GAZA Nafez Abed's crowded workroom is filled with sculptures and mosaics with patterns in the Byzantine, Greek and Roman periods. And none of it's actual.
Abed, 55, is a self-educated archaeologist, preserver and restorer who crafts replicas of early pieces he finds or has seen in museums. He gives his work so much credibility that international specialists are wowed by his abilities.
A fair haired, intense guy, he spends virtually all his time in his studio, assembled on the roof of his bare house in a refugee camp in northern Gaza.
"The Museum of Mosaics" is written on the wooden door that leads into his workroom.
"My fixation with archaeology runs within my veins," said the papa of seven, who trained as a blacksmith before determining 30 years ago to dedicate himself to a more tasteful artwork.
"I spend over 10 hours a day here, sitting among my works and replicas," he said using a feeling of wistfulness.
It was Abed's dad who got him started, imbuing him with a love of antiquity along with the wealthy ancient history of Gaza, where the blinded Biblical hero Samson dwelt.
Over the millennia, Gaza has functioned as a trading port for early Egyptians, Philistines, Romans and Crusaders.
Napoleon along with the Ottomans camped here and British militaries passed through in World War One.
Abed often tours Gaza's seashores searching for early remains.
Via wide-ranging reading on archaeology in Arabic and English, he's developed a selection of techniques for restoration and aging.
"Some customers, some visitors, including scientists that have seen me, believed a number of the bits were real before I told them they were replicas made by own hand," he said.
MUSEUM QUALITY
As his abilities grew, he attained more extensive acclaim.
he's traveled to Jericho and Jenin in the West Bank to work well with Italian and Dutch specialists on archaeological sites there, and made excursions to the Louvre in Paris and museums in Arles and Geneva to help with restorations.
In 2005, the head of the Geneva museum seen Gaza together with his own wife and talked at length with Abed about his abilities.
"He offered me a job in the museum, but I turned it down," said Abed, making clear his rue. "It was a blunder."
In 2007, the Islamist group Hamas assumed control of Gaza. Ever since then, traveling abroad is now considerably more challenging and life within the land has developed more demanding, with constraints on the import of goods plus a string of brief wars with Israel.
In his studio, Abed works intensely on a variety of mosaics.
Another set of seven mosaics reveal the early gates to Palestine and there are also replicas of pieces he's seen while visiting the Netherlands and France.
Most Gazans cannot afford his works, but Abed has a few local customers, including resort owners along with other wealthy people who wish to decorate their dwellings with historical-looking artifacts. While that's something, company is just not as it once was.
"I used to be seen by foreigners, by consuls and ambassadors, by international businessmen and tourists," said Abed. "There aren't any foreigners today. The scenario got awful."
(Composing by Nidal Almughrabi; Editing by Luke Baker and Tom Heneghan)
Engagement Rings Under 5000
