Dr. Khalil Al-Astal, Dean of Faculty of Engineering at the Islamic University, stated that Iwan Center for Cultural Heritage at Faculty of Engineering received a grant to restore the Mamluk Al-Zawiya Al-Ahmadiya building in Old Gaza from Barakat Trust Fund, which will cover the works of the first phase of restoration and maintenance.
Dr. Ahmed Al-Astal, Director of Iwan Center, noted that more than (100) applications were submitted to the grant at the level of the Islamic world, and this project was approved, as it represented an intersection with the objectives that the funding institution aspires to achieve.
Eng. Mahmoud Al-Balawi, the project official, said that Al-Zawiya Al-Ahmadiya building suffers from serious damages such as moisture and cracks in the walls and ceiling, bad cement layer, and sagging floors, as well as the absence of documenting the interactive spirit of the place.
Dr. Ahmed Al-Astal pointed out that the project will include lifting, documenting, and preparing blueprints, in addition to restoring the internal and external facades and the ceiling, as well as tracing oral history through direct interviews with the elderly redidents who have knowledge about the place.
Al-Zawiya buildings are an extension of the devotional architecture that expresses a unique model of Islamic architecture. Al-Zawiya means a place for worship, hospitality, and learning Islamic issues. The Sufi zawiyas spread in Palestine during the Mamluk period until their number reached about (92) historical zawiyas. The share of old Gaza was (8) zawiyas, all of which disappeared in the last century, except for Al-Zawiya Al-Ahmadiya, which was established by the governor of Gaza “Tarantai Al-Jokandar” in the year 736 AH. It was named after one of eminent Sufism followers; “Sheikh Ahmed Al-Badawi,” who died in 675 AH.