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.
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.
Some residents are also skeptical about Barzaq taking photos of their homes amid the unstable security situation in the blockaded Gaza Strip.
However, as soon as she explains her initiative, they allow her to proceed and guide her to more homes with similar architectural traits. The elderly are often the most excited to tell the historical narratives of their homes.
