There is a famous saying, “If Pakistan is a heart then Palestine is its heartbeat. One cannot be separated from another.” As an author, it is really an honour for me to write something about our heartbeat PALESTINE.
Palestine is considered as one of the most important places on planet earth since the ancient period of Iron Age and Bronze Age till the modern day of today’s world. Palestine is also known as “The Land of Holy Prophets” as countless Holy Prophets (Peace be upon all of them) lived in Palestine and some of the sacred Personalities and Holy Prophets (Peace be upon to all of them) are buried here namely Hazrat Ibrahim (Peace be upon him), Hazrat Ismael (Peace be upon him), Hazrat Isaac (Peace be upon him), Hazrat Yousuf (Peace be upon him). Therefore, Palestine is considered as a sacred place for humanity in many ways.
This beautiful land was ruled by countless rulers and dynasties in past. From The Iron Age to the conquest by Alexander The Great, from Persians to Romans, Golden Age of Islam began with the period of Caliphs May Allah be pleased with them (Companions of Holy Prophet ﷺ (Peace Be Upon Him) followed by the rule of Umayyads, Abbasids, Seljuks. After that, Crusaders arrived. Later on, conquered again by Ayyubid Sultanate and Muslim Rule continued till the end of Ottoman Empire.
In today’s modern day, Palestine is a beautiful place in the Middle East famous for countless historical monuments, beautiful flowers, variety of birds and animals, strong culture, historical traditions and delicious cuisines.
HISHAM’S PALACE:
Hisham’s Palace also known as Khirbet Al-Mafjar is one of the beautiful historical palaces built during the Umayyad Period in the first half of the 8th century. The Palace was built by the Caliph Hisham Bin Abdul Malik. Although, the Palace was not an official residence of the Caliph but was used as a winter resort.
The major part of The Palace was destroyed during the earthquake in Jordan Valley back in 749AD. Palestinian Officials have worked on restoring the structure in past two decades.
The ruins of the damaged Palace is still an eye-catching source for historians, international tourists and researchers. This beautiful site is also listed under World Heritage Site of UNESCO.
PALESTINIAN NATIONAL FLOWER:
Among the flowers found in Palestine, Poppy is the most famous as it is the National Flower of Palestine. Poppy represents the flag of Palestine symbolically as Poppy has all four colors of Palestinian flag.
According to Palestinian anthropologist Nasser Abufarha, “The red flower petals, the black center blossom, a small ring of white in the Centre around the blossom, & the green stem make up the colors of the Palestinian flag”.
ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR NOUR FROM PALESTINE:
NATIONAL ANIMAL OF PALESTINE:
When we talk about the National Animal of Palestine, it is none other than “Gazelle” which also resembles with the name of the city “Gaza”. Gazelle is derived from Arabic word ġazāl. The mountain Gazelle is a specie of Gazalle found in many parts of Palestine, Egypt, Turkey and all across the Arabian Peninsula.
NATIONAL BIRD OF PALESTINE:
There are countless beautiful birds found in Palestine, as beautiful flowers naturally attract these birds during the peak of seasons. Among the birds, the most famous and National Bird of Palestine is “Palestine Sun-bird”. This is the only bird that carries the name of Palestine with it. In 2015, this bird was officially adopted as National Bird of Palestine by the Government.The Palestine Sun-bird is found in many parts of Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Female Palestine Sun-birds are brown-grey from the above while having pale color in under parts, having weight around 6.8 grams.
Male Palestine Sun-bird is mostly dark but appears glossy green or blue in the light, having weight around 7.6 grams. Males are mostly dark but appears glossy blue or green in the light which makes it even more attractive.
NATIONAL FOOD: MAQLUBA
When we talk about the delicious cuisines in Palestine, Maqluba comes at top as it is the National Dish of Palestine. Although, Maqluba is a common dish in other parts of Arabia too like Syria, Iraq and Jordan.
The ingredients include rice, vegetables like carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, cauliflower, onions, herbs and spices along with meat commonly chicken or lamb, although the dish can be made without any meat. The ingredients are cooked and layered, then boiled until there’s no liquid left.
Before serving the dish, there is a famous tradition to turn it upside down. This is the word “Maqluba” actually means. Sometimes, restaurants add salad of cucumber, olives and tomato for garnishing along with yogurt on the side. This mouthwatering dish is highly recommended for all the food lovers.
FAMOUS DESSERT: KAAK
Kaak is a special sweet dish of Palestine prepared particularly on the festival of Eid. There is a saying that Eid Day Celebrations are incomplete without eating Kaak at least once.
Kaak is a classical Arabian dessert famous in many parts of Arabia including Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Jordan.
Note: We are thankful to the following for guide in our research
https://mobile.twitter.com/MalakaShwaikh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazelle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasser_Abufarha
https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6546/
https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/palestine-hisham-palace-umayyad-lost-castle
Thank you for this lovely article. It’s an enjoyable read!
Welcome Mam, whatever i am today, all because of your teachings. An encouraging comment from a Mentor always multiplies my motivational level.
Hi my dearest friends. A wonderful article arrived. As always pricily researched and written with personal points. Thanks a million for this great introduction of this beautiful country.
Thanks a million for your kind comment about the research we did. I am glad that you liked the article.
Very well written article with some unique information…. Keep it up!