Palestine · Gaza Strip · Gaza
Al-Daraj, Gaza — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Al-Daraj is the old quarter of Gaza, Palestine, holding the Church of Saint Porphyrius.
About Al-Daraj
Where to stay in Al-Daraj
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Al-Daraj forms the historic core of Gaza, a dense grid of lanes wrapped around its churches and its market alleys. Beds sit close together here. Most visitors base themselves within walking reach of the Church of Saint Porphyrius, where the oldest streets of the quarter fan out toward the wider city, and from there the rest of Gaza opens up on foot.
Choose this quarter for the feel of the old town, not for the calm of the outskirts.
About Al-Daraj
What are the main landmarks in Al-Daraj?
The Church of Saint Porphyrius anchors the quarter. This ancient Greek Orthodox church, one of the oldest still standing in the whole of Gaza, gives Al-Daraj its enduring landmark and the parish that grew up around it. Nearby the Holy Family Church serves the Latin Catholic community of the old town.
Above the district rises Tell Ali Muntar, the hill that has watched over Gaza since antiquity, while El Iblakhiya marks the coastal ground where Samian Ware pottery once surfaced.
What is the history of Al-Daraj?
Faith shaped this ground. Al-Daraj carries some of the deepest layers of Gaza, and the Church of Saint Porphyrius stands as proof, one of the oldest churches anywhere in the city and a fixture of the old town for centuries. On the ridge above, Tell Ali Muntar guarded the approach to the town in antiquity and again in later wars.
Down by the shore, El Iblakhiya yielded Samian Ware that tied the quarter's coast into much older trade.
Where is Al-Daraj?
Al-Daraj sits at the heart of old Gaza, a tight cluster of lanes below the ridge of Tell Ali Muntar, close to the coast and set in a warm, subtropical climate.
Good for
More areas in Gaza
Updated July 2026