The aesthetic components of the Mamluk and Ottoman historical buildings in the old city of Gaza : case study-ornaments

Dissertant

al-Ramlawi, Nashwah Yasir

Thesis advisor

al-Namirah, Nadir Jawad

University

Islamic University

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

Department

Department of Architectural Engineering

University Country

Palestine (Gaza Strip)

Degree

Master

Degree Date

2012

English Abstract

-Gaza City is one of the oldest historical Arab cities because it witnessed the succession of different historical civilizations down the centuries due to its important geographical location, which contributed significantly to the creation of the architectural components of each era, which reflected the social, political, economic and religious life, either through the residential houses, mosques, baths, schools, markets and other public buildings.

Besides, throughout the centuries, the ornaments of Gaza City had many distinctive aesthetic components with high artistic and historical values, of which the ornaments are considered to be one of the most important and matchless components which represent the charm as well as the high accuracy of both design and structure. This research provided an analytical study of the aesthetic components in the historical buildings in the old city of Gaza dating back to a particular historical era, namely the Mamluk and Ottoman era, since it was rich with authentic and distinctive architectural elements.

Moreover, similar studies dealing with this aspect in Gaza City are very limited and inadequate, and that highlights the great importance of this study. By achieving its goals, the study shed light on the very high artistic and cultural aesthetic components of the historical buildings in Gaza City, in particular, the ornaments, being one of the most important and charming components which were used explicitly in many of the internal and external facades of the historical buildings. Moreover, the study depended on gathering information from many references, resources and documents which dealt with similar and relevant topics followed by a field study and visits which were scheduled to some of the historical buildings that have distinctive aesthetic components for identifying and spotting their locations as well as focusing on the ornamental element via a detailed analytical study where these aesthetic units and their techniques and methods of creation were analyzed, in addition to analyzing the nature and characteristics of the different materials which were used, and thus highlighting the importance and the role of the ornaments inside these buildings and presenting the current reality of the aesthetic components, in particular, the ornaments. Finally, one of the main results of the study is that the ornaments were not used randomly or in an meaningless way and that these components used in ornamenting the historical Mamluk and Ottoman buildings in the old city of Gaza constituted a special form designed for Gaza, maintaining at the same time the key features, characteristics and rules of the Islamic ornaments which reflected the social life, customs, traditions and the social values.

Main Subjects

Civil Engineering

Topics

• Palestine
• Islamic architecture
• Historic buildings
• Gaza Strip

No. of Pages

25

Table of Contents

• APA
• MLA
• AMA

Language

English

Data Type

Arab Theses

Record ID

BIM-316188