ISTANBUL, April 10, 2010 (WAFA)- Turkish architect Filiz Erol, a graduate of the University of Westminster’s architecture department, is taking part in the reconstruction of an abandoned neighborhood in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Today’s Zaman reported Saturday.
Erol’s family immigrated to England when she was 10 years old, and they have lived there for many years. Since completing her education, Erol has become involved in a number of architectural projects. A request from one of her instructors at university led Erol to the reconstruction project in an abandoned neighborhood in Ramallah.
Erol visited Ramallah last week with a group of students. Accusing Israel of demolishing Palestinian culture, the Turkish architect took some photos during her visit and organized an exhibition in London to inform other people about the living conditions in Ramallah.
“We are working in cooperation with architects in Palestine. Thanks to our reconstruction project, many people will return to their abandoned neighborhood. We are also trying to prevent Israel from destroying Palestine, its history and its culture,” said Erol.
Erol stated that they faced many difficulties while going to Palestine to carry out their research. “We had to pass through Israel to arrive in Palestine. However, when we landed at the airport in Israel, Israeli officials made things difficult for us, but especially the Muslim individuals in our group. They asked why we hadn’t chosen to carry out a project in Israel rather than Palestine,” said Erol.
Erol and her group will draft a number of designs for the Ramallah project, and Palestinian officials will choose the best project. Erol and her friends have carried out the necessary research in the city and have returned to London to complete their designs.
Erol said the visit was the experience of a lifetime for her and her friends. They were greatly inspired by the Palestinian people, who are living under difficult conditions.
Erol’s family is proud of her for devoting her time to important causes such as contributing to Palestinian people who are in need of help, Today’s Zaman concluded.
