IMEU Institute for Middle East Understanding
Children wait on their balconies for the musaharati, the man who roams the roads, beating drums to wake up the neighborhood to have the predawn suhoor meal and get ready to fast until sunset. Both children and adults watch for the musaharati, as people stay up all night long during Ramadan. When he appears, he is greeted with cheers and some even go out on the street to offer him gifts.
on July 9, 2015
A tiny Christian enclave in the overwhelmingly Muslim West Bank has for years crafted the only Palestinian beer and brought thousands of visitors flocking to its annual beer fest. Now, it is adding wine to its list of libations, hoping a boutique winery will be another tourist draw and contribute to keeping the small village afloat.
on November 3, 2014
Photo Essays
Thirty years ago during a snowstorm in the village of Al Walajeh, 70-year-old Abu Nidal found a broken pine tree and nursed it back to life. In 30 years, the tree grew several meters high making it a landmark in his village and a source of pride for Abu Nidal whose life’s work has been dedicated to tending the land. Today, Abu Nidal’s tree lays at the edge of one of the last remaining stone terraces on his land, which has been confiscated for the building of the Israeli Segregation Wall.
on July 22, 2014
Testimonies
Its formula is strikingly simple - a combination of virgin olive oil, water, and a basic sodium compound - but the history of the olive soap industry in the West Bank city of Nablus has been a complex one of development in the face of constant adversity, ranging from natural disasters to an ongoing military occupation.
on March 11, 2008
Cuisine
A pot simmers over the stove cooking garbanzo beans that take turns bobbing to the surface. It's the first step to making a dish that is synonymous with Palestinian culture and cuisine. For some it arouses images of family huddled over the breakfast table on a Sunday morning, their arms extended, snippets of bread in hand as they dip into velvety hummus that is adorned by adjacent dishes like fried eggplant sprinkled with sumac.
on March 31, 2006