Among the study activities of the MOEBHIOS project, a visit was conducted by Dr. Raffaella De Marco to the Lifta site in Jerusalem.
Lifta is one of the most famous traditional Palestinian villages attacked since 1948, causing its inhabitants to leave as refugees and the destruction of its built heritage. Today, the village consists of ruins, with extensive encroachment by nature, among which the original settlement layout is still discernible. During the visit, it was possible to observe the rural settlement patterns of the Palestinian tradition, which can be traced back to the “fellahin” community (rural farmers and shepherds). The village's typological pattern can be found in its paved streets, the distribution of building units and their accesses, the location of communal spaces and significant community systems such as springs and pools.
At present, the site is classified as a nature reserve of the state of Israel, “encompassing a streambed and spring and the cemetery of the Arab village that once stood here” (source from Israel Nature and Parks Authority).
The village remains one of the main symbols of the Palestinian “al-Nakbah”, ideologically associated with the territorial identity of the community and its hope for return. For the Jewish community, the spring is identified as the “waters of Nephtoah” (Joshua 15:9). These conditions explain the widespread presence of visitors from both communities, who frequent the site with recreational, meditative and leisure activities in deep connection with the built landscape and the perception of its monumentality.
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