Stories from Jerusalem / Al Quds

Kristel

As a tour guide in Jerusalem, I have developed many tours with different themes, that take you all around the city and sometimes we travel further out to other interesting historical places.   If you have an interest in the history of Jerusalem, then you should definitely enjoy these stories and hopefully you will join one or more tours with me in the future! E-mail: kristelguide@gmail.com

  1. The Palestinian Heritage Museum in Jerusalem part 1

    24/02/2025

    The Palestinian Heritage Museum in Jerusalem part 1

    A couple of years ago I received three pieces of embroidery that used to be the chest pieces of Palestinian dresses. The Palestinian dress is called a 'thob' in Arabic. The person who gave them to me said she had received them from an Israeli woman who had said: “these were from the people who used to live here”  As she didn't know what to do with them, she handed them to me. I also didn't know what was the best thing to do so I asked a Palestinian friend who is a designer and knowledgeable about Palestinian heritage. She then referred me to the Palestinian Heritage Museum in Jerusalem where I met with Bahaa Jubeh, the curator. In this first episode you will learn more about the museum as we take a tour of the ground floor that focuses on all kinds of heritage objects such as pottery, straw items, copper pots, metal objects and agricultural tools.  The audio quality of this episode is not studio quality as we recorded it in the rooms of the museum that produced quite a bit of echo.  The second episode that I will upload is a tour of the upper floor of the museum where we focus on the history of the traditional Palestinian thobs and embroidery.  Find out more about the Palestinian Heritage Museum: https://dartifl.org/ Facebook: @palestinianheritagemuseum Instagram: @dta_palestinianheritagemuseum Send a text Support the show Find me on Instagram @StoriesfromJerusalem Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine

    24 min
  2. A house in Jerusalem, interview with filmmaker Muayad Elayyan

    05/10/2024

    A house in Jerusalem, interview with filmmaker Muayad Elayyan

    Recently the kids and I watched the film 'A house in Jerusalem' by filmmaker Muayad Elayyan who happens to be a far cousin and friend of my husband Tariq. Although he told me that he had a small role as an extra in this film, which he's had in all Muayad's films, I did NOT recognize him. Turns out the policeman in the scene when Rebecca wanders off from the summer school activity in Jerusalem and ends up with the Palestinian puppeteer, is MY husband!! We only realized at the end of the film when we saw his name in the end credits, that we had missed out on recognizing him. It was a hilarious moment when we played it again and then figured out the policeman was Tariq! Muayad visits Singer Cafe regularly so it wasn't hard to catch him for a podcast interview. After his earlier films: 'The reports on Sarah and Saleem' and 'Love Theft and Other Entanglements' this film 'A House in Jerusalem' is the latest. It came out in January 2023 and it is still being shown at film festivals around the world. In this film a British Jewish girl named Rebecca comes with her father to Jerusalem after her mother has died in a tragic car accident. Her grandfather has a house in West Jerusalem where they can live. They are both overwhelmed with the trauma of losing the mother, but the father is trying to make things work in their new environment. Rebecca explores the garden, finds an old well, manages to open it and finds a traditional rag doll in the well. This leads her to connect with the ghost of the young Palestinian girl Rasha. What follows is the story of what happened to this girl Rasha during the 1948 Nakba when the family was forcibly displaced from their home. In the podcast interview with Muayad we touch on many aspects of the film and on Muayad's personal family history. His both grandparents were displaced from their homes. The theme of intergenerational trauma both on an individual level as well as on the collective level are very present in the film. Muayad could never have imagined that his film would come out just months before the 7th of October and before the ethnic cleansing campaign in the Gaza strip. "There are many parallels to what happened in 1948 and what is happening in Gaza." If you want to follow up with news of screenings of the film then this is the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ahouseinjerusalem  Send a text Support the show Find me on Instagram @StoriesfromJerusalem Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine

    1h 3m
  3. Palestinian children's choir Amwaj

    29/09/2024

    Palestinian children's choir Amwaj

    On a Friday evening in September I attended a beautiful concert of the Amwaj children's choir in Bethlehem. I had tears rolling down my eyes. Not only did the choir sound so beautiful, but also did I realize what Palestinian children in the Westbank are suffering through. And how their peers in Gaza are losing everything, their houses, their beloved ones, their schools, their chances, their future, their hope... I decided to interview Michele Cantoni, an Italian musician (violinist) who established the Amwaj choir with his wife Mathilde Vittu, the Choir Director. The Amwaj choir has two branches, one in Hebron and one in Bethlehem. Children who want to be part of the choir have to commit to all the rehearsals and the performances.  There is no fee, the choir is for free, available to all children who want to make the commitment. The repertoire consists of songs in many different languages. They have performed in different parts of Palestine as well as in France, Belgium and Italy. This year they adapt the choice of the songs to the current reality with themes like solidarity and freedom. In this episode you can hear some soundbites that I recorded during the concert and of course the interview I did with Michele a few days later. If you want to read more about the Amwaj choir or if you want to contact Michele and Mathilde please go to : https://amwajchoir.org  Send a text Support the show Find me on Instagram @StoriesfromJerusalem Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine

    35 min

About

As a tour guide in Jerusalem, I have developed many tours with different themes, that take you all around the city and sometimes we travel further out to other interesting historical places.   If you have an interest in the history of Jerusalem, then you should definitely enjoy these stories and hopefully you will join one or more tours with me in the future! E-mail: kristelguide@gmail.com

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