Page 11 - Holyland Magazine - Catholic Edition 2015
P. 11
By Steve Carpenter
D
riving into the Arab Muslim village of Abu
Ghosh, just six and a half miles northwest
of Jerusalem, one is quickly confronted
with the paradoxical sights and sounds of
this historically rich location along one of
Israel’s main highways from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.
Abu Ghosh is a village popular for its music
festivals and Middle Eastern cuisine. It’s a small
village with a population of just over 6,000, and
yet, Abu Ghosh can boast of some rather large
accomplishments.
In 2007, it was described as the hummus capital
of Israel and in 2010, Abu Ghosh received the
Guinness World Record for preparing the largest
dish of hummus in the world. The award-winning
20-foot dish of hummus weighed in at just over
8,992 pounds, about twice as much as the
previous record set in Lebanon in 2009. A few
months later, Lebanon regained the record by
more than doubling the size once again.
Just one year ago, a mega-mosque, known as
the “Mosque of Peace”, was completed and
dedicated in Abu Ghosh. Spanning over 43,000
square feet and accommodating thousands
of worshippers, the new mosque is second in
size only to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s
Temple Mount.
When the new mosque was being dedicated, the
Mayor of Abu Ghosh, Salim Jaber, said, “I want
to invite all the people of Israel to the opening:
rabbis, priests and sheikhs. Anyone who loves
Abu Ghosh.” This statement encapsulates the
essence of the tangible paradox of Abu Ghosh, a
place of neutrality and hospitality.
In the middle of this unique village is the Abu
Ghosh Monastery. The monastery was built over
1,000 years ago, over a water spring, on the
main road to Jerusalem where, according to the
Scriptures in 2 Samuel 6, the Ark of the Covenant
rested for twenty years until King David relocated
it to Jerusalem. The remains of the Crusader
Church were restored by the French government
and handed over to the Benedictine Order in the
19th century. Today it is a Benedictine Monastery
that is divided into two separate sections, one for
nuns and one for monks.
It is here, where I met Brother Olivier, the winsome,
intelligent and afable monk who came to Abu
Ghosh 38 years ago from France. Like other
Benedictine Monks, he has vowed his services
to the Abu Ghosh Monastery for life. The vow of
stability is a uniquely Benedictine commitment to
live in a particular monastic community for life.
11
The sisters holding books. Above: Fr. Olivier in service
D
riving into the Arab Muslim village of Abu
Ghosh, just six and a half miles northwest
of Jerusalem, one is quickly confronted
with the paradoxical sights and sounds of
this historically rich location along one of
Israel’s main highways from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.
Abu Ghosh is a village popular for its music
festivals and Middle Eastern cuisine. It’s a small
village with a population of just over 6,000, and
yet, Abu Ghosh can boast of some rather large
accomplishments.
In 2007, it was described as the hummus capital
of Israel and in 2010, Abu Ghosh received the
Guinness World Record for preparing the largest
dish of hummus in the world. The award-winning
20-foot dish of hummus weighed in at just over
8,992 pounds, about twice as much as the
previous record set in Lebanon in 2009. A few
months later, Lebanon regained the record by
more than doubling the size once again.
Just one year ago, a mega-mosque, known as
the “Mosque of Peace”, was completed and
dedicated in Abu Ghosh. Spanning over 43,000
square feet and accommodating thousands
of worshippers, the new mosque is second in
size only to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s
Temple Mount.
When the new mosque was being dedicated, the
Mayor of Abu Ghosh, Salim Jaber, said, “I want
to invite all the people of Israel to the opening:
rabbis, priests and sheikhs. Anyone who loves
Abu Ghosh.” This statement encapsulates the
essence of the tangible paradox of Abu Ghosh, a
place of neutrality and hospitality.
In the middle of this unique village is the Abu
Ghosh Monastery. The monastery was built over
1,000 years ago, over a water spring, on the
main road to Jerusalem where, according to the
Scriptures in 2 Samuel 6, the Ark of the Covenant
rested for twenty years until King David relocated
it to Jerusalem. The remains of the Crusader
Church were restored by the French government
and handed over to the Benedictine Order in the
19th century. Today it is a Benedictine Monastery
that is divided into two separate sections, one for
nuns and one for monks.
It is here, where I met Brother Olivier, the winsome,
intelligent and afable monk who came to Abu
Ghosh 38 years ago from France. Like other
Benedictine Monks, he has vowed his services
to the Abu Ghosh Monastery for life. The vow of
stability is a uniquely Benedictine commitment to
live in a particular monastic community for life.
11
The sisters holding books. Above: Fr. Olivier in service
