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London-Islamic Tourism
London is celebrating this week the craft and traditional skills of Jerusalem and other Palestinian cities. The Palestinian Trade Fair brought the souvenirs of Jerusalem to London, together with the local skills of wood carving, shell work, olive oil, dress making, embroideries, carpets, potteries and other crafts.
The Association of Craft and Souvenirs in East Jerusalem” has brought to London samples of these crafts from 450 shops in the Old City and East Jerusalem.
The Fair which has been housed at the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce and will be open until the 5th of December, was launched by Afif Safieh, the Palestinian Ambassador to Britain and Sir Roger Tomkeys, Chairman of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce. Safieh drew attention to the dire state of the Palestinian economy and he hoped that the fair will be of help in reviving it. Sir Roger highlighted the plight of the Palestinians and produced figures to show that 60 % of the people of Gaza live below the poverty line.
Amir Al-Dajani, from the Palestinians development programme emphasised the importance of tourism to the economic life of the Palestinians. He referred to the decline in tourism in the last four years which has affected the economy, especially small businesses. He told the press conference that the money obtained from the European Union programme has been, mostly, used to encourage local crafts and small businesses. Hanna Sinyorah mentioned that 200 of the 450 shops in Jerusalem have been closed due to the drop in the number of tourists to Jerusalem and the obstacles which have been placed by the occupation. He sees Europe as a good partner to the Palestinians and sees Britain is the door to Europe. Three fairs were arranged in Germany, France and Italy. The idea behind the fairs is that “If the tourists won’t come we will come to the tourists” he added.
The fair was opened by the mayor of London Ken Livingstone and attended by a number of diplomats and supporters of the Palestinian cause. The products were displayed in three rooms, one for wood and shell work, embroideries and potteries. Mr. Alfred Raad and Mr. Nazik Ghaith who are merchants from Jerusalem told us that his wood souvenirs were made of olive tress wood and they are along three main themes: religious (Christian themes related to the story of Jesus and the Virgin Mary), local life and camels from the desert. The wood work is done mainly by the machines and then smoothed by hand. The quality varies according to how much work is done by hand and so is the price. There were also shells made into pictures of Jerusalem and other themes. The work is local but the shells come from Australia because the imported shells are cheaper. These products come from Bet Laham, Bet Sahor, Bet Jala and other places. There are number of families who are involved in this trade and their connection with it go back for centuries, such as Muslih Al-Bid, Qanawaty, Saliby and others. The Armenians who settled in the holy land since the Ottoman time worked on Jewellery and they excelled in the making of gold and silver crosses and other jewelleries. The crosses and the Christian themes seem to sell well in Italy while the embroideries and olive oil sell well in Britain.
The embroideries come from Ramallah, north Palestine, Naples and its villages and the south, Bet Laham and Hebron. Ghassan Abden, deputy head of the Association of Crafts in Jerusalem told us that he is more than happy with the number and quality of the visitors to the fair. He couldn’t believe so many people would attend. They include international designers who were impressed by these products. Munther Barakat said that these products show that the Palestinian people are deep rooted in their land, just like their olive trees. He asked for the support of Muslims everywhere and appealed to them to visit Jerusalem to encourage tourism and local Palestinian economy.
Abdul-Raouf Abu Assab, the president of the Association told us that the association were formed in 1954. It represents now 450 shops. It worked hard to organise this fair and he thanked all those who helped, especially Mr. Safiah and the ABCC.
Mohammad Al-Rajabi from East Jerusalem said that the state of the pottery business and other crafts is very bad because of the political situation. His shop next to Al-Aqsa Mosque has to change its direction from catering to the foreign tourists to the local visitors of the mosque and concentrate on Islamic themes. Beside the pottery, you find in on display glass work from Hebron and olive oil. There was a lot of interest in this section of the fair. He told us that he is very pleased with the fair and thanked Muslims and other British for their support. The fair, as we found, is a good experience that help to be acquainted with the Palestinian people, their problems, hope and aspiration for their independent state. Your visit and shopping at the fair is a way of showing your solidarity with their just cause. |
