Reverent Depiction of Palestine's Native Splendor

For those looking for a respite from the Intifada and a reminder of the exquisite beauty native to Palestine, "Spring is Here, Embroidered Flowers of the Palestinian Spring" is a haunting tribute to the region. Jointly published by Turbo Design and the Institute for Jerusalem Studies, the book integrates the floral tapestries of Marie Jabaji Tamari with striking wild flower and landscape photography and poetic excerpts translated from Arabic. The accompanying text, written by Tania Tamari Nasir, is in both English and Arabic.

Palestinian artist and design embroiderer, Marie Jabaji was born in 1911 in the ancient, biblical, seaport Jaffa, Palestine, then renown for its plethora of cultivated garden flowers and the perfume of orange blossoms that permeated the city from the citrus groves nearby. Marie married Edmond Tamari, and in 1948 fled the city with their two-year old son, Salim, during the Arab-Israeli war to Beirut, Lebanon. The family eventually settled in Ramallah, a mountainous country town on the West Bank of Palestine, high above the Mediterranean Sea which can be seen on the far horizon on a clear day.

Marie grew to love Ramallah's native landscape, its rocky hills and terraced fields and the wild flowers that burst forth in the spring. She began a meticulous examination of the intricate details of wild flowers, from the stalk, leaves, bud and full bloom. She then created a design for each flower and embroidered directly onto canvas panels, careful to choose threads that matched every nuance of shade and color. Marie's superbly executed "petit point" tapestries were donated each year to a local charity and now decorate hundreds of homes throughout the region.

"Spring is Here, Embroidered Flowers of the Palestinian Spring" is Tania Tamari Nasir's realized dream. It is a tribute to her aunt Marie Jabaji Tamari's accomplishments, and an autobiographical reflection of "flower picking" outings. It is also an inward journey to feelings of intimacy, identity and loss, and a spiritual relationship with the "rocks and earth, grass and trees, thorns and flowers, especially the wild flowers of the Palestinian spring."

Nasir is a classical singer, with a focus on experimental work with Arabic art songs. She is a featured soloist in "Dreams of My People," a cassette of Palestinian songs. She has also co-authored "Palestinian Embroidery: Fallahi Cross-Stitch," a publication of the Ethnographic Museum, Munich, Germany, 1990. Tania is married to the President of Birzeit University, Hanna Nasir. They have three sons and a daughter.

Arrangement and Text: Tania Tamari Nasir
Design and Embroidery: Marie Jabaji Tamari
Wildflower and landscape photography: Garo Nalbandian and Ziyad Ezzat
Photographs of embroidered panels: Osman Akuz
Published by Turbo Design and the Institute for Jerusalem Studies,
Copyright 2002

For further information, contact Salim Tamari, Director of the Institute for Jerusalem Studies at stamari@palnet.com.

*Book reviewer, Genevieve Cora Fraser is a human rights and environmental activist. A journalist, poet, playwright and director, she has also authored an historical series, "David Thomson: The Scottish Founder of New Hampshire, a Gentleman and Scholar," published by the Scottish Genealogical Society 1999, 2000, and 2003.

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