Stories from Jerusalem / Al Quds

This is the first part of three episodes in which I will take you on a virtual guided podcast bus tour from Jerusalem to Jaffa. Just close your eyes, sit back and relax and from the comfort of your chair you can imagine the view! And if you want to see some photos and videos, then go to my Ko-fi page where I post unique material that I don't post anywhere else. Ko-fi is the platform that I us...

Thirty years ago, Nahed was one of the first women to start with yoga practice in Palestine. She started teaching even before she had the chance to go to India to get a teacher training. Now she is not the only one anymore. We speak with Nahed and with Eilda, the founder of Beit Ashams for self development about how important yoga and meditation are for body and soul. Especially in the Palestinian...

Beit Safafa was a Palestinian town between Jersualem and Bethlehem, before it was split into two halves in 1948 when the State of Israel was created. The Western half of the village, with the important Jaffa-Jerusalem railway, became part of Israel and the Eastern half was under Jordanian control. This situation remained so until Israel military occupied the Westbank of the Jordan River in 1967 an...

Sufism is a more mystical way of approach of the Islamic faith. Sufi scholars have defined it as the way to reach the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God. In this podcast episode I speak with Izzeldin Bukhari who stems from a family of important Sufi sheikhs from the Naqshabandi tradition. The family originates from Uzbekistan, but they have been living in the old cit...

On a sunny day in January 2021 we visit the Palestine Museum of Natural History in Bethlehem. We speak to the founder Mazin Qumsieh and his wife Jessie Chang and we take a tour around the ethnography museum and the garden.  This is where the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity is teaching children AND adults about the rich flora and fauna of Palestine. Palestine is located between Europe, Asia an...

From the REAL Bethlehem, in Palestine, a SPECIAL Christmas episode. We follow the road that Joseph and Mary must have taken on their way to the town and we talk to Christian and Muslim Palestinians about their understanding of the Christmas story and how they celebrate Christmas in the 'little town of Bethlehem.' They explain us about their THREE Christmas celebrations, that Jesus was NO...

This is the third and last episode of the Jericho trilogy that includes episodes 17 and 14.  In this last part of the tour we drive through the Jordan Valley and learn why the Westbank is called the Westbank while it is the eastern part of Palestine! We visit the baptismal site on the Jordan river, learn more about the Dead Sea and we hear from tour guide Kamal Mukarkar about the Essenes community...

The  oldest city in the world, the lowest point on earth, the longest cable car under sea level, remains of the most beautiful Umayyad desert palace in the region, a monastery hanging from the Mount of Temptation, swimming pools, date palm trees, the sycamore tree of Zaccheus and the water spring of Elisha. This and more, narrated by Kristel, student at the Bethlehem Bible College tour guide progr...

Rana Hijawi has a passion for wildlife in Palestine. She is a biology graduate from Birzeit University. She started an Instagram page where she posts photos of birds in Palestine. Palestine is on the crossing of three continents and famous for its bird migration route.  About 500 million migrating birds fly over Palestine yearly. Despite its small size Palestine has very diverse landscapes. The co...

My husband and I spent a weekend in Nazareth and had a wonderful time. I interviewed the owners of Al Hakim family guesthouse. The father is a tour guide. Several women revived the old city of Nazareth after it had become a ghost town. I spoke to Amani, the owner of Amani Cafe about what happened in the old city and about the new vibe. Walking around the old town I visited two art galleries and sp...

A guided tour from Bethlehem towards Jericho with a visit to the Good Samaritan Inn and Maqam Nabi Musa. An episode with history, stories from the 'holy land' and the reality of life in Palestine today. I study the tour guide program at the Bethlehem Bible College.  As part of our studies we make excursions to the historical sites. Our tour guide is a Christian Palestinian called Kamal M...

What is dabke dance, how did this traditional Palestinian dance came into existence and what role does it play in the Palestinian society?  I talk to Sharaf DarZaid, a dancer, choreographer and arts manager. He is also the choreographer of the new Palestinian Jerusalema dance challenge video that was published  a week ago on Monday 2 November.  Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbuJ...

The olive harvest is still going on in Palestine, until mid November. Last week I took you on the fields to experience the harvest. This week we learn from Maissoun Sharkawi about the history of the olive tree and the importance for the Palestinians as part of their cultural heritage and economy. Maissoun  is a researcher and lecturer. She holds a Ph. D. in History from the University of Lorraine-...

This is a special episode about the olive harvest in Palestine in the Dutch language. For the English version go to episode 10 Op verzoek van Stichting Plant een Olijfboom heb ik een speciale Nederlandstalige episode gemaakt over de olijfoogst in Palestina. Sinds 2016 heb ik geen enkel jaar de olijfoogst periode in Palestina gemist. Het is mijn favoriete tijd van het jaar. Families en vrienden gaa...

Join me on the field for a day of olive picking. An annual event that takes place from mid October until mid November. The olives are harvested manually, mostly with family members and friends, and the olive oil is for home use, sold at the local market and what remains is exported. We went out with some friends to help Daoud on the land of his grandfather. You can hear the typical sounds of the o...

Every day my husband and I cross the military checkpoint to drive our children to school in Beit Jalla and to go to our Cafe and Bar in Bethlehem.  This time I am taking you with me on the ride for a virtual tour from Beit Safafa to Beit Jalla. We pass through the village, get on the route 60 into the Westbank and pass a settlement, the wall, a checkpoint and we have to make a detour because there...

During a visit to Aref Sayed, instrument maker, in his workshop in Beit Sahour, I meet ud player Canaan Ghoul who is a professional musician. We talk about Palestinian music instruments, Palestinian music and a new invention that Aref did for the qanun. Canaan improvises on the ud. I also talk to Faris Ishaq about his instrument, the ney, an ancient flute, and with Shafeeq Alsadi about the qanun....

Jerusalem in English, Al Quds in Arabic, Yerushalaim in Hebrew. The city that is holy to all three monotheistic religions has different names. During its long history it has had many more names. The earliest written accounts date back to the Middle Bronze age when Egyptians wrote the name Rusalim on pottery that they used to smash during a ritual to curse an enemy city. The city has been captured...

This week's episode is an interview with Amer Zahr, a Palestinian-American comedian, activist, speaker, writer and academic. Amer talks and jokes about Palestine, about cultural differences, about American politics and in this interview he calls me out for not giving my children enough chocolate!!!  Amer uses humor as a tool to educate people on Palestine.  He sees comedy as a way of protest,...

Learning about Palestine should definitely include stories about daily life, cultural habits and traditions. This episode contains a cheerful chat with Najuan, a Palestinian woman who lives in the Netherlands. She lives in my country and I live in hers. We laugh about cultural differences and personal experiences. How Dutch people always think Najuan dresses her daughter too many clothes while Pal...

Don't you feel sometimes that you want to leave everything behind for a while, all the worldly possessions, responsibilities, technology and drama!? Maybe you should try spend some time in the desert! The Jerusalem desert was already popular for hermits since the 3rd century AD. It is estimated that around 10.000 monks lived in the desert in caves and monasteries. Some of these still exist an...

The reason why I really like Ayed's art work, is that I KNOW there is a STORY behind each painting, installation or sculpture. The story is usually two fold. It teaches you something about the Palestinian society and the times we live in, but it is also a window to Ayed's soul. Even for Ayed himself his art work helps him to discover who he really is and who he wants to be within the con...

If you love any of these you should definitely listen to this episode: stories, history, geology, heritage and of course Palestine! I am going to reveal an obsession I developed while living in Palestine. It is a feature that was not common to me, coming from the Netherlands. It has shaped this country and its people to the point where when you know what it is, you will not stop thinking about its...

Seven years ago I moved from the Netherlands to live with my Palestinian husband in East Jerusalem. My life here is full of stories. I love sharing the unexpected side of Palestine. As a tour guide I talk about history, heritage, flora and fauna, as Kristel, I have my personal experiences to share. In this episode Vivien Sansour talks about the importance of heirloom seeds and the cultural heritag...