Roses in Palestine....

Palestine , with its beautiful , mild, sunny weather,is the perfect place for growing roses.They are planted in boxes, plastic containers, old cooking pans, lard tins and even tubs and come in all colors,scented, sans scent, shrubby,climbing, miniature...and more.In tradition, roses have been associated with beauty, a beautiful woman should have "rosy cheeks" and a fair complexion,.Traditionaly-and until recently- Palestinians preferred fair skinned brides.Funny enough most of us are  "hintee(s)"(Arabic), the color of wheat, which is a bit fairer than brunettes.

In our part of the world  people do not always buy flowers from greenhouses and flower shops It is a so community oriented culture that  people  are used to taking  clippings and cuttings from friends and neighbors  .Not of flowers in particular but of  all available houseplants.It is part of the hospitable culture to offer a geranium cutting to a lady friend , who expresses admiration of your geraniums or rubber tree or cacti.So , just like my friend Taghreed has cleverly put it:" you are offered juice, coffee and a cutting of your choice.

 

A garden outside the garden.....

"Bougainvilleas"(Majnoonah in Arabic,meaning crazy) are really common in allmost every Palestinian garden.In a diversity of almost six colors, it decorates garden walls and leaves its' bounderies to decorate pavement walls  thus providing  a shady garage for passers-by.......... cars. picture by Haifa Shawwa

Cabeena

Back in the  late sixties in Gaza,a culture of "Cabeenas" prevailed.A Cabeena is a beach house, a simple one, but with one or two bedrooms, a tiny toilet(wouldn't call it a bathroom), a mini-kitchenette, normally a sink, open shelves and a simple cooker), and a terrace overlooking the beach.
Families who owned Cabeenas would gather there for a day, eating, swimming and enjoying the Mediterranean  breeze.

This beautiful photo by artist Ramon Vila,  is a typical whitewashed Greek village beach house terrace.But primitive summer/beach houses in Gaza "Cabeena"  looked just the same..They were either made of whitewashed concrete, or simply of palm branches supported by iron poles.
Those were days........! Painting by Ramon Vila