> [!NOTE]+ Meta > Author:: Lara Salous > Reference:: Salous, L. (2025). If only we could bury our city. _Garland Magazine_. https://garlandmag.com/article/if-only-we-could-bury-our-city/ > Date:: 2025 > Tags:: #warp/article #Palestine #weaving #textiles > WeftLinks:: [[Cultural value of craft]] > Claim:: [[Claim - Craft fosters the resilience of a minority cultural group]] > [!SUMMARY] Summary > Lara Salous documents and revives the Palestinian Majdalawi weaving tradition through art and research. Weaver Hussam Zaqout rebuilt the craft after his family's displacement and his father Rafiq's teaching. Despite destruction and exile, they preserve and pass on Majdalawi fabric as cultural resistance. ### Highlights Majdalawi is a form of woven fabric that originates in the village of al-Majdal, which was uprooted in the Nakba of 1948. It is mostly with a base of black or indigo cotton threads, accented by prominent bands of fuchsia and turquoise silk. Fabrics from the city had poetic names, like *Janneh u nar* ("heaven and hell") and *nasheq rohoh* ("breath of the soul"). After 1948, the weavers were displaced to the Gaza Strip. Sadly, many weaving workshops and looms were destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. Weavers have also been displaced many times. Despite the harshness of displacement, Mr Hossam Zaqout later managed to evacuate to the Arab Republic of Egypt, where he began once again from scratch — establishing a small workshop and rebuilding the Majdalawi loom with his own hands and determination.