Back in Jerusalem: The Palestinian Keffiya

Today I recieved the most wonderful gift from my colleagues who work at the UNRWA office in Ramallah. As they dont have permits from Israel to enter Jerusalem, they could not deliver it to me themselves, so it came with the messenger in the regular UNRWA shuttle bus that runs between Jerusalem and Ramallah offices.

The gift is a traditional Palestinian black and white Keffiya (in Arabic Kuffiya). This particular one is made by the company Al Bassam in Saudi Arabia with cotton and wool from England, considered the best brand for such items.



















Keffiyas are worn all over the Middle East, red and black ones in Jordan and some parts of Iraq and white ones in the Gulf. This particular one became a symbol of Palestinian nationalism in the 1960s and then later a trademark symbol of Yasser Arafat.

This is the official mark of Al Bassam from Saudi Arabia