back to jifna...

A week or so ago there was the annual "Mish Mish (Apricot) Festival" in Jifna. The festival is held every year to celebrate the apricot harvest in the small farming village and to show support to local Palestinian farmers. As we started walking down the narrow road that led to the location of the festival, I was amazed by the amount of people streaming away from and towards the activities. It seemed to be the event of the week in Palestine. As we approached I immediately spotted about 5 classic American cars. I was shocked. Classic cars, especially American ones, are pretty much non existent in Palestine. I couldn't believe my eyes -- I was a very happy girl.

We then entered the main square where there were booths upon booths of local Palestinian products on display and for sale. I liken it to an American-style county fair, only without the white trash people and with much better food and music. There were mosaics from Riha (Jericho), glass works from Hebron, hand-stitched embroidery from local villages, many many food and agricultural products, and of course apricots! We all walked around people watching and eating our apricots, which by the way were ridiculously delicious. There was a huge stage set up where there was a full band/orchestra and choir playing glorious traditional Palestinian and Arab music to a crowd of hundreds. It was so beautiful! I felt so privileged to be able to experience something that felt so pridefully and nationalistically Palestinian. Viva Palestina!!

music in jifna...

A couple weeks back a friend of a friend of a friend's band from Italy was in Palestine to do a few performances. After hearing very good things about them me and a few friends decided to go to one of their shows that was being held in the village of Jifna, which is located just north of Ramallah. First of all, Jifna is amazing! Such a beautiful town, with its ancient architecture and wonderful hidden treasures like an underground olive press and Ottoman-era tunnels. I was immediately taken upon seeing the place.

It seems that they had completely cordoned off the main square of the old city to make way for the performance, which was also a celebration of the 6-7 university students who had recently graduated from nearby Birzeit University. The whole village, young and old, had turned out. The atmosphere in the square was amazing. The stage had been set up on the ruins of an ancient building -- the band had to climb arched staircases to reach it. The walls of the shops that encircled the square were lined with chairs where old Palestinian men sat drinking their coffee and smoking their nargileh, elderly women gathered in their traditional dress, teenagers crossed their arms, and children ate their ice cream. It was a beautiful sight indeed.

The music was so fitting for this celebratory evening -- danceable and non-evasive. It was a crazy mix of reggae, ska, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean -- they sang in English, Italian, and a little Arabic with a wide array of instruments. I couldn't get over how surreal the whole thing felt. It felt as if I was in a movie -- the atmosphere, the smiles on the faces of the locals (their friendliness unforgettable), the ancient ruins, the ambient lighting, the company. It was, dare I say, a perfect evening.

even more randomness...

I love walking in the middle of a city of thousands of people and having to watch my step for fear of the dreaded goat dropping.

Is Ramallah really that pretentious that there are even mediocre restaurants that require making a reservation?

It is beyond me why I would choose Palestine out of all places to discover the glories of squash.

The more I go to Nablus, the more I like it -- complete with its boulevards, kanefeh, parks, bullet-ridden refugee camps, and magnificently beautiful old city.

Only in Palestine do you have to seriously wonder whether what you just heard was fireworks or gunshots; on the same notion, only in Palestine is it normal when it is gunshots.

I find it ever illuminating how incredibly generous people in Palestine are: a place where a late night trip from Nablus to Ramallah can turn into a kanafeh sharing and eating party.

One of my favorite things to see in the morning on my way to work is the various "ke'k" carts. The sound of the vendors yelling "ke'k" to announce the arrival of their fresh batch of special sesame bread is music to my ears. The sight of them rolling their carts up and down the streets never fails to make me smile.

I was told the other day by a 6 year old girl not to eat with my left hand because it is dirty. Thanks for that.

Friday for me consisted of stumbling upon an Israeli movie set, making friends with a 14 year old kid named Abdul, falling asleep at an office, playing squash to my heart's content, going to a barbecue and filling up on wonderful meats and salads, smoking mint nargileh, attending a "mish-mish" (apricot) festival along with hundreds of Palestinians, and laughing at a friend's attempt to translate the word mechanic into English.

al-bazan...

on the way to Al-Bazan

The same day I went to Sebastiya the other week, I also went to a glorious place just to the north east of Nablus called Al-Bazan. We drove through the Askar refugee camp with its streets lined with mechanic shops and old men sitting on their plastic chairs in the shade. At some point outside of the city we rounded a corner and I saw a large, decrepit, abandoned ferris wheel taking over the horizon. Its faded, but still present colors were a wonderful contrast to the blue sky and the brown mountains. So lovely, and although forgotten about, still there.

photo from americanintifada.com

Once we reached Al-Bazan it was obvious by the amount of traffic that this was a very popular spot for the locals. Up until recently the region was completely isolated because of an Israeli checkpoint on the main road leading from the village to the south of the West Bank, which made it extremely difficult for people to travel freely to and from the village. Because of this, the village (which has been a very popular spot for locals for many years) suffered economically. Al-Bazan houses an abundant spring - so abundant that the streets almost seemed to be flowing with water. Typically where there is a spring, there is also greenery and oasis like settings -- these places provide a temporary escape for Palestinians in light of occupation.

We ended up going to a park that is owned by family friends of O and Ma'moun. This place was indescribable. It had a flowing river/canal running through the middle. surrounded by paths, trees, shubbery, etc. In each section of the canal were tables where you could sit and have a barbecue with friends and family. When we first arrived I spotted a table of old Palestinian men sitting in water up to their calves, playing chess or maybe checkers while smoking nargileh. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. The sound and coolness of the water along with the shade from the trees to protect from the hot Middle Eastern sun made this place extremely relaxing and calm.

We had ourselves some food -- watermelon (which is cooled by submerging it in the cold water) is in season right now and can be purchased pretty much on every street corner (there are vendors in the most random places). We had some nargileh and tea afterwards as the sun started to set. A wonderful, relaxing way to round out the day.

double-fisting" the nargileh

sebastiya...

A couple of weekends ago I went with V, O, Ma'moun, and Dalool to Sebastiya, which is a small farming village just northwest of Nablus. As soon as we entered the outskirts of the village we started to see beautiful, vintage tractors dotting the roadsides. O has a bit of a fascination about them and admits that he would move to Sebastiya just for the tractors! As it was Friday, the town was quiet as we drove through slowly trying to find our way to the Roman ruins. Something I find beautiful about Palestinian men is that they are not afraid to roll down the window and ask for directions. In turn, the "director," as it were, acts as if we are all old chums and leans in close as he points and directs us where to go. I believe on our way to and through Sebastiya I think we stopped at least 3 times to make sure that we were going in the right way.

We arrived at our destination and the following description found on http://www.nablusguide.com/ sums the place up pretty nicely:

We enter the site by the Roman forum, a large artificial quadrangle built in the Herodian era, on the end of which are the remnants of the civil basilica, the shape of which is visible by the few still standing columns. North of the forum, from the platform behind the cafeteria there is a plunging view on what used to be the race track a few columns beneath show us where the gates stood. A path, leaving the north end of the basilica leads up to the acropolis. We quickly arrive to the Roman theatre, maybe built over the Herodian theatre behind which can be seen a large round semi-cylindrical tower. This ruin is one of the most beautiful Hellenistic monuments of Palestine. Built around -320 it is stuck in a Israelite wall and connected to a Hellenistic wall which was part of the fortifications of the acropolis built during Alexander the Great’s era . From the seats one has a beautiful view over the hills of Samaria.

The path leads up to the Acropolis through olive and fruit tree plantations, and leads to the steps of the temple of Augustus, built in -25 by Herod. Before it is a large square courtyard where the alter was. At the top of the steps, on the floor of what was the “cella” of the temple, elements of Doric columns are scattered. The large room was surrounded by two long hallways. To the south was a building with three rooms, the use of which has not yet been determined by archeologists. But under the temple a neighborhood of the Hellenistic city was discovered, under which was the palace of the kings of Israel. Here is where the famous ivories that are kept at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem were found. Going around the digs on the southern side, we notice the bases of the columns that once lined the main street of the roman city, and that date back to the reign of Septimius Severus. We quickly reach a small church built by the crusaders and dedicated to Saint John Baptist. It was built between the 11th and 12th centuries, on the crypt where according to Jean Phocas (1185), the head of the Precursor was found.

I can't describe how beautiful and peaceful this place was and we had it all to ourselves! The view was so lovely overlooking the hills and villages of Palestine. We even spotted some ancient olive trees that were more than likely from the Roman era -- evident by their large, knotty trunks and branches. Old pieces of pottery were everywhere we went and after doing a little digging, which I probably could have done all day, we found even more. I tried to imagine what is was like in its glory days, with its opulent marble, paved roads, and bustling courtyards.


I am ever surprised by all there is to see in Palestine. I so badly want the world to know of these beautiful destinations -- Sebastiya, Nablus, St. George's Monastery, Wadi Qelt, Hisham's Palace, etc. I want the world to know of the hospitable nature of the Palestinians. I want the world to know that Palestine is not scary; that it is surprisingly lovely and full of things to see and places to visit. I want the world to know that it is ok to come here and that their lives would be greatly enriched if ever they did.