Blessings Gift Shop and The Olive Wood Factory in Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories
Blessings Gift Shop and The Olive Wood Factory in Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories
The olive wood factory and Blessings Gift shop is owned by Jiries Elias Giacaman and his Sons. A christian Family ,born in Bethlehem. Established in 1925 By his Father Elias Giacaman, and now is run by Bassem Giacaman, the 3rd Generation.
Olive wood carving is an ancient tradition in Palestine that continues to the present day. It involves the skillful chiseling of olive wood and is most common in the Bethlehem region.
The tradition of making the handicrafts began in the 4th century CE under Byzantine rule in Bethlehem — which continues to be the main city that produces the craft — following the construction of the Church of the Nativity. Greek Orthodox monks taught local residents how to carve olive wood. The art developed and became a major industry in Bethlehem and nearby towns like Beit Sahour and Beit Jala in the 16th and 17th centuries when Italian and Franciscan artisans on pilgrimage to the area — by now under the rule of the Ottomans — taught the residents how to carve. Since then the tradition has been passed on generation by generation and is dominated by the descendants of the original local carvers.
Today, the art continues to be a major source of income for Bethlehem's Palestinian Christian residents and is the most profitable tourist product in the city with the main purchasers being Christian pilgrims visiting in Christmas time. Olive wood is carved into crosses, boxes, picture frames, covers for historical and old books, candle holders, rosaries, urns, vases and Christmas ornaments as well as scenes of the Holy Family. Olive wood branches are supplied by olive groves in nearby villages as well as from the Nablus and Tulkarm region, despite the difficulty of transportation in the West Bank.
The IMPORTANCE OF OLIVE WOOD
Why olive wood is used ,and not any other wood?
Because it’s a Native to the holy land. The 1st olive wood groves were grown over 6000 years ago.
Jesus was arrested on the mount of olives before he died.
California University carbon dated in 1990, the olive groves on the Mount of Olives to be over 2300 years old. They still remain standing today.
An olive wood tree is a very slow growing tree, and must be over 150 years before we could prune it.
No one is allowed to cut any olive trees down. Once the tree reaches over 150 years old, before we could prune it. The older the olive tree the darker the colour on the wood will be, and the younger the olive tree, the lighter the colour will be.
The pruning starts straight after the olives are harvested in October and ends mid march, after march the olives starts developing on the tree.
The tree is never damaged, pruning is very important every year, so new branches grow and olive tree yields more olives every year.
From the tree we get olives , and from the olives we get our olive oil, and the left over pulp we make soap etc
Olive Tree is a symbol of Peace –the Bible story of Noah and the Flood.
We use Olives for eating and putting on our pizza.
We use the seeds of the Olives to make Rosaries.
We use the pruned wood to make beautiful handmade wood carvings
From the olive tree, the best pruned pieces are used for making beautiful carvings, and the saw dust gets past to people to use in their farms.
Tiny of cuts get bagged for the cold winter fire.
Since the days of Noah, the Olive Tree has been a symbol of peace. Farmers still continue to grow olive trees as a way of staying connected to the holy land struggles and war for one day to have Peace.
Blessings Gift Shop is the largest licencesed Olive wood Factory on Milk Grotto Street. Its next to the milk grotto church in Bethlehem. Theres a very large Grotto and Nativity set outside the factory and shop.
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Olive Wood Factory Bethlehem- Blessings Gift Shop
The Olive Wood Factory and Blessings Gift shop is owned by Jiries Elias Giacaman and his Sons. A christian Family ,born in Bethlehem. Established in 1925 By his Father Elias Giacaman, and now is run by Bassem Giacaman, the 3rd Generation.
It's the largest licenced Olive wood Factory on Milk Grotto Street. Its next to the milk grotto church in Bethlehem. There is a very large Grotto and Nativity set outside the factory and shop.
Olive Wood Factory Bethlehem - Blessings Gift Shop .Israel
The Olive Wood Factory and Blessings Gift shop is owned by Jiries Elias Giacaman and his Sons. A christian Family ,born in Bethlehem. Established in 1925 By his Father Elias Giacaman, and now is run by Bassem Giacaman, the 3rd Generation.
It's the largest licenced Olive wood Factory on Milk Grotto Street. Its next to the milk grotto church in Bethlehem. There is a very large Grotto and Nativity set outside the factory and shop.
Olive Wood Factory Bethlehem Israel - Blessings Gift Shop Family Run business
The Olive Wood Factory and Blessings Gift shop is owned by Jiries Elias Giacaman and his Sons. A christian Family ,born in Bethlehem. Established in 1925 By his Father Elias Giacaman, and now is run by Bassem Giacaman, the 3rd Generation.
It's the largest licenced Olive wood Factory on Milk Grotto Street. Its next to the milk grotto church in Bethlehem. There is a very large Grotto and Nativity set outside the factory and shop.
Bethlehem: Blessings Gift Shop & The Olive Wood Factory 伯利恆橄欖木禮品店
Blessings Gift Shop
The Olive Wood Factory
Website: blessingsgiftshop.com
Bethlehem:
Walking to the Church of Nativity / Manger Square from 231 bus stop
S4: Bethlehem | E1: Olive Wood Factory
Famous for its richness, virgin oil, and wood, this Olive Wood Factory has been highly regarded since 1971. Located in the heart of Bethlehem, PaliRoots olive wood products are made by experienced Palestinian craftsmen. Take the first look into where all the magic happens.
PaliRoots™ - The Palestine Movement
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Cheap imports flood Bethlehem shops
(21 Dec 2016) LEAD IN:
Palestinian shops have been flooded with cheap imported Christmas gifts to sell during the festive season.
But some shop owners are promoting only locally made products.
STORY-LINE:
These rosary beads are clearly not local produce.
Aside from the obvious festive link, Bethlehem is also known for its handicrafts. Its streets are lined with shops like this that stock large amounts of carved wooden objects.
When visitors choose to take a piece of the Holy Land back home with them, they now need to take a close look at the label on what they're buying. Most souvenirs, including some of Bethlehem's trademark olive wood decorations, are now imported from abroad, mainly China.
You know some people want to buy something to give away and to give it for when they go back home and to give it as gifts so maybe they cannot buy as many from the olive wood or the local made because it's a little bit more expensive than the Chinese, says Three Arches souvenir shop owner Maher Canawati.
Canawati sells locally made gifts and even has a wood workshop in the back. But he keeps room for imports as well. His family had provided services to pilgrims since the 16th century.
Some 120,000 people are expected to visit the Holy Land this holiday season, half of them Christian, according to Israel's Tourism Ministry.
Many will visit Bethlehem, where globalisation has left its mark like everywhere else. Foreign-made crafts, especially Chinese ones, now represent a big part of the market here, especially among Christmas souvenirs. While there are no official statistics, local officials and businessmen estimate that nearly half of the products, perhaps more, are imported.
A small number of souvenir shops are now trying to fight the trend, stocking their shelves almost exclusively with locally made products. Shopkeepers say that while their wares may be more expensive, the quality is much better and they give an important boost to the struggling economy.
Bassem Giacaman, owner of the Blessings Gift Shop and The Olive Wood Factory keeps just a few imported products in his store, most of them hidden in a small box beneath a counter. He takes them out to show customers and compare them to Palestinian made ones.
So it's a big problem here, every tourist that comes here especially in the group I always explain to them I don't sell it but that's the difference. If you do want to buy it it's down the road or anywhere else. I only sell you olive wood and you can test it, I've got nothing to hide, he says.
The Visit Palestine centre, located in a 200-year-old house just a few hundred metres from The Church of the Nativity, promotes products made in Palestine.
The centre started as an online store and travel guide five years ago. It now works with nearly 100 workshops and home-based artisans throughout the Palestinian Territories, in addition to a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan.
It features Palestinian traditional crafts, including Christmas-related ones like olive-wood rosaries, mother of pearl ornaments and sheep wool crafts. The centre targets independent travellers and its founder and manager Samy Khoury takes pride in its fair trade approach to business.
What's unique about the gift shop is that everything in the place is 100 percent Palestinian made or made in Palestine. And we work with well over 90 different suppliers stretching from Jenin in the far north all the way down to Gaza in the south, he says.
But trying to sell only Palestinian-made products comes with challenges, as imported products will always undercut prices here.
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religious Olive wood carving Bethlehem the Holy Land
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◢ The tradition of making the handicrafts began in the 4th century CE under Byzantine rule in Bethlehem which continues to be the main city that produces the craft following the construction of the Church of the Nativity. Greek Orthodox monks taught local residents how to carve olive wood.The art developed and became a major industry in Bethlehem and nearby towns like Beit Sahour and Beit Jala in the 16th and 17th centuries when Italian and Franciscan artisans on pilgrimage to the area by now under the rule of the Ottomans taught the residents how to carve. Since then the tradition has been passed on generation by generation and is dominated by the descendants of the original local carvers.
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Bethlehem New Store - Nissan Bros.
Bethlehem Nativity Souvenirs - Olive Wood Gifts from Bethlehem
Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera
zahigo25@walla.com 972-54-6905522 tel
סיור עם מורה הדרך ומדריך הטיולים צחי שקד 0546905522
My name is Zahi Shaked
In 2000 I became a registered liscenced tourist guide.
My dedication in life is to pass on the ancient history of the Holy Land.
Following upon many years of travel around the world, which was highlighted by a very exciting emotional and soul-searching meeting with the Dalai Lama, I realized that I had a mission. To pass on the the history of the Holy Land, its religions, and in particular, the birth and development of Christianity.
In order to fulfill this calling in the best way possible, I studied in depth, visited, and personally experienced each and every important site of the ancient Christians. I studied for and received my first bachelors degree in the ancient history of the Holy Land, and am presently completing my studies for my second degree.(Masters)
Parralel to my studies, and in order to earn a living, I was employed for many years in advertising. What I learned there was how to attract the publics attention, generate and, increase interest, and assimilate information. All this I use as tools to describe, explain and deepen the interest in the sites that we visit. From my experience, I have learned that in this way, the Holy Land becomes more than just history, and that the large stones that we see scattered about in dissaray, join together one by one until they become - a Byzantine Church. This also happens when I lead a group of Pilgrims in the Steps of Jesus. We climb to the peak of Mount Precipice, glide over the land to the Sea of Galilee, land on the water and see the miracle which enfolds before us. This is a many faceted experience. Not only history which you will remember and cherish, but an experience which I hope will be inplanted in your hearts and minds, and will accompany you all the days of your life.
Olive wood craft in Bethlehem
Filmed by Mr Aktham Hilal
Origional video
Johnny's souvenir shop ( part 2 )
Johnny's souvenir shop ( part 2 )
hand made Bethlehem olive wood
Bethlehem hand made olive wood
saidfactory.com
Palestinian Olive Tree Crafts
In the West Bank town of Hebron, a 75-year-old man designs wooden sculptures using the region's cherished olive tree. Muhammad Idries has been doing this job for the past 46 years.
Muhammad: I love this job, artistically I mean, because I am actually a very precise individual. So I started with this line of work and thank God, I became successful. I have been doing this from roughly 1965 to date.
Scores of Palestinian locals, like Idries, would practice this traditional craft but many were forced out of the business when the market became flooded by Chinese imports that were sold cheap on the market.
Olive trees are a strong component of Palestinian heritage. Using his craftsmanship Idries hopes to revive these traditions through the symbolic use of the tree.
Muhammad: God created a special vein inside the olive tree that makes it beautiful. As the tree ages, the veins become more beautiful and form spectacular designs, so really, the olive tree is the main part of this job.
Idries runs his own workshop, where he sells his creations and works on producing craft as requested by his customers.
Muhammad: Honestly, this is a good job from a touristic perspective and also religiously -- it's our heritage. We have some customers who ask for designs of the Ibrahimi Mosque, many ask for this. We specialize in designs of the Dome of the Rock.
Idries hopes that his works will help revive Hebron's battered economy. Hebron is divided into zones of Palestinian and Israeli control. Many Palestinian businesses in Hebron's city center were deserted due to conflicts between the city's Palestinian residents and Jewish settlers.
Reported by: Shounaz Mekky-Nadia Idriss Mayen
Speakers: Muhammad Idries
Voice: Nadia Mayen and Aqeel Bukhamsin
20091020 Christian Store Bethlehem Shopping
Nhộn nhịp mua sắm, nhộn nhịp hỏi thăm nhau ...
Genuine Olive Wood Rosary Beads From Jerusalem
The Blessed Virgin Mary promised to Saint Dominic and to all who follow that Whatever you ask in the Rosary will be granted. She left for all Christians Fifteen Promises to those who recite the Holy Rosary.
Imparted to Saint Dominic and Blessed Alan
1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4. The Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.
6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenititude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
9. I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.
11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
14. All who recite the Rosary are my sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters of my only Son Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
Olive wood items being sold in India
Olive wood items being sold at 30th edition of Surajkund International Craft Mela in Faridabad, Haryana.
A splash of colours, rhythm of drum beats and joy de-vivre merge at Surajkund in Faridabad, Haryana during the first fortnight of each February. The curtains go up on the acclaimed annual Surajkund International Crafts Mela from 1st February onwards, a celebration of Indian folk traditions and cultural heritage.
Occupying a place of pride on the international tourist calendar, more than a million visitors throng the Mela during the fortnight including thousands of foreign tourists. The Surajkund Mela is unique as it showcases the richness and diversity of the handicrafts, handlooms and cultural fabric of India, & is the largest crafts fair in the world.
The Mela is organized by the Surajkund Mela Authority & Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs. For the 30thSurajkund International Crafts Mela-2016, the state of Telangana has been chosen to be the Theme State. At least 20 countries & all the states of India will be participating in the Mela.
A large number of renowned national and international folk artistes and cultural groups present day performances at both the Chaupals, the open-air theatres, located in the Mela premises. Also enthralling cultural evening programmes are held at the main Chaupal during each of the Mela evening. The Mela is indeed a custodian of the heritage crafts involving use of traditional skills that are fading away due to cheap machine made imitations, and a special section is earmarked for showcasing of these heritage crafts.
The multi-cuisine Food Court provides ethnic cuisines from all over the world, which are immensely popular with visitors. There are designated places for amusement, adventure sports and joy rides to make it a must visit event for the young.
In 2013, the fair was upgraded to an international level and in 2015, a record number of 20 countries participated in the Mela and Lebanon was the Partner Nation and Chhattisgarh, the Theme State.
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The collection comprises of 100, 000+ hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM / SR 1080i High Definition, Alexa, SR, XDCAM and 4K. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world...
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West Bank - Christmas In Bethlehem
T/I: 10:30:52
Bethlehem's many Christian Arabs are busy preparing to celebrate Christmas in the traditional manner. And as they do each morning of the year Franciscan fathers hold a procession through the historic Church of the Nativity, the reputed birthplace of Jesus Christ. Tourism is crucial to Bethlehem, and Christmas is the busiest time of year. Small workshops all over town are turning out souvenirs and gifts, especially olive wood carvings of Nativity scenes for which the town is famous. Angelica Giacaman, who runs a family store which opened in 1925, is looking forward to doing brisk trade on Christmas Eve.
SHOWS:
BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK 13/12
GVs Bethlehem
Bethlehem streets and shops
Palestinian flags and pictures of Arafat next to Christmas trees in
shop
Bishara Daud SOT: It's a start of calm, of hope and of peace in
the future.
Tariq Jaidy SOT: I especially like that we're getting our own
country and stuff.
EXT Church of the Nativity
Procession of Franciscan Priests inside the church
Tourists taking photos
Various of service
Candles being lit
EXT of entrance to church
EXT olive wood carving shop
GVS of craftsmen workers carving Christmas figurines
GV of olive wood carving and souvenir shop
Exterior art sculpture shop
Interior of shop with tourists buying figurines
Angelica Giacaman, shop owner SOT: My father started this shop in
1925, now we his children are taking care of. I hope it will be
better because we're finished with the occupation. I think
Palestinian people can cake take of their own country.
GVs of Bethlehem streets and Xmas preperations
Children in street
Palestinian flag above shop
Poster of Arafat and man in background showing victory sign
3.08
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29 Kando Store in Bethlehem
holy bible holy land bethlehem olive wood jerusalem