Tuffah, Gaza — Area Guide & Where to Stay

What are the main landmarks in Tuffah?

The quarter's anchor is the Church of Saint Porphyrius, one of the oldest active churches anywhere in the region, tucked among the lanes that lead down into Gaza's walled core. Nearby the Holy Family Church serves the district's Catholic community. Both stand a short walk apart.

Out on the eastern skyline, Tell Ali Muntar caps the ridge that has guarded the approach to the town for centuries, while archaeology at El Iblakhiya first revealed the Samian Ware that marks Gaza's ancient trade. Further north, the Byzantine Church of Jabalia extends that same early Christian thread across the wider strip.

What is the history of Tuffah?

Tuffah grew as one of Gaza's historic quarters, spreading east from the walled town toward the ridge of Tell Ali Muntar. Its story runs long. The hill above it changed hands in every campaign that tested the town, and the Church of Saint Porphyrius within the district traces a Christian presence that predates most of the buildings around it by many hundreds of years.

Along the coastal fringe, the dig at El Iblakhiya turned up Samian Ware, hard evidence of the trade that carried goods through Gaza in antiquity.

Where is Tuffah?

Tuffah occupies the eastern side of Gaza, where the built-up quarters give way to the rising ground of Tell Ali Muntar under a warm subtropical sky.