Gaza City // A surprise awaits beyond a black door adorned with a silver lotus flower at the end of a tangle of alleyways in Gaza’s chaotic Old City.
Through it and behind imposing stone walls sits a small, Levantine-style palace, some 430 years old and recently painstakingly restored.
It is among the rare vestiges of Gaza City’s architectural heritage, battered by war, time, population pressure and simple indifference.
The palace that had been missing part of its roof and located in what had been the Old City’s Christian quarter was rescued by a 46-year-old university professor.
Less than a year ago, Professor Atef Salama decided to take action. His wife Kawtar said the idea was “kind of crazy”.
But the house has now been given a second life, unlike others around it.
Mr Salama spent a lot of his savings to make it happen – an amount he preferred not to discuss.
“People didn’t say it to our face, but we could tell they were thinking ‘either they’re crazy or they were scammed’,” said Kawtar while receiving guests in her living room with ochre stone walls.
Nearby sits a decrepit church. A traditional house across the street has crumbled and is overgrown with weeds.
Other historic buildings have disappeared under new construction in the small coastal enclave of some 1.8 million people, run by the Hamas movement and cut off by an Israeli blockade and a closed border with Egypt.
“In Gaza, we like to have large families,” said Fadel Al Otol, a Gazan heritage specialist.
“When children become parents, they build another floor on top of the family house. Either that or they leave the traditional house to move into a new building.”
It is especially worrisome in Gaza, where the Egyptians, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans have all ruled at various times, among others.
Its port on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean has served as a crossroads.
“Gaza is one of the oldest cities in the world,” said Mr Al Otol. “Remnants dating back to 3,500 BC along with traces of all eras since then can be found there.”
Mr Al Otol wants to see what remains of those civilisations preserved to give Gazans a sense of their history.
“Without the past, we have no future, so we want to show young people what Gaza has been,” he said.
“They are delighted to discover that once upon a time Gaza was rich.”
School children regularly visit the wooden passageways at the site installed by Unesco, but a long-term commitment is needed to maintain it.
That’s a tall order in the Gaza Strip, with the coastal enclave battered by wars with Israel, two Palestinian intifadas and a conflict between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.
When it is not bombs obliterating the past, it is intra-Palestinian fighting or neglect.
Earlier this month, what is thought to be the remains of a Byzantine-era church were uncovered during a construction project to build a shopping centre in central Gaza City.
The ministry of antiquities sought to stop the work that had moved marble columns discovered in the sand, with at least one broken in the process.
A dispute broke out between the ministry of Islamic affairs, which owns the land and wanted the work to move ahead, and Palestinian Christian leaders who argued that the site would be treated differently if it housed an ancient mosque.
Mr Al Otol said that with humanitarian needs so great in Gaza, preservation concerns have been set aside.
“All efforts are focused on the reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure and houses,” he said.
As a result, Gazans must depend on international institutions such as Unesco or private initiatives, like that of the Salama family.
Mr Salama said his project aimed to “mix modernity and tradition, while preserving our heritage”.
He says it has survived the test of time – unlike the new buildings surrounding them.
“A house like this has lived for 1,000 years, unlike new apartments – just cardboard boxes.”
* Agence France-Presse
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
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Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
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“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
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Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
THE SPECS
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Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
