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Palestinian female engineer documents architectural history in Gaza

Palestinian female engineer Haya Barzaq is documenting residential houses with special architectural styles in the Gaza Strip to track the evolution of architecture in the besieged enclave.
Haya Barzaq takes photographs of a building in Gaza City to track the evolution of architecture in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, June 2022.

In a relatively quiet neighborhood, Haya Barzaq, a young female engineer, takes photos of beautiful houses in the old part of Gaza City using her cellphone camera, after asking the owners’ permission. She is doing this as part of a personal initiative to document houses and their different architectural styles, to be used as reference for tracking the evolution of architecture in Gaza City.

However, Barzaq has encountered several difficulties. Many homeowners and residents fear Barzaq is documenting their dwelling to turn them into an archaeological landmark. If their homes end up on the Palestinian heritage lists by the local authorities, they may lose their right to them. 

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