Taybeh Vinfest in Palestine

By Maria C. Khoury, Ed. D.

Jazz Trio will be the highlight of the Taybeh Vinfest 2017 on Friday night starting at 5 pm, February 24th at the Taybeh Winery

in one of the most ancient locations in Palestine where good things continue to happen under harsh conditions with Mohammed Qutati on keyboard;

Stelios from Greece on trumpet, accompanied by Mohammed Karazon on drums. It is an enchanting night planned for wine lovers in Palestine’s first and only family-owned boutique winery.

The festival will introduce new artists like Noor from the Academy of Art Palestine who will sketch portraits of guests in pencil and charcoal, and provide an extraordinary art exhibit organized by Ziad Anani, Director of Zawyeh Gallery of Ramallah.

The exhibit will feature the artist Mohamed Abusal especially with the works entitled “Thorns in Bloom.”

The Palestinian boutique wines first introduced to the world in November 2014 during the most memorable day where the Belgian King’s Day was celebrated for the first time in Palestine with the diplomatic community at the Taybeh Golden Hotel. The Taybeh Golden Hotel houses the first and only Palestinian winery at the ground level of a structure offering 80 tastefully furnished rooms and granted four star status by the Palestinian Ministry recently.

Taybeh Fest Performers 2017 — Taybeh VinFest Performers 2017

Behind the Separation Wall and with hundreds of checkpoints, the village of Taybeh is considered a “Light on the Hill.” Guests will enjoy boutique wines where international grapes where first crushed in 2013 including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Zeini Blanc which is one of the local twenty-one indigenous grapes in the area.

Canaan Khoury, the Palestinian wine-maker is experimenting with these local grapes to eventually bottle a high quality Palestinian wine with a distinctive character from the local grapes.

In the mean time, anyone needing a break from their busy schedule can experience what made Taybeh famous in changing its name from Biblical Ephraim mentioned in the Gospel of John 11:54 to Taybeh in the 12th century named by Salahadin for its hospitality.

Cheers from Taybeh!

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Maria Khoury

Palestine Christian Writer, Blogger at St. George Greek Orthodox Church

Maria C. Khoury

Palestine Christian Writer, Blogger at St. George Greek Orthodox Church
Maria (Kouremenou) Khoury is the author of Orthodox Christian children's books including Christina Goes to the Holy Land, walking the footsteps of Christ. She is a graduate of Hellenic College (1982), Harvard University (1985) and Boston University (1992) with a doctor of education degree. Born in Tripoli, Greece, she was raised in Denver, Colorado. On Dec 31, 2009 she was included on the top 4 Human Rights Champions list by DC Human Rights Examiner including the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Hilary Clinton.

Maria is the author of Witness in the Holy Land (distributed by www.HolyCrossBookstore.com), a publication reflecting personal experiences living under military occupation with her husband the former Mayor of Taybeh, David Canaan Khoury and three children Elena, Canaan, and Constantine. Her articles have been published world-wide in numerous newspapers and magazines and have been translated to various languages bringing awareness of the Christian presence in the Holy Land.

Maria Khoury has been the Taybeh Oktoberfest organizer since 2005.She divides her time between her homes in Boston and Taybeh, travels throughout the world promoting the Christina Books and making presentations about the dwindling Christian community in Palestine.She encourages people to stay at the new Taybeh Golden Hotel and experience rural life in Palestine.