Centre of Local Culture Arraba

Centre of Local Culture

Arraba

A Palestinian town located 13 kilometers southwest of Jenin city in the north of the West Bank. Arraba and its surrounding villages (Burqin, Sanour, Kfiret, Jaba’, Ya’bad, Toura) contain beautiful palaces and ruins that date back to the Ottoman rule.

When you visit the CLC in Arraba you will be travelling through time, from the stone and bronze ages to the Canaanite and Byzantine eras and up until today. This CLC is located north of the West Bank and is between the villages of: Arraba, Sanour, Ya’bad, Burqin, Kfiret, Toura and Jaba’.

You will explore the palaces of ruling families from the past, castles that protected the area, churches that still smell of old incense, Roman wells and springs that still provide fresh water, Sufi shrines which still standing on the hills; multiple worlds that will instantly attract you to a journey between times.

In the mountain environmental trail, you will pass through gardens and forests. You will sit under the tree that used to gather people in weddings; you will also pass by the tree of “Banat Al’eed”, the tree that held the wishes of young girls.

You will also get the chance to meet BasemaAl’ardah, a local herb healer who inherited this job from her family and still attracts people searching for health from all around Palestine.

The next stop will be at Canaan Fair Trade Company one of the leading fair trade companies in Palestine and the Middle East and which had a great impact on the local economy.

The role of women here is not limited only to food production and hosting but is actually highly active and visitors will recognize its legal, social and economic aspects by visiting a number of women's organizations and successful projects.
Some of the activities that will be available for visitors include: olive oil soap making, Arabic calligraphy, make your own dish workshop, graffiti, artistic and cultural performances.

The area has one of the most important historic churches in Palestine (Saint George Church in Burqin village). It is considered to be the fifth-oldest Christian holy place and the fourth-oldest church in the world.

Some Monuments and Landmarks:

o   Dothan Hill: one of the major historical places in Palestine, and it is 3 kilometers to the east of Arrabeh. The excavations in this location showed the inhabitation of this area for 19 respective historical periods especially the bronze Kana’ani era.

o   Al Abdel Hadi Palaces: are located on the East Hill, and 2 of them were repaired by funds from the UNDP.

o   Burqin Church or St. George's Church is a Byzantine-era Orthodox Christian church in thePalestinian West Bank town of Burqin. It is considered to be the fifth-oldest Christian holy place and the third-oldest church in the world. The church has been restored several times and is currently in use by the village's small Orthodox Christian community.

o   Sanur Castle or Jarrar castle in Sanur was owned by the ruling family of the village and is now considered a touristic location.

 

Workshops:

In Arraba CLC a number of participative workshops will be offered by the local community to the guests:

·       Olive Oil Soap making workshop

·       Cooking (Make your own dish) workshop

·       Story telling session

·       Movie nights

Accommodation:

In ArrabaCLC the guests will be hosted in homestays spread all over the villages that compose the Arraba CLC. Different houses will offer the accommodation services in Arraba, Burqin, Toura villages where guests will have the opportunity to closely socialize with the families and get to know and experience the local traditions and habits of the Palestinian people.

Food and catering:

A number of local restaurants and women associations will provide the traditional food for the three meals and middle day snack. The food will be prepared mainly by the hands of the local women

following the local homemade inherited recipes for the different dishes like : Mosakhan, Maqlooba, FattetHommus.

Local Guides: the youth of Arrabeh are really interested in giving tours, also they have an experience in doing so, they have good language skills and they know their area and the stories that lay there.

The cultural and entertaining activities:

Women, young and elder people will all participate in organizing of local participative evening programs that will include traditional dances and folkloric performances from the territory like the Palestinian wedding, Zajal ,Dabka, Dalona . This kind of events will allow the guests to enjoy their evenings and mingle with the local community.

Role of local community in the CLC:

In Arraba CLC women, elder and young people are willing to participate in providing different services as follows :

·       Women will provide homestays to the tourists , thus, generating income to their families;

·       Women will provide  meals and food to the guests either through the women associations or individually;

·       Women will compose  about 50% of the executive committee of the CLC;

·       Women will organize  traditional cooking classes, handicraft classes

·       Women will be a basic source of information about the local  culture, traditions,  and customs particularly that they will guide guests through the visits to the women associations and the period of home staying.

·       Young people will organize discussion circles with the guest particularly for the cultural – political kind of tourism;

·       Young people will  will provide local guides who will escort tourists during the tours;

·       Elder people will participate basiclly in organizing the storry telling sessions where they inherented lots of traditional stories to be told about the territory and its culture and history.

·       Young people particularly sport groups will participate in designing and handling different routes (by road, by bike, trekking)along the same destinations presented through the touristic packages