Gaza has no harbour, or any convenient facility for shipping cargo. A pier was constructed in 1906, but it proved a complete failure, on account of its being inadequate to meet the need. It should have been built 120 yards longer. In 1909 the violence of the waves during that winter destroyed about one-third of it.
There is a good deal of surf in the summer, and steamers are often delayed fourteen to twenty days before obtaining their cargo. No regular steamers touch this roadstead, and it is only in summer that these vessels (mostly British) visit it. There is no lighthouse.
It is at this point that the ancient maritime suburb of Mayoumas stood, the concrete remains of which are still visible on the shore.
The population is about 70,000, including the surrounding villages. The fellahin form the bulk of the population—mostly of the poorer classes. The non-increase of population is due to the bad harvests of the last few years. In consequence of the drought in 1905, 15,000 of the city and district, chiefly of the poorer classes, migrated to Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, Nazareth, Damascus and Egypt, owing to the exactions of the Government, and the high rate of interest demanded by the Effendis to whom they were indebted. This exodus is only a temporary misfortune.
The population of Gaza is said at one time to have outnumbered that of Jerusalem.
The road-tracks between Gaza, Jaffa, and Beersheba are badly in need of repair. In places the sand is very heavy, especially in the summer-time. A road tax is levied, but no road has been improved for many years.
Gaza is in a state of lethargy for about nine months out of twelve, until the middle of April, when the barley crop is cut, because most of the inhabitants earn their living by the barley trade. In consequence of much idleness during this slack period, drunkenness is not an uncommon vice. The wealthy merchants buy at harvest-time large quantities of barley, which are generally exported or stored, until the prices in Great Britain and Egypt are high, when they sell to British and other purchasers. The poorer traders pitch small tents in the neighbourhood of the city, and among the Beduins, to whom they sell clothes, sweets, coffee, and other articles, taking barley in exchange. When they have secured a sufficient amount, they sell it either to the agents of the European merchants, or to the native merchants of the city. Any one who visits Gaza in June and July will be astonished to see the large quantities of barley heaped upon the sea-shore, awaiting the arrival of steamers.
The building of the Government hospital, talked of for so many years, has been begun, but it has, so far, made little progress.
No banks are permanently established in Gaza. All money transactions are carried on through the banks of Jaffa.
There is a growing desire for male education. The citizens, in September 1911, enthusiastically encouraged a public performance of Hamlet, on behalf of a native Muslim school. It was a first and successful attempt of the kind.