Blockaded by Israel and Egypt, impoverished and subject to Islamic strictures, the Gaza Strip isn’t on the itinerary of most of the world’s tourists, but that hasn’t deterred Gaza City from producing a map highlighting local “must sees.” The map, which debuted this week, is the brainchild of students and lecturers at the Geography Department of the city’s University College of Applied Sciences (UCAS). Besides documenting its archaeological and tourist sites, the map includes practical information such as hospitals and government buildings. Funded by the Bank of Palestine, the English-language map is handed out free of charge.
“We decided to give Gaza its due,” Amir Shurrab, a lecturer at UCAS’s Information Technology Department and head of Midad, the company that implemented the mapping project, said. “Gaza is the world’s fourth-most-ancient city. This project was our dream and aspiration, which we finally realised.”