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    El Daraj Neighborhood occupies the city center. It was so called with reference to the various steps leading up to El-Refa’ee waterwheel which is located in the southern part. Some, however, say that the name refers to a distance view of the place which appears to the onlooker as stairs made up of many steps. The former, however is more accurate. This name goes back to the Ottoman era. The ancient name of El-Daraj neighborhood was Bani Amer given after an Arabian tribe that inhabited Gaza at the outset of the Islamic Conquest. During the Mameluk era, El-Daraj was called El-Barjalia, this is a direct reference to the defenders of the surveillance towers located near the eastern wall of the city. Until now, El-Daraj has been an architectural and commercial center. It is distinguished for its antique markets such as El-Kesaria Market which is still there, the disappearing Khan El-Katen, Khan Zeith and Grains Market of which some reminiscent but in need of amelioration.

      The old quarters of El-Daraj used to have ceilings and were called Sobats, an example was Sobat El-mufti which was removed in the sixties of the present century. To the East of El-Daraj, there has been and, is still there, the pottery quarter which has been known for pottery making. In this area, the Moslems had constructed several mosques, prayer rooms, general baths, schools and libraries. Of these, the most important is El-Omary Mosque which is located in the city center. This place has been sanctified by the Gazans for three thousand years, since the heathen and until it was converted into a mosque by Omar Ibn El-Assi in response to Moslems’ demand. The Moslems had restored and ameliorated the mosque several times and this can be demonstrated by the inscriptions found on some stones of the door steps and the thresholds and window stills. The inscriptions on the Eastern door read as "By the will of Sultan Mansour Hussam El-Dein Abu El-Fateh Lajeen El-Mansouri 1297 AD." In 730 Hijri Sultan Mohammed Guallown ordered an extension of the mosque. A portico was constructed with a door leading up to El-Kesaria. In 1788 AD the minaret of the mosque war restored and in 1875 AD during the time of Ra’oof Basha, the commander of El-Quds, the whole mosque was renovated. The final restoration had been in 1345 Hijri when the mosque was devastated by the allies’ navy in the First World War.

    There are other ancient mosques in El-Daraj neighborhood. In this respect, it is important to mention mosques like El-Sheikh Zakaryia, El-Wazeeri, El-Sayed Hashem and El-Ahmadia prayer room. El-Sayed Hashem, prophet Mohammad’s grandfather, (peace upon him), is strongly believed to have been buried in that mosque which was first constructed by the Mameluk.

    In 1266, the Ottoman Sultan Abed El-Majeed ordered the renovation of the mosque. During the First World War, the mosque was hit by a shell and was greatly damaged, yet, the High Islamic Council restored it. In this part of the city, there used to be some public baths such as the Market and the Soldiers’ baths.

    One of the most important antique buildings at El-Daraj, has been the palace of Al-Redwan family which is still present and mistaken for Napoelon castle, El-Zahra Secondary School at present. The Construction style of this building does not indicate a military function as it is a two storey building with Windows. The palace was built during the reign of Al-Redwan princes who ruled the city at the outset of Ottoman era and remained in power until the seventeenth century. The inscriptions, the Islamic drawings and decorations shows on the stones, in addition to certain stones carrying the lion logo of Elzaher Peipers 1260-1277 AD, substantiate the fact that the building’s history goes back to Al-Redwan reign. However, it is noteworthy to mention that Napoleon took the palace as a temporary headquarters during his invasion to Ako in 1799.