Stories from Palestine Kristel

The Palestinians call it Akka, in English they say Acre, which goes back to how the Crusaders called the city, today we hear people referring to it as Akko and the root letters AK go back to the Egyptian execration texts in hieroglyphic script that mention AK already in the 19th century BC. 

Today we can talk about three parts of Akka: the old city inside the Ottoman walls on a peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea, the ancient city that dates back to early and middle bronze age on the Tel east of the old city and modern Akko that has developed in the last decades and now incorporates the ancient Tel, known in Arabic as Tel el Fukhar. 

When you visit Akka today, you will mainly see the remains of the Crusader period and the Ottoman period. The biggest tourist attractions are: the Crusader Knights' halls, the Crusader tunnel, the old city with its 'khans', the Al Jazzar mosque, the sea port with its fish restaurants, the suq and the Ottoman city walls. 

In this episode you can learn more about the ancient history of Akko. 

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On the Mediterranean coast you can find the ruins of a city that first became a large sized city during the Canaanite period. Of this period the oldest brick wall and arched gate have been excavated and can now be visited. You can even pass through the gate! The National Park in which the ruins of Asqalan can be visited has some very interesting sites: the biggest Roman basilica found in the area,  a Phoenician dog cemetery, an antilia (water wheel) that brought fresh water up from above the salt water table, a large sycamore tree, the remains of a Byzantine church, the remains of city walls from several time periods and of course you can enjoy the nature in the park and the Mediterranean Sea and beach!

Asqalan was one of the five Philistine cities that formed the Pentapolis: Gaza, Ashdod, Asqalan, Gath and Ekron. It is mentioned several times in the Bible.

To learn more about the history of Asqalan, listen to this episode!

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I have not been able to record new episodes recently because I am so busy with the Israeli tour guide course. Many people have asked me how that is going so I decided to record an episode about my experience in the first four months of this course.

In the meantime I got my tour guide license by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and I have taken the first small group into the Church of Nativity as a licensed tour guide. That was an amazing moment, especially because it took me almost 4 years to get that license!

And now I am also taking the course in Jerusalem so that I can be a licensed guide in all of the country. It is very interesting, challenging at times, a different narrative and a very diverse group of people. In this episode you can hear more about that!

If you want to get access to unique video content that I am taking during the tours then you can become a Ko-fi member and support the podcast and in return you get access to short videos with explanation. Use this link to find the Ko-fi page AND to connect to Stories from Palestine on social media:

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In the previous episode you could learn more about the history of the Church of Nativity, built over the birth cave of Jesus. In this episode I am taking you on a tour inside the Church to explain you some of its most interesting features. You can use this audio guide when you visit the church in Bethlehem but you can also listen to it from the comfort of your home or while you are walking, cleaning or commuting.

If you want to visit the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem with a real tour guide then you can reach out to me, I am a licensed tour guide by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism.

You can also read the transcript of this podcast on the website:
https://storiesfrompalestine.info/2023/03/04/nativity-church-audio-tour/

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The most visited site in Bethlehem is the Church of Nativity on Manger Square. It is the oldest church in the world that is still in use by the local community and that is visited by over two million pilgrims every year.

The Church of Nativity is on the UNESCO world heritage list together with the pilgrimage route that passes through today's Star Street. This is the road that Mary and Joseph would have taken to reach Bethlehem where they had to go because of the Roman census organized by Quirinius. When they did not find a place to sleep in a 'kataluma' which is often translated as inn, but in Bethlehem it is interpreted as a guestroom, they were offered to stay in one of the many caves that are so common in the landscape.

Most people in the West grow up with the image of Jesus in a wooden manger in a wooden stable. But the Church of Nativity is built over the cave that has a very early tradition of veneration for being the birthplace of Jesus.

In this episode we explore the history of the church and the biblical account. In the following episode you can go on an audio tour inside the Church!

If you want to read along you can find the full transcript of this episode on the website.

Use the linktree to find the website, social media and to make a donation!

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Mohamad Saleh grew up as a city boy. He never worked in a garden or grew his own food until he had an opportunity to travel to Turkey to be close to his partner and live for some time in a WWOOF project where he learned all about Permaculture.

When he came back to Palestine he decided to start working on bringing the concepts of permaculture closer to the community and he established 'Mostadam'

He emphasizes the importance of healing of individuals in general in order to be able to feel more compassion towards each other and towards nature.  He talks about how he is trying to work within the context of the political reality in Palestine as well as the natural environment, in areas with little rainfall and in refugee camps with little soil.

If you want to follow Mohamad on Instagram click here

About Mohamed 's Wwoof experience:
https://wwoofturkey.org/

Tips to read:

Book: The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka

https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/

Watch:
The Wanted 18
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt3946020/

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