Image Details

Drawing of a column from the Great Mosque of Gaza, built originally as a Crusader church in the 12th century. The building’s architectural history goes back even earlier than the Crusades, however. This column came from an earlier synagogue, as shown by a bas-relief that once bore Jewish symbols (see close-up drawing). Tragically, the bas-relief no longer exists—it was destroyed during the Intifada, the Palestinian uprising against Israel that began in December 1987.