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.
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
