The famous vineyards of Dura
Wine-red and rich in color, the scarlet kufiya of Dura symbolizes the famous grapes and vineyards of this ancient and fertile village, its lasting heritage from the mists of antiquity.
As the farmers harvest their last bushel of grapes, the blossoming vineyards of Dura (دورا) decorate the hillsides of this age-old village in red. The town of Dura, situated just south of Hebron, has long been renowned for its vineyards and grapes, with farming customs rooted as deeply in its history as its own.
Dura and the Tomb of the Patriarchs
Dura is an ancient place. As far back as 5000 years ago, the Canaanites settled on the same hilltops, and local legend has it that the Prophet Noah (Nebi Nûh), the prophet of the ark and the final pre-flood patriarch in the Book of Genesis, the Quran, and the Bible, was buried in Dura.
Old cisterns, fragments of mosaics, and historical shrines scatter Dura, including the Prophet Noah shrine, the shrine of Abu Arqoub, the shrine of Sheikh Hassan, the tomb of Matta, and the city’s archeological site containing the remains of a stone tower, a mosaic floor, architectural pieces, and Sehreej.
Ancient alleyways in the old town of Dura, located just outside Hebron, West Bank.
A village on two hills
Once named “Adoraim”, meaning “two hills” in the ancient Canaanite language, the village eventually became “Dura”. The two hills, Dura al ‘Amaira and Dura al Arjan, merged to become the town it is today.
Dura had a population of approximately 6,000 Palestinians in 1922. And since the Six-Day War in 1967, Dura has been under Israeli occupation.
The busy marketplace of Downtown Dura beside the central mosque.
Years of Palestinian Heritage
Yet to this day, Dura persists as a bastion of Palestinian and indigenous heritage. A symbolic place for all Abrahamic religions, its vine roots etched with the stories of people across thousands of years.
Years of culture, beauty, struggle, and life. Years of tilled soil, blood, and sweat, and of dark red grapes.
A school surrounded by residences in the red soil hillsides of Dura.
