 In 1348 the Bubonic Plague spread to the city , killing the majority of its inhabitants , and in 1352 , Gaza suffered a destructive flood — which was rare in that arid part of Palestine . However , by 1355 , the Berber traveler Ibn Batutta visited the city and noted that it was " large and populous , and has many mosques . But there were no walls round it . There was here of old a fine Jami ' Mosque ( the Great Mosque ) , but the one present [ ly ] used was built by Amir Jawli [ Sanjar al @-@ Jawli ] . " 
