It is the oldest populated area of the city, being built over the site of ancient Gaza.Cohen and Lewis, 1978, pp. 117-119; cited in Sharon, 2009, p. 62 The remnants of the city's ancient past are visible in many of the neighborhood's stone houses where marble columns and slabs have been reused as building materials. According to Ottoman tax records, al-Daraj was a relatively large neighborhood in 1525, with 141 households. Containing Qasr al-Basha, it was the seat of power for the provincial governors of Gaza and much of Palestine during Mamluk and Ottoman rule over the city by at least the 17th century. At the end of the 19th century, it was called Haret ed-Deredj.Guérin, 1884, p. 251; cited in Cohen and Lewis, 1978, pp. 119
