The Department of Architecture and the “Iwan” Center for Heritage Architecture at the Faculty of Engineering in the Islamic University of Gaza organized a symposium entitled “Experiences in Urban Conservation and Rehabilitation” in celebration of World Heritage Day. The event was attended by Dr. Sanaa Saleh, Director of the Iwan Center; Dr. Soheir Ammar, Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Symposium; and representatives from municipalities, engineers, academics, and engineering students.
Opening session
During the opening session of the symposium, Dr. Saleh emphasized the importance of protecting and preserving heritage for future generations. She explained that the purpose of the symposium is to exchange knowledge and review the results of projects and new ideas among interested parties and experts. Dr. Saleh also pointed out that the symposium aims to broaden the knowledge horizons of students and develop their abilities to preserve cultural heritage. She noted the interest of the Iwan Center in preserving heritage and enhancing the Palestinian cultural identity through several main domains, including the restoration and preservation of cultural heritage and its rehabilitation in a manner that suits its civilizational value, human resources development through scientific courses for heritage preservation, and community awareness of the value of cultural heritage. Dr. Saleh highlighted that the Center restored 48 historical Ottoman houses as well as rehabilitating some historical sites such as the Samra Bath and the Khdair Shrine in the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Ammar pointed out that this scientific meeting aims to highlight local and international experiences in preserving historical cultural architecture, in order to understand it in form and content and be able to draw elements from it in future engineering projects.
Symposium sessions
The symposium included five scientific sessions, starting with a recorded speech by Dr. Yahya Waziri to talk about his experience in heritage architecture and explain the difference between it and contemporary architecture. The second session featured engineer Leila Abu Setta presenting a scientific paper titled “Documentation of Archaeological Sites through Photographic Surveying.” The third session, entitled “Complete Scenes of Palestinian Villages,” showcased three-dimensional images of some of the evacuated Palestinian villages, presented by engineer Zakaria Al-Asar after their restoration.
The penultimate session, titled “Preserving the Qaysariya Market: Challenges, Theories, and Solutions,” offered some suggestions by engineer Munir Al-Baz for preserving and developing the gold market in Gaza’s old city. In the final session, engineers Mahmoud Al-Balawi, Shahd Al-Shaer, Nora Al-Shaqra, and Roba Za’arab presented the results of a study aimed at documenting buildings from the British and Egyptian eras, which marked a significant shift in architectural style and local architecture.
