October 27, 2002

Olive Harvest Festival

[Bethlehem, West Bank] Olives are big here in Palestine. Black or green, we have them with almost every meal. We cook with olive oil. We make crafts with olive wood. I've read that 80% of farming income in the area is from olives. So it is fitting that Bethlehem honors the olive with its Olive Harvest Festival. Today we experienced Palestinian cultural heritage with live pottery making, wood carving, mother-of-pearl carving, mosaic tile making, embroidery, and traditional bread baking. I missed most of the festival because I was enjoying an enormous delicious traditional lunch (with olives) at the home of two of my students, but I still managed to make it there at the end.

Traditional dancing and singing at the Olive Harvest Festival.

Canning olives -- use salt, lime, garlic, and some other stuff.

Nativity Church background. Olive Harvest Festival foreground.