Jayyus Travel Guide

 mafi_moya Says:  For me there are few sights more beautiful in the Middle East than the rolling valleys of fields of olive trees. The olive tree is the emblem of Palestinian villages and its branches are famous throughout the world as a symbol for peace. 

 mafi_moya Says:  The Wall in this part of the West Bank has been completed now, although there are rumours that it might be enlarged again. Around the Jayous area it takes the form of an 8 metres tall high-security fence, complete with barbed wire and occasional watchtowers. To get through... 

 mafi_moya Says:  In order to build the Wall the Israeli army uprooted thousands of olive trees belonging to the village. Needless to say, no compensation was offered. In the village Mayor's front garden there are the remains of the trunk of the oldest tree to be destroyed. It was apparently... 

 mafi_moya Says:  Jayous is 6 kilometres from the Green Line, the official border between Israel and the West Bank, yet the Wall has been built deep inside Palestinian territory, right beside the village.Jayous is a small farming village, where 70% of the people are entirely dependent on... 

 mafi_moya Says:  Once ourselves and the olives are back in the village, and once we've eaten (lots and lots!), the picked olives are taken for pressing to produce the olive oil. Jayous has one press that serves all the surrounding villages, some even coming from near Qalqiliya to press their... 

 mafi_moya Says:  Sometimes it's not quite that easy to get home and eat. While the gates were supposed to open at 4pm it was well past 5pm when the soldiers finally turned up to let us back into the village - after it had gone dark and after we had sat and listened to the mosque signalling... 

 mafi_moya Says:  Aaaah at last the day's work is finished and we're all way too tired to walk back, especially with several hundred kilos of olives to carry! Fortunately we can hitch a ride to the gate on this tractor. This year's harvest was during Ramadan so we head back just before the... 

 mafi_moya Says:  Even lazing around in the shade under the trees, out of sight of the Wall, it's impossible to forget that these are occupied lands. The majority of vehicles we see during the day are heavily armed military jeeps, driving through the field at top speed and spraying dust all... 

 mafi_moya Says:  Once we've made it into the fields the next step is to lay out the plastic sheeting under each tree, in order to catch the olives as they fall. Then start pickin'! The olives we picked in Jayous are mostly small and black and look a bit like grapes. When they come off the... 

 mafi_moya Says:  Once you've given the tree a good final shake, it's time to collect all the olives from the plastic sheeting. You then sit around for a while and sort through them, picking out the leaves and sticks and preparing them for squeezing. After hours climbing trees and swallowing... 

 mafi_moya Says:  Picking olives is exhausting work, especially in the heat and dust, but climbing trees all day is kinda fun too. Made me feel like a little kid all over again! First step in picking is to use a small plastic comb to clear the olives from the lower branches. Then you climb up...