Holy Land: Gaza opens 1,700 year-old church to public

The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the Gaza Strip recently inaugurated the ruins of an ancient Byzantine Church as a public museum, AL Monitor reports. The ancient church, which is located in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of the enclave, dates back to the fifth century.

The ministry worked with several international partners on reconstructing and renovating the church established about 1,700 years ago, in an attempt to revitalize domestic tourism.

Jamal Abu Rida, director general of antiquities at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the Gaza Strip, told Al-Monitor that the church ruins were discovered in 1988 by chance when local workers were paving the Salah al-Din highway linking the northern and southern Gaza Strip. The site was buried in sand due to time and climate factors.

To read on see: www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/02/gaza-opens-1700-year-old-byzantine-church-public#ixzz7K3rLmxPo

(Thanks to Dr Harry Hagopian for alerting us to this story on Twitter)