Gaza: Awareness Campaign about Local Relics

In Gaza there remains an abundance of ancient places that have yet to be fully explored. This campaign was about spreading the awareness in the community by organizing a full schedule trip to know about our local antiquities.

100 students, from various grades participated in the campaign, in addition to 35 youth members benefited from the program. The campaign consisted of two parts: the first one was a meeting with the Palestinian historian Dr. Nasser Jarbouu, who talked about many relics in Gaza, as well as the ancient history of these locations.

On the February  4^th, the youth went to Salah Eddin school to implement the second part, which was a trip to four ancient places in Gaza City.

The first stop was , “Hamam Al Somara,” one of the last bathhouses in Gaza City.  The students and youth members listened carefully as a tour guide described the history of the building. After the tour was over, the students had some free time to wander and take pictures.

Next, we all went to “Pasha’s Palace,” the last remaining palace in Gaza City. We had an introductory lesson on the history and then spent more than hour exploring the structure. The students and the youth took more pictures.  At noon, we gathered at “Al Masjid Al Omari” to pray  Noon “Al Thohor” Prayer, and then to take a tour on the Masjid, which is considered the most ancient Masjid in Gaza.

Finally, we went to the “Gaza War Cemetery,” where more than about 4,000 graves of British, Indian, and Turkish soldiers lie. The cemetery is vast and green, and remains a prominent location in Gaza City. Again the students took a tour and spent some time taking pictures.

After visiting the sites in Gaza City we all returned to the bus and took the four hour journey back home.

Overall, 140 people were a part of the antiquities program.  Families, friends of students, and other youth will be reached in an indirect way by the information the students and the youth learned. It was a great success!