Images of Palestine

This week I'll go light on the narrative and heavy on the images.  But first, I have a simple request for my readers.  Next Friday's blog will consist of an interview with my mother-in-law, who will be wrapping up a 2 1/2 week visit to Palestine, and I want to ask her the questions that are on your mind.  Send me a question to ask her so you can learn about Palestine through the eyes of a first-time visitor.  Questions about the food,  people, sites, security, transportation, etc. are welcome.  Submit your questions through the comments feature--for those of you who were unable to leave comments last week, I changed my settings to allow anybody to leave a comment.  I'll interview her next Friday for next week's post.

Now, onto scenes from Palestine:

Ramallah at sunset.  The Mediterranean lies 50 miles west of Ramallah, so each evening the sun splashes into the sea.

A lone figure high above the valley near Aboud rests during hike.

Jerusalem on Casual Friday.  The Western Wall and Dome of the Rock can be seen in the distance.

Peace in the Middle East!  This image adorned the inside of a mini-bus.

On the other hand...  Apparently Saddam Hussein is admired because he supported Palestine.  When I recently asked a Palestinian whether Saddam really did anything to help Palestinians, he said, yes because he went to war with Israel.  This imagine is in the roundabout in a small town called Beit Reema.

Bananas are tasty in all languages.  In Arabic, these are called "moz."

Your local food co-op was not the first store to sell nuts and seeds in bulk.  Stores here sell pasta, spices, legumes, coffee, dried fruits, oats, grain, and flour by the kilo.

Springtime in Palestine means fresh fruit, ripened and unripened.  Palestinians tend to eat fruit at an unripened stage.  Almonds, apricots, cherries, crabapples, garbanzo beans, peaches, and even wheat (freekeh) are harvested and eaten before fully ripe.  Some turn out to be surprisingly good--others fall flat (in our opinion).

And finally, here's is a video from a lively traditional Palestinian dance performance we saw a few weeks ago as part of the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival:

I hope you've enjoyed this short tour of Palestine.  Next week I will post an interview with my mother-in-law using your questions, so tell me what you'd like to know.