Jericho is a city that is evocative of all sorts of beautiful memories: orange season, lovely early summer evenings and family gatherings, beautiful mountains, and a lovely climate. It is also rich in its archaeological and historical importance.
Hisham’s palace (Qasr Hisham), which is an iconic archaeological site, is one of the main highlights of the city’s multiple attractions. The Mosaic centre aims to raise awareness of this cultural heritage, which requires preservation and community protection. The project came about in order to train local personnel in mosaic production, and even more importantly, in ancient mosaic restoration. The Jericho Mosaic Centre was established following the first training session in 2003 as part of a project to develop the touristic and archaeological resources of Qasr Hisham
Today, the centre is working on raising awareness of cultural heritage preservation and training artists and promoting the craftsmanship of mosaic production and the marketing of replicas of ancient mosaic artefacts and modern designs, using traditional methods and equipment. However, the centre offers much more than the mosaic pieces, but has worked throughout the years to develop on the mosaic craft by producing new designs, providing trainings and customising tours and hikes to natural and archaeological sites.
In Sebastia, the Mosaic Centre has just inaugurated the “Mosaic Guesthouse,” another archaeological gem in Palestine, with many historical buildings dating back to the time of the Crusaders’. The beautiful guesthouse has been renovated and has a gift shop filled with heart-warming goodies produced by the women of Sebastia: from local fruit jams, to olives, honey, dates and handicraft items, and of course locally produced mosaic pieces.
In Nisf Jubeil, a charming, small village next to Sebastia, the Mosaic Centre has established the second Mosaic Guesthouse and NisfJubeil Ceramic, both housed in the renovated historic buildings. Nisf Jubeil Ceramic gives an opportunity for young women to develop the skills in ceramic-making and earn income from their products, including kitchenware, home décor items, and ornaments. Their ceramics adorn the interior of the two Mosaic Guesthouses, and available for sale at the Mosaic Centre locations and local outlets such as Sunbula. The Mosaic Guesthouse also operates the Kitchen of NisfJubeil, which offers a special dining experience of home-cooked Palestinian dishes in their lovely courtyard (by reservation only). Another location of the Mosaic Centre opened in Bethlehem in 2018, on the historic Nijmeh Street in the old market.