Gaza artists lead efforts to preserve Mamluk houses

The grand, 500-year-old brick walls of the al-Kamalaia School slowly emerged from years of accumulated garbage as grassroots preservers began the long process of restoring it to its former glory.

Located in the heart of the old quarter of Gaza City, the Mamluk-era building is one of an ever-dwindling number of historic structures at risk of demolition.

"It was in a very difficult, pitiful state. It was a dump," said Abdullah al-Ruzzi, an artist and leading volunteer.
Al-Ruzzi and other artists launched the Mobaderoon, or Initiators, program, seeking to save abandoned houses and buildings from two periods of Gaza's history: the Mamluk Sultanate and the subsequent Ottoman Empire.

In the old section of the Palestinian enclave, fewer than 200 houses from these eras are partially or entirely standing, according to tourist officials. They are threatened by neglect, decay or even demolition by new urban development.
"Lack of public awareness and the economic considerations by owners are the greatest threats to these buildings," said Ahmed al-Astal, director of Iwan, the history and heritage institute of Gaza's Islamic University. "These houses are our identity, but ignorance leads to their destruction."

Because the Gaza Strip is small, with 2 million people living in just 300 square kilometers, the experts and volunteers fear that structures of past centuries will disappear, like those from far more ancient civilizations.
Population growth, conflict with Israel and mismanagement by Hamas, the militant group that has run Gaza since 2007, have contributed to the erasure of many signs of Gaza's five millennia of history.

The territory has been enriched by its prime location along the route connecting ancient Egypt, the...