Yom Kippur, Muslim style
Trip Start
Sep 08, 2007
1
2
23
Trip End
Dec 30, 2008
Nazareth,
Israel
Friday, September 21, 2007
Age: 34
Family status: Married, 2 children (boys)
Job: Manager of a Fauzi Azar Inn
Religion: Muslim
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Yom Kippur day - most of Israel has shut down to observe. There are no cars on the streets, no shops open, no TV, no radio, no nothing. Religious Jewish Israelis are home with their families fasting and praying on that day. Non -religious Israelis stay home, watch video and stuff themselves. No such thing in Nazareth, an 80% Muslim town in the North of Israel where the Bible says Jesus Christ spent his childhood.
We wake up early from the sound of the morning prayer blasting through the megaphones of the nearby mosque
Suraida Shomar Nasser
. My non-religious Jewish friends are slightly irritated - more by the unsolicited wake up call, but also, a little bit, by the sound of the Muslim prayer. It makes them feel uneasy. It has exactly the opposite effect on me. Having spent my early childhood in Northern Africa, the sound brings up happy childhood memories and a sense of calm and protection.I finally crawl out of bed and stumble to the shared kitchen, where I find one of my friends chatting with a woman with porcelain skin and sparkling blue eyes. My friend waves - come hear this story. I walk over and introduce myself to Suraida. She is the hostel manager, and also the grand-daughter of Fauzi Azar, the guy who build the house in which the hostel is situated. He used to be a wealthy man she tells me. Oh well, I make a mental note, that would explain the 5 meter tall rooms and the painted ceilings that can only be described as masterpieces. It really looks like this should be a boutique hotel, not a $25/night hostel. How come this is a hostel, I ask? She replies that her grandfather was wealthy, but he had 5 girls. No boy! This made him very sad - big, wealthy family, no boys. You know how important boys are to Muslims, she says. Right, I think, can't quite remember exactly which religion or culture on earth values girls more. I disagree of course, but that's a whole different conversation. So her grandfather gave most of his fortune to charities around town. The house was eventually inherited by Suraida's mother, who in turn had a family of 3 girls. It was uninhabited until two years ago when Suraida met by chance a Jewish guy who was looking for a property in Nazareth to open a hostel. She jokingly told him he should meet her mother. Two days later they were in business together.
I still insist why a hostel, not a boutique hotel. Not very many people come here these days she replies. The shuk (Arabic for market) is not as busy as it used to be. Even in the celebrations of 2000, when the pope came, he didn't stay in Nazareth for the night. Around that time the people of Nazareth were so excited about having influx of tourists that they were bringing free food and water to the airport to greet the town guests. They were really disappointed when the pope didn't spent the night in town. Suraida is happy that some people are still coming and that brings not only business to her, but to other businesses around town. Although she offers a continental breakfast at the hostel, she strongly encourages her guests to get out and buy some of the local specialties for themselves - pita bread, lebane (water drained goat yogurt), humus (mashed chick peas) and figs.
My Pavlov lamp goes off in bright red. Not that the kebab and lamb ribs I gobbled up last night can't last me for 3 days. It's just that all these sound yummy. I head to the shuk inspired by Surida's story and her successful business with the Jewish guy. Maybe there is hope for this trouble region after all.
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http://www.fauziazarinn.com/
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