Each year Nadia would travel to the Middle East to spend the summer months with her grandparents in the West Bank town of Beitunia. Returning to her own parents place of birth and seeing her grandparents was something she always looked forward to. Though it has been several years since Nadia has been back to Beitunia, and her grandparents have since passed on, the memories of the summers she spent with them live on in her heart.
“Each trip was an experience I will never forget. I was always eager to see my grandparents. I was especially excited on my last trip because I was older and I had developed a closer bond with my grandparents,” says Nadia, 18.
Beitunia is located about 12 miles from Jerusalem; an area with deep historical roots and home to three major religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Beitunia is a small town, with houses made of stone, where locals take pride in their grapes, fig and olive trees and live a relatively simple life. For Nadia, returning to Beitunia always felt like “coming home”.
Nadia’s grandparents lived in an old house without a television or modern conveniences. Other homes in town, however, did have modern facilities. There were no malls or movie theaters in Beitunia; to find them, you ventured off into other towns. Nadia says she was surprised at how quickly she adapted to the humble lifestyle. She used to look forward to a daily visit by a vendor who would come into town selling falafel sandwiches (falafel is a savory fried mixture of ground chickpeas, fava beans, and spices), bread, and drinks. She used to marvel at the women who carried trays of food on their heads, or how total strangers would invite her as a guest into their homes and treat her so hospitably.
“It’s a beautiful town and so much of my family’s history is there. It’s home to me.”
Every morning, Nadia’s grandfather would go to the bakery and get loaves of bread, baked fresh, from a brick oven. “He used to feed all the stray cats in town and would say in a low voice in Arabic to `always be kind to animals,'” says Nadia. Sometimes they would go to the next town to get groceries from the open market which that sold fruits and vegetables. Nadia’s favorite food has always been Arabic food, so she never missed the fast food restaurants in the U.S., though towns outside of Beitunia had several.
Nadia says she enjoyed going to East Jerusalem, especially because of the bazaars, which seemed to be unchanged throughout history. The bazaars were famous for their food, pastries, hand-carved wooden and ivory items, handmade jewelry, barrels of olives and spices, and other goods. Arabic music could be heard playing throughout the bazaar as people went about their daily lives.
For Nadia the trips to her homeland were filled with memories she will forever cherish. She plans to return to Beitunia again one day. “I would love to go and retire in my old age in Beitunia. It’s a beautiful town and so much of my family’s history is there. It’s home to me.”
West Bank Snapshot
Area: 5,860 sq km
Population: 2,020,298
Population Under 15 Years of Age: 45 percent
Life Expectancy: 72 years
Ethnic Groups: Palestinian Arab and Other 83%, Jewish 17%
Per Capita GDP: $2,050 (1999 est.)
Source: CIA World Fact Book