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Nablus is
prosperous Palestinian city and home of Jacob's well
By GRACE HOUSHOLDER
Water, which is essential to life, figures prominently in
stories which help illustrate Christ's teachings.
One of my favorites is the one in which Jesus tells a Samaritan
woman at Jacob's Well t hat God's gift to
believers is "living water."
The woman told Jesus: "Sir, you have no bucket and this
well is deep; where is your living water? Are you greater than
our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well?"
Jesus told her, "Whoever drinks of this water will be thirsty
again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give will
never be thirsty; for the water that I shall give will become
in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Later, when Jesus told the woman things about her past that no
one else knew, she realized he was the promised savior and ran
to tell the townspeople. (John 4:5-30)
Today Jacob's Well, which was dug 3,700 years ago, is in Nablus,
a Palestinian city of about 75,000, 38 miles north of Jerusalem.
Nablus was formerly known as Shechem, a city Jesus often referred
to.
Jacob's Well is enclosed in an unfinished Greek Orthodox church
built on Crusader foundations. To reach the well you must descend
covered staircases. The well is about 100 feet deep. Visitors
are allowed to let the bucket down by means of a simple metal
winch to draw up cool, clear water. Some people poured the well
water into their cupped hands and splashed it on their face or
drank it.
People who wish to take home Jacob's Well water can obtain small
ceramic jars containing water from the well. The minimum donation
is $3. But a word of caution - despite their wax seal, the jars
leak, and there's a good chance that by the time you get home
you'll have more water from Jacob's Well inside your suitcase
than inside the jar.
We happened to be in Nablus, a relatively prosperous city, on
the same day that Palestinian leader Yassar Arafat was. We saw
large posters of his face and the remnants of the crowds that
had greeted him earlier in the day. Small red, green, white and
black Palestinian flags were for sale.
The main thing you notice about Nablus, which is built into hillsides,
is the large number of buildings under construction. Concrete
and limestone are the main building materials. Our guide said
the building boom is because previously the Israelis did not
allow the Palestinians to build. Now the Palestinians are making
up for lost time.
We had one of our best meals in Nablus. It was a late lunch which
featured savory shish kebabs made with beef and chicken, a wide
variety of sour and spicy cold vegetable salads, hummus (made
of crushed chick-peas), pita bread, and honey and nut pastries.
Our Palestinian bus driver enjoyed smoking a water pipe (called
an argeela or "hubbly bubbly") provided by the restaurant.
The argeelas are complimentary, but you have to purchase the
tobacco which is usually flavored with fruits and/or spices.
Some of the more adventurous in our group tried the "hubbly
bubbly." They reported the tobacco smoke had a cool, menthol
flavor.
Much of Nablus' income comes from producing olive oil, soap (made
from olive oil), sweets and furniture.
Although he is Muslim, Arafat has given his blessing to the ongoing
construction of the church at the site of Jacob's Well. Last
May he visited the church and declared that the building, which
the Israelis had halted, could continue. And he said the church
would not have to pay any taxes on the building materials.
A Greek Orthodox priest, with thick, gray hair pulled back into
a bun, is supervising the construction and painting beautiful
religious pictures that will be used to decorate the church when
it is done. He invited us into his home where pictures of Mary
and Jesus and other religious scenes cover his windows, walls
and ceilings. He even rolled out colorful, intricate works that
were as big as the floor.
Above the city of Nablus is a settlement of Samaritans with about
500 people. Presumably some of them are direct descendants of
the woman Jesus spoke with at Jacob's Well.
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