A home of peace and beauty for Bethlehem

Today we'd love to tell you about Tali and her activities at our Dar Al-Majus Center. Tali is a girl from Bethlehem who deals with artistic and cultural activities dedicated to children and during the past weeks we organized we hosted her for some special reading sessions.

"The idea of offering the children of Bethlehem the reading of Palestinian folk tales aloud came to us during the war period. We organized a workshop for children between the ages of 5 and 8, focused on courage and the importance of cultivating the bond with one's land and identity. Dar Al-Majus,the cultural center of Pro Terra Sancta in Bethlehem, is the perfect place to host an activity of this type: it is an ancient building reborn through restoration, which has however preserved its historical soul. In the same way, ancient fairy tales preserve the history of the peoples they tell about."

The stories Tali tells come from the book Speak, bird, speak again: Palestinian Arab folktales, published in 1989 in English. The title translates as "Sing, little bird, sing again: Palestinian Arabic folk tales", and collects forty-five folk tales handed down since the dawn of time.

"These folk tales, full of wizards, formulas and ancient spells, stimulate their imagination, offering a temporary escape from the terrible reality of war and the frightening news they have to hear every day." Says Tali. 

Children come to our Dar Al-Majus Center during the day, and the light that is added to the sun does not come from an oil lamp, but from electricity; yet the magic spreads through the air in the same way.

"I observed the pleasure of the children in listening," addsTali, "their desire to sit down and actively interact with the stories. A spark lights up in their eyes, while laughter and exclamations of surprise accompany the twists and turns of the narrative."