Battir. BATTIR, un Laboratoire d'Idées. Israel's wall will destroy my birthplace, Battir. Battir has been in the news recently because the separation wall Israel has been building the last few years now threatens to destroy the unique character of this Palestinian village in the West Bank.
Remarkably, both the Guardian and The Washington Post recently published articles outlining the damage the wall would cause to Battir’s distinctive social and ecological system, its Roman-era terraces, water system and agriculture, and the people who have cared for them for innumerable generations. These articles follow determined efforts by the village’s inhabitants, and local organizations to raise the alarm over this latest plan for vandalism by the Israeli occupation (“West Bank barrier plan threatens ancient farming landscape,” The Washington Post, 23 December 2012; “Israeli separation barrier threatens Battir’s ancient terraces,” the Guardian, 11 December 2012). Battir happens to be my birthplace as well as the site of my childhood memories.
Orchards Trick. Urbanplanning's Blog. PA Seeks UNESCO Protection For Threatened Village. A farmer and his children cultivate their fields, as generations have done for centuries, in Battir, near Bethlehem Dec. 16, 2012.
(photo by Lena Odgaard) Author: Lena Odgaard Posted January 25, 2013 Battir, a small Palestinian village unique for its ancient stone terraces, springs and irrigation systems, is under threat as Israel plans to expand the separation barrier through the landscape. Summary⎙ Print The Palestinian Authority has turned to UNESCO to save an ancient West Bank village threatened by Israel's separation barrier, Lena Odgaard reports.
The village is located on the so-called Green Line from the armistice agreement after the war in 1948, and over half of the Battiri people’s fields are located on the Israeli side. “Battir was a Roman city. Festival International de Géographie - Site Officiel - Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. Traduction de l’article de pour le Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Palästinenserdorf Battir Widerstand durch Denkmalschutz "Widerstand durch Denkmalschutz", F.A.Z., June 22, 2012 © Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. All rights reserved. Le village palestinien de Battir 21.06.2012. PHOTO – article original Concerné : Hassan Muamer s’engage pour l’avenir. © Michal Fattal L’eau est omniprésente.
Les samedis, dimanches ou lundis n’existent pas ici. Les « paradis » est le nom que les habitants de Battir donnent à leurs jardins, célèbres pour leurs aubergines, mais où prospèrent également des courgettes, des citrons et des abricots. Saut dans l’incertitude : Israël projette la construction du mur... Battir est un des derniers villages palestiniens qui n’est pas encore coupé de la route de Jérusalem par une barrière de sécurité installée à sa périphérie. Les porte-parole militaires israéliens ne se prononcent pas sur son implantation exacte. ... Parmi eux on trouve beaucoup de randonneurs.
Par © JdS. 6 / Café-cartographique FIG-2012 - « PAYSAGES DE PALESTINE : BATTIR, 5km à l'Ouest de Béthléhem au Sud-Ouest de Jérusalem » avec les jeunes diplômés de l'ENSAPL et Hassan MUAMER. (3) Battir Landscape Ecomusuem. The Gardens of Batir. Walk in the green hills and olive groves around the ancient village of Batir.
Explore the Sufi lodges, Ottoman shrines, and irrigated gardens of the old center. Stay for lunch with a family, sample the fabulous local produce, and learn the story of Batir’s long struggle to retain its land and its identity as an historic Palestinian town. The Story Built around a natural spring in a quiet valley of olive groves and fruit orchards, Batir has always been one of Palestine’s most beautiful villages.
For generations, the spring has flowed into an ancient network of water channels, irrigating the gardens that make Batir famous for its fresh produce. In 1948, centuries of rural peace came to end as Batir found itself on the front line of the fighting. But Batir also has a proud history of peaceful resistance. The villagers on the line. Environment and Climate in the Middle East - Palestinians reject Israel’s compromise for West Bank fence: Stop rail traffic instead of building on our land – Haaretz. Posted by Editor on Monday, February 18th 2013 Batir village residents reject state suggestion to build chain-link fence instead of wall on ancient terraces.
By Zafrir Rinat | Feb.17, 2013. Armenian and Palestinian sites share 2011 cultural landscape prize. “In rewarding the management of Garni and Battir, UNESCO wishes to raise awareness of these sites’ beauty and importance, of their tangible and symbolic values, so as to help avert threats to their continued preservation,” said the Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova, endorsing the recommendation of an international jury.
The laureates will receive $US 15,000 each. The Museum-Reservation of Garni covers a total area of 5.1 hectares in and around Garni Village, some 28 km East of Yerevan in the volcanic Armenia plateau of the Caucasus Mountains. It features a series of historical and architectural vestiges and buildings from the Bronze Age (Cyclopean walls), to Hellenic times (temples, bath-house), as well as early Christian elements. The site has been recognized for measures taken to preserve its cultural vestiges, and the emphasis placed on efforts to interpret and open the site for national and international visitors. <- Back to: All news.