed. During the Middle Bronze Age, a revived Tell es-Sakan became the southernmost locality in Palestine, serving as a fort. In 1650 BCE, when the Canaanite Hyksos occupied Egypt, a second city developed on the ruins of the first Tell as-Sakan. However, it was abandoned by the 14th century BCE, at the end of the Bronze Age.[8] Gaza later served as Egypt’s administrative capital in Canaan.[9] During the reign of Tuthmosis III, the city became a stop on the Syrian-Egyptian caravan route and was mentioned in the Amarna letters as "Azzati".
Gaza remained under Egyptian control for 350 years until it was conquered by the Philistines in the 12th century BCE, becoming a part of their "pentapolis".[10] According to the Book of Judges, Gaza was the place where Samson was imprisoned by the Philistines and met his death.[11]
After being ruled by the Israelites, Assyrians, and then the Egyptians, Gaza achieved relative independence and prosperity under the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great besieged Gaza, the last city to resist his conquest on his path to Egypt, for five months before finally capturing it 332 BCE;[10] the inhabitants were either killed or taken captive. Alexander brought in local Bedouins to populate Gaza and organized the city into a polis (or "city-state"). Greek culture consequently took root and Gaza earned a reputation as a flourishing center of Hellenic learning and philosophy.[12] Gaza experienced another siege in 96 BCE by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus who "utterly overthrew" the city, killing 500 senators who had fled into the temple of Apollo for safety.[13] Josephus notes that Gaza was resettled under the rule of Antipas, who cultivated friendly relations with Gazans, Ascalonites and neighboring Arabs after being appointed governor of Idumea by Jannaeus.[14] Rebuilt after it was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 63 BCE under the command of Pompey Magnus, Gaza was temporarily ruled by Herod the Great before becoming a part of the Roman province of Syria.[10] It was targeted by the Jews during their rebellion against Roman rule in 66 and was partially destroyed.[15] It nevertheless remained an important city, even more so after the destruction of Jerusalem.[16]
Throughout the Roman period, Gaza was a prosperous city and received grants and attention from several emperors.[10] A 500-member senate governed Gaza, and a diverse variety of Philistines, Greeks, Romans, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Jews, Egyptians, Persians, and Bedouin populated the city. Gaza's mint issued coins adorned with the busts of gods and emperors.[17] During his visit in 130 CE,[18] Emperor Hadrian personally inaugurated wrestling, boxing, and oratorical competitions in Gaza's new stadium, which became known from Alexandria to Damascus. The city was adorned with many pagan temples; the main cult being that of Marnas. Other temples were dedicated to Zeus, Helios, Aphrodite, Apollo, Athene and the local Tyche.[10] Christianity began to spread throughout Gaza in 250 CE, last in the port of Maiuma.[19][20][21][22] Conversion to Christianity in Gaza was accelerated under Saint Porphyrius between 396 and 420. In 402, he ordered all eight of the city's pagan temples destroyed,[10] and four years later Empress Aelia Eudocia commissioned the construction of a church atop the ruins of the Temple of Marnas.[23]
[edit]Islamic era
Following the division of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century BCE, Gaza remained under control of the Byzantine Empire. In 635 CE, Gaza was quickly besieged and captured by the Arab Rashidun Caliphate under general 'Amr ibn al-'As following the Battle of Ajnadayn in central Palestine.[12] Believed to be the site where Muhammad's great grandfather Hashim ibn Abd Manaf was buried, the city was not destroyed by the victorious Rashidun army. The arrival of the Muslim Arabs brought drastic changes to Gaza; its churches were transformed into mosques, including the present Great Mosque of Gaza (the oldest in the city), the population swiftly adopted Islam, and Arabic became the official language.[24] In 767, Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi'i was born in Gaza and lived his early childhood there; al-Shafi'i founded a prominent Sunni Muslim legal philosophy (or fiqh) called Shafi'i, in his honor.[25] In 796, Gaza was destroyed during a civil war between the Arab tribes of the area.[26] However, by the 10th century CE the city had been rebuilt by a third Arab caliphate ruled by the Abbasids; Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi described Gaza as "a large town lying on the highroad to Egypt on the border of the desert."[27] In 977 CE, a fourth Arab caliphate ruled by the Fatimids established an agreement with the competing Seljuk Turks, whereby the Fatimids would control Gaza and the land south of it, including Egypt.[28]
European Crusaders conquered Gaza from the Fatimids in 1100 and King Baldwin III built a castle there in 1149. After the castle's construction, Baldwin granted it and the surrounding region to the Knights Templar.[23] He also had the Great Mosque converted into the Cathedral of Saint John.[18] In 1154, Arab traveler al-Idrisi wrote Gaza "is today very populous and in the hands of the Crusaders."[29] In 1170, King Amalric I of Jerusalem withdrew Gaza's Templars to assist him against an Islamic Ayyubid force led by Saladin at the nearby city of Deir al-Balah; however, Saladin evaded the Crusader force and assaulted Gaza instead, destroying the town built outside the castle. Seven years later, the Templars prepared for another defense of Gaza against Saladin, but this time the Islamic forces attacked Ascalon. In 1187, Saladin captured Gaza and ordered the destruction of the city's fortifications in 1191. Richard the Lionheart apparently refortified the city in 1192, but the walls were dismantled again as a result of the Treaty of Ramla agreed upon months later in 1193.[23] The Ayyubid period of rule ended in 1260, after the Mongols under Hulagu Khan completely destroyed Gaza, which became his southernmost conquest.[24]
Following Gaza's destruction by the Mongols, Muslim slave-soldiers based in Egypt known as the Mamluks began to administer the area in 1277. The Mamluks made Gaza the capital of the province that bore its name, Mamlakat Ghazzah ("the Governorship of Gaza"). This district extended along the coastal plain from Rafah in the south to just north of Caesarea, and to the east as far as the Samaria highlands and the Hebron Hills. Other major towns in the province included Qaqun, Ludd, and Ramla.[24][30] In 1294, an earthquake devastated Gaza, and five years later the Mongols again destroyed all that had been restored by the Mamluks.[24] However, circa 1300, Syrian geographer al-Dimashqi described Gaza as a "city so rich in trees it looks like a cloth of brocade spread out upon the land."[17] In 1348, the Bubonic Plague infested the city, killing the majority of its inhabitants and in 1352, Gaza suffered from a destructive flood, which was rare in that arid part of Palestine.[31] However, when Arab traveler and writer Ibn Batutta visited the city in 1355, he noted that it was "large and populous, and has many mosques."[32] The Mamluks contributed to Gazan architecture by building mosques, Islamic schools, hospitals, caravansaries, and public baths.[8]
[edit]Ottoman rule


Muslims studying the Qur'an with Gaza in the background, painting by Harry Fenn


Painting of Gaza by David Roberts, 1839
In 1516, Gaza—by now a small town with an inactive port, ruined buildings and reduced trade—was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.[31] The Ottoman army quickly and efficiently crushed a small-scale uprising,[33] and the local population generally welcomed them as fellow Sunni Muslims.[31] The city was then made the capital of Sanjak Gaza, part of the larger Province of Damascus.[34] The Ridwan family, named after governor Ridwan Pasha, was the first dynasty to govern Gaza and would continue to rule the city for over a century.[35]
Although no explanation is provided in the biographies of the Ridwan family, they chose Gaza as their home and the location of their castle, Qasr al-Basha.[35] Husayn Pasha, a member of the Ridwan family, inherited the impoverished governorship of Gaza in the 17th century. His period in office was peaceful and prosperous for Gaza and he gained a good reputation for considerably reducing the strife between the nearby Bedouins and the settled population. In 1660, Gaza was designated the capital of Palestine, indicating the city's rapid recovery. The Great Mosque was restored, and six other mosques constructed, while Turkish baths and market stalls proliferated.[31] Anonymous petitions sent to Istanbul complaining about Husayn's failure to protect the Hajj caravan, however, served as an excuse for the Ottoman government to depose him. After the death of Husayn's successor, Ottomans officials were appointed to govern in place of the Ridwans. The Ridwan period was Gaza's last golden age during Ottoman rule. After the family was removed from office, the city itself went into gradual decline.[36]
Gaza was briefly occupied by the French Army under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799, but they abandoned the city after the failed siege of Acre that same year.[31] Starting in the early 1800s, Gaza was culturally dominated by neighboring Egypt; Muhammad Ali of Egypt conquered Gaza and most of Palestine in 1832.[18] American scholar Edward Robinson visited Gaza in 1838, describing it as a "thickly populated" town larger than Jerusalem, with its Old City lying upon a hilltop, while its suburbs laid on the nearby plain.[37] Gaza's port was inactive in the mid-19th century, however, the city benefited from trade and commerce because of its position on the caravan route between Egypt and Syria as well as from producing soap and cotton for trade with the Bedouin.[38] Robinson noted that virtually all of Gaza's vestiges of ancient history and antiquity had disappeared due to constant conflict and occupation.[39] The Bubonic Plague struck again in 1839 and the city, lacking political and economic stability, went into a state of stagnation. In 1840, Egyptian and Ottoman troops battled outside of Gaza. The Ottomans won control of the territory, effectively ending Egyptian rule over Palestine. However, the battles brought about more death and destruction in Gaza whilst the city was still recovering from the effects of the plague.[31]
[edit]Modern era


Gaza after surrender to British forces, 1918
While leading the Allied Forces during World War I, the British won control of the city during the Third Battle of Gaza in 1917.[31] After the war, Gaza was included in the British Mandate of Palestine.[40] In the 1930s and 1940s, Gaza underwent major expansion. New neighborhoods were built along the coast and the southern and eastern plains. International organizations and missionary groups funded most of this construction.[41] In the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan, Gaza was assigned to an Arab state but was later occupied by Egypt following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Gaza's growing population was augmented by an influx of refugees fleeing nearby cities, towns and villages that were captured by Israel. In 1957, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser made a number of reforms in Gaza, which included expanding educational opportunities and the civil services, providing housing, and establishing local security forces.[42]
Gaza was occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War following the defeat of the Egyptian Army. Frequent conflicts have erupted between Palestinians and the Israeli authorities in the city since the 1970s. The tensions lead to the First Intifada in 1987. Gaza was a center of confrontation during this uprising,[31] and economic conditions in the city worsened.[43] In September 1993, leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the Oslo Accords. The agreement called for Palestinian administration of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, which was implemented in May 1994. Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza, leaving a new Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to administer and police the city.[12] The PNA, led by Yasser Arafat, chose Gaza as its first provincial headquarters. The newly established Palestinian National Council held its inaugural session in Gaza in March 1996.[41]


Palestinians in a Gaza neighborhood during the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza Conflict (Source: Al Jazeera English)
Since the Palestinian organization Hamas won a surprise victory in the Palestinian elections of 2006, it has been engaged in a violent power struggle with its rival Palestinian organization Fatah. In 2007, Hamas overthrew Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip and Hamas members were dismissed from the PNA government in the West Bank in response. Currently, Hamas has de facto control of the city and Strip.[44]
In March 2008, a coalition of human rights groups charged that the Israeli blockade of the city had caused the humanitarian situation in Gaza to have reached its worst point since Israel occupied the territory in the 1967 Six-Day War,[45] and that Israeli air strikes targeting militants in the densely populated areas have often killed bystanders as well.[46] In 2008, Israel commenced an assault against Gaza.[47] Israel stated the strikes were in response to repetitive rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip into Israel since 2005, while the Palestinians stated that they were responding to Israel's military excursions and blockade of the Gaza Strip. In January 2009, Palestinian sources stated that at least 1,300 Palestinians were killed in the conflict.[48]
[edit]Geography



Beach in Gaza City
Central Gaza is situated on a low-lying and round hill with an elevation of 45 feet (14 m) above sea level.[49] Much of the modern city is built along the plain below the hill, especially to the north and east, forming Gaza's suburbs. The beach and the port of Gaza are located 3 kilometers (2 mi) west of the city's nucleus and the space in between is entirely built up on low-lying hills.[37]
Gaza is 78 kilometers (48 mi) southwest of Jerusalem, 71 kilometers (44 mi) south of Tel Aviv,[50] and 30 kilometers (19 mi) north of Rafah.[51] Surrounding localities include Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia to the north, and the village of Abu Middein, the refugee camp of Bureij, and the city of Deir al-Balah to the south.[52]
The municipal jurisdiction of the city today constitutes about 45 square kilometers (17.4 sq mi).[3] In the British Mandate era, Gaza's urban or "built-up" area consisted of 7,960 square kilometers (3,073.4 sq mi), while its rural area was 143,063 square kilometers (55,236.9 sq mi).[53] Irrigated land made up 24,040 square kilometers (9,281.9 sq mi) and lands planted with cereals made up 117,899 square kilometers (45,521.1 sq mi).[54]
The population of Gaza depends on groundwater as the only source for drinking, agricultural use, and domestic supply. The nearest stream is Wadi Ghazza to the south, sourced from Abu Middein along the coastline. It bears a small amount of water during the winter and virtually no water during the summer.[55] Most of its water supply is diverted into Israel.[56] The Gaza Aquifer along the coast is the main aquifer in the Gaza Strip and it consists mostly of Pleistocene sandstones. Like most of the Gaza Strip, Gaza is covered by quaternary soil; clay minerals in the soil absorb many organic and inorganic chemicals which has partially alleviated the extent of groundwater contamination.[55]
A well-known hill southeast of Gaza, known as Tell al-Muntar, has an elevation of 270 feet (82 m) above sea level. For centuries it has been claimed as the place to which Samson brought the city gates of the Philistines. The hill is crowned by a Muslim shrine (maqam) dedicated to Ali al-Muntar ("Ali of the Watchtower"). There are old Muslim graves around the surrounding trees,[57] and the lintel of the doorway of the maqam has two medieval Arabic scriptures.[10]
[edit]Old City and districts


A mosque in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood
The Old City forms the main part of Gaza's nucleus. It is roughly divided into two quarters; the northern Daraj Quarter (also known as the Muslim Quarter) and the southern Zaytoun Quarter (also known as the Christian Quarter). Most of the structures date from the Mamluk or Ottoman era ans some are built atop earlier structures. The ancient part of the Old City is about 1.6 square kilometers (0.6 sq mi).[41]
There are seven historic gates to the Old City: Bab Asqalan (Gate of Ashkelon), Bab al-Darum (Gate of Deir al-Balah), Bab al-Bahr (Gate of the Sea), Bab Marnas (Gate of Marnas), Bab al-Baladiyah (Gate of the Town), Bab al-Khalil (Gate of Hebron), and Bab al-Muntar (Gate of Tell al-Muntar).[58] Some of the older buildings use the ablaq style of decoration which features red and white masonry, prevalent in the Mamluk era. A few of Gaza's main markets, such as the Gold Market as well as its oldest mosque, the Great Mosque of Gaza, are located here.[59] In the Zaytoun Quarter is the Church of Saint Porphyrius, the Welayat Mosque, and Hamam as-Sammara ("the Samaritan's Bathhouse").[60]
Gaza is composed of eleven districts (hai) outside of the Old City.[61][62] The first extension of Gaza beyond the city center was the district of Shuja'iyya, built on an eastern hill during the Ayyubid period of rule.[63] In the 1930s and 1940s, a new spacial residential district, Rimal, was constructed on the sand dunes west of the city center, and the district of Zeitoun was built along Gaza's southern and southwestern borders, while Shuja'iyya expanded into the east to form the al-Judeide ("the New") and al-Turukman districts.[41][64]
The areas between Rimal and the Old City became the districts of al-Sabra and al-Daraj.[62] To the northwest is the district of al-Nasser, built in the early 1950s and named in honor of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.[65] To the northeast is the district of Tuffah,[62] which is roughly divided into eastern and western halves.[59] The district of Sheikh Radwan is 3 kilometers (2 mi) to the north of the Old City and is named after Sheikh Radwan—the tomb of whom is located within the district.[62][66] Gaza has absorbed the village of al-Qubbah near the border with Israel, as well as the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Shati along the coast,[52] although the latter is not under the city's municipal jurisdiction. In the late 1990s, the PNA founded the more affluent neighborhood of Tel al-Hawa along the southern edge of Rimal.[67] Along the southern coast of the city is the neighborhood of Sheikh Ijlin