Stories from Jerusalem / Al Quds

In this episode I speak with Yousef Khoury, which translates to Joseph the priest, a Christian Palestinian originally from Gaza, who now lives in Bethlehem. He is the 43rd generation in his family of which 36 generations were priests in the Orthodox priesthood. He studied biblical studies at the Bethlehem Bible College, he has a masters of divinity in theology and mission from the US and is curren...

Where did the name Palestine come from and for how long has it been in use? After reading the book "Palestine a four thousand year history" by Nur Masalha, a Palestinian historian and academic, it became clear that the name Palestine has been used since the 13th century BC until today. Only in the last decades did the use of the name Palestine become estranged, with the establishment of...

During this episode I will take you on an audio tour to the Sea of Galilee where we will visit Bethsaida, Chorazin, Capernaum, Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes. These are pilgrimage locations related to places where according to tradition Jesus lived, spoke to his followers, visited synagogues and did miracles. Disclaimer: I am a trained tour guide at the Bethlehem Bible College, I am not a theo...

Apo Sahagian is a singer and works in different artistic related projects in Jerusalem. He is also the host of the podcast 'Apo and the city'. He grew up in the old city of Jerusalem in the Armenian quarter. His family came to Jerusalem in the 1920s when many Armenians fled from the genocide committed by the Ottoman empire. In this episode Apo gives us more insight into the Armenian comm...

In this episode you can hear an interview with Colette Ghunim about the film 'Traces of Home' that she has been working on for the past years. The film brings her parents back to Mexico and Palestine from where they respectively were forced to leave due to different circumstances. Colette grew up in a suburb of Chicago and was never really exposed to her roots as her parents were trying...

In the previous episode you could hear an introduction to the history of the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem. This episode can be used as an audio tour when you are visiting the Church. Start on the square in front of the main entrance. If you are listening from elsewhere you can follow the description and use your imagination! There are lots of photos online as well as YouTube videos.  Here is...

One of the most visited sites in the old city of Jerusalem is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is where Christians venerate the place where Jesus was crucified and where he was buried in a tomb. Pilgrims that visit Jerusalem will follow the 'way of the cross' or in Latin the 'Via Dolorosa', the way of his suffering. On the route there are 14 stations where the pilgrims st...

A short episode recorded under the olive tree in the garden to update you on the crowdfunding for the fees of the tour guide program in Jerusalem! With good news that we reached the goal! Including a shout out to some of the donors but I couldn't mention everybody because there are 69 people who supported me!! Also an update about the visit to the Open House of the School of Tourism and the E...

After a long summer break I am back with new episodes. But from now on you can listen to the podcast bi-weekly.  In this episode I will tell you about my new plans for this coming year and I need YOUR help (and help of all my friends, relatives and podcast listeners!) to proceed with this plan. That's why I am explaining you why I think it is an important step in my life and how you can help...

In this episode you can hear all about the Visit Palestine October program that Saleem and myself are organizing! This 10-days program includes a full day of olive picking and two nights with local families in the village of Abud. We will visit many of the people and places that you have heard about in the last two years of podcast episodes! We will start the program on Monday 3 October with an in...

 In the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where Israeli settlers are in the process of taking over many Palestinian houses, there is an archive where Palestinians can store their photos, diaries, posters and other tangible documents. It is the first Palestinian run archive that is trying to collect memories, history AND documents that are produced TODAY, to store them for future generations. The init...

 In 1999 Al-Quds University created the “Community Action Center” (“CAC”), a semi autonomous association, which aims to empower the Palestinian community in East Jerusalem. The CAC aims to empower the disadvantaged Palestinians of East Jerusalem to access their rights and entitlements and negotiate the complex bureaucratic procedures that control the flow of these rights. Most Palestinian inhabita...

In the Naqab desert you can find the Nabatean desert cities that were established on the incense and spices route. This was a very important trade route that stretched over about 1800 kilometers from Yemen / Oman until the port in Gaza. The trade was mainly in frankincense and myrrh, but also pearls, gold and cotton were traded. As the camels needed to stop every 35 kilometers to rest and drink, t...

With a group of fifteen Palestinians and foreigners we visited the Arak distillery of Nader Muaddi in Beit Jalla. This podcast episode was recorded during his presentation. Nader Muaddi is very passionate about the craft of distilling Arak and the Palestinian heritage of this product. Arak is the oldest spirit in the world. Every single spirit comes from the roots of Arak. It started in the 8th /...

In this episode you can hear Nadim Nashif and Mona Shtaya who both work for 7amleh, The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media and Digital Rights in the Palestinian context.    We talk about several aspects of their work. For example how social media is censoring Palestinians and others with a pro-Palestinian message. Many Palestinians have their social media profiles shut down without a...

This site is technically not in Palestine but in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. It is only a few kilometers west of Tel el Qadi (Tel Dan) and it is really a beautiful ancient site with an interesting history. It was the most northern part of the region that Jesus ever visited and according to the Bible it was here that he first confirmed to his disciples that he was the Messiah. Banias is call...

In this episode you can hear Palestinian American activist Abbas Hamideh, the founder of Al Awda for the right of return of Palestinians and the founder of the immensely popular Facebook group Mama's Palestinian Kitchen! Abbas was  born in Puerto Rico and grew up in the United States. When he was 12 years old his father took him to his homeland, Palestine. They went to Deir Yassin, in West Je...

On Sunday 17 April I took the bus from Beit Safafa to the old city to join a tour in Silwan with Emek Shaveh, an Israeli NGO that, in their own words, works  to defend cultural heritage rights and to protect ancient sites as public assets that belong to members of all communities, faiths and peoples. That day was Easter Sunday for the Catholic Church, Pesach for the Jews and Ramadan for the Muslim...

This is the fourth year that I use the month of Ramadan to deepen my own spirituality and break with some habits that I don't want to continue with and introduce new habits. They say if you do something for three weeks, it becomes a habit. During the four weeks of Ramadan I do not drink alcohol, I refrain from eating sugar and processed food and I focus on eating fresh vegetables, fruits and...

For the full transcript of this podcast click the transcript tab next to the show notes tab or go to the website:   https://storiesfrompalestine.info/2022/04/08/south-hebron-hills/ Sami Huraini is a young Palestinian activist from the village of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. His village, just as many other Palestinian villages in that region, is in area C, which is under full Israeli milita...

The month of Ramadan 2022 started in Palestine on the second of April. Between sunrise and sunset Muslims refrain from eating. When they break their fasting, they usually start by eating a date. They do this because according to the tradition prophet Mohamad used to break his fasting by eating a date. Dates have many health benefits and they are a healthy replacement for refined sugar. In Palestin...

Masada comes from the Hebrew word Metzad and this means fortress. It is basically a fortress that was built on top of a rock plateau. It is located very close to the Dead Sea and it is a bit south of the Westbank, so it is not accessible to Palestinians from the Westbank currently. The fortress was built in the time of Herod the Great who prepared it to be able to withstand a long siege. The rock...

This episode was recorded in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, during our visit to Aida Youth Center where the director, Anas, spoke to us about the history of the refugee problem and life in the refugee camp. There are 19 refugee camps in the Westbank, three of them are located in Bethlehem. Aida refugee camp is the most teargassed place in the world. There is an Israeli army base right next to the...

The Mount of Olives is situated to the East of the old city of Jerusalem. The Mount plays an important role in the Bible. It is the place where Jesus taught his disciples to pray. It is the place from where Jesus looked at Jerusalem and wept for its future destruction. It is also from here that Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and was welcomed by a crowd covering the street with palm branches....

Five years ago, in 2017, the Walled Off Hotel opened its doors in Bethlehem. After a period of two years closure because of the Covid pandemic, the hotel has recently reopened. The hotel is marketed as the hotel with the worst view, as it is located only a few meters from the eight meters high concrete wall that Israel built to carve out Rachel's tomb and a parking lot from Bethlehem for the...