Today’s A Journey through Aesthetic Realms will be presented in Arabic and English, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Thai and Spanish.

Kind viewers, welcome to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. In today’s program, we will visit the biblical city of Hebron in Palestine and explore two of its timeless handicraft traditions: glass blowing and pottery. Hebron is West Bank’s largest city with 170,000 Palestinian residents. Located 30 kilometers south of Jerusalem, it has a long and fascinating history.

Hebron is a very old city. It has a very famous mosque Al-Haram Al-Ibrahime, in which Abraham is buried with his sons.

Since there are adherents of all three religions – Islam, Judaism, and Christianity – Hebron is characterized by legendary mosques, synagogues and churches. In addition, it is believed to be the birthplace of John the Baptist.

The Arabic name of Hebron is Al-Khalil, meaning “God’s friend.” According to Islamic scripture, God chose Abraham as his friend. Indeed, for many centuries, Hebron has long upheld the tradition of warm hospitality. According to multiple accounts from travelers of different time periods, visitors, regardless of their faith or social status, were unconditionally offered bread, olives, and raisins. Sometimes, thousands of loaves of bread were given out daily to pilgrims and guests through an ancient custom called “Abraham’s Table.”

Today, Heron continues to be a local economic and cultural center with two universities: Hebron University and Palestine Polytechnic University. Agricultural products from the region such as grapes and figs are world-famous.

Hebron is well-known for many traditional industries such as pottery, faience, glass blowing, and many others.

Tracing the root of the famed Hebron glass, Supreme Master Television visited the Al Salam Glass & Pottery Factory, a family-owned glass workshop. Mr. Fawzi Al-Natsheeh Abu-Ramzi, the owner of the shop and factory, took the time to show us around.

I'm Fawzi Al-Natsheeh Abu-Ramzi from Al-Khalil city (Hebron), I'm the owner of the glass and ceramics factory in Al-Khalil (Hebron). As for this industry, it's an old industry that goes back to 500 years ago; we learned it from our ancestors by inheritance, because as a job it needs high accuracy; it is technical more than practical. We melt glass in the furnaces at 1400 degrees, then we form it manually. As for using glass, we use the broken damaged glass. Then we put it in the furnace, melt it, and form it technically.

Mr. Fawzi Al-Natsheeh Abu-Ramzi graciously gave us a tour around his gallery and introduced to us some of the world’s finest glass artifacts.

As for the forms that we do, they're from very different old traditions, such as decoration balls for Christmas, vases, flasks, tumblers, from many different types that have a great value in this field. These flasks are used to keep oil, and these things for home decoration. There are also bells like this one that can also be used as a light by putting a lamp from here. We can also make chandeliers that look like grapes like this one. These grapes refer to Al-Khalil city (Hebron), because it's known for growing grapes, then we connect it to the electricity and it lights like a chandelier.

We have many types of candlesticks like this, but the vases are small. This one is for one rose and this is used for tables, especially in hotels. We have also the old lamps like this one that was used in Al-Khalil (Hebron) and mostly in Palestine; they used kerosene to light it instead of electricity. All of these are from the Palestinian traditions, and contain all sizes.

At a work area with large furnaces, we were introduced to the master artisan who created these beautiful pieces. Mr. Yacob Al-Natsheeh Abu-Waheed is a renowned veteran glass maker.

I'm Yacob Al-Natsheeh Abu-Waheed, a plastic artist in the glass.

All the glass inside has one color, we control it according to the order. Every month or 2 months we decide on a color. All the glass is in the furnace and has one color. The trough is full with glass so I use the quantity I want according to the model I want to produce. The forming is done by blowing.

I decide the form of the piece before I use any glass, so I use an exact quantity according to the piece. Now I form it according to the order, after finishing, we put it in another furnace. Its temperature varies, meaning it turns from 1400 to 500 degrees in order to get cold gradually, and if it stays in open air for a minute, it will break.

Mr. Yacob Al-Natsheeh’s imaginative designs and skillful technique were amazing. In just a few minutes, a pile of molten glass was turned into a piece of beautiful artwork. Guess what he is making now!

We will be right back after these brief messages for more of Al Salam Glass & Pottery Factory in Hebron, Palestine. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Artistic viewers, welcome back to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. Let us now continue our tour of Al Salam Glass & Pottery Factory, a family workshop where Mr. Yacob Al-Natsheeh is the master designer for the glass crafts. He shared with us his creative process.

As for the years of working in this field, it's about 37 years.

Here we produce the piece from the beginning to the end by one person. We have about 1200 models and 90% of them are my design. New models come to my mind when I put my head on my cushion to sleep. I begin thinking of the next day, and the type of the model I want to design. The next morning, I begin to design the new model that I thought of and try to produce it. In the beginning it's hard to design it, but then becomes easier.

During international festivals, Mr. Yacob Al-Natsheeh’s glasswork demonstration has been the focus of attention from audiences around the world.

Thanks to Allah, I'm number 1 in Palestine in this field, and I represent it outside. I went to France about 20 times, and to Italy, Syria, and Dubai.

I'm so proud of that, thanks be to Allah. I felt when people were looking at me in Paris, there were about 300 or 400 persons behind me, some of them were standing on the chairs to see me while I'm designing the piece, and to see how I inflate it, and how I form it, and then to see how I do the acrobatic tricks as if I do nothing. After I finish, they begin whistling, so I feel very proud and thanks to Allah. Thanks be to Allah. It's the grace of Allah, so I thank Allah.

What is your dream and hope in life?

My dream is to teach all my sons this industry, because it's a hard industry. Glass artists have now 2 factories to work in, and the formal artists that do exist in this field, there are 3 or 4 only. I wish from the National Authority and from the Ministry of Education to establish glass furnaces in the polytechnic academies to teach the students this industry, in order to keep it alive in Al-Khalil (Hebron), because Al-Khalil is famous for making glass. This is the way to save this industry and to teach people.

Just as well-known as Hebron glass is Hebron’s pottery tradition, which is typical of Palestine and has been well preserved for many centuries. Throughout history, each period’s pottery technique was passed down and blended with that of incoming cultures. This eventually resulted in a unique Palestinian style which has ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Semitic influences.

In the pottery workshop of Al-Natsheeh’s family facility, we were introduced to the creation process of a special type of pottery: the faience.

Where are you from?

I'm from Hebron, right from here.

How long have you been doing this job?

About 10 years.

What are you doing? Tell us about your work.

This is called “faience.” First, I shape it the way I want on this machine which is called “dolab.” Second, I put it in the oven at 1100 degrees. Sometimes, the color can be white and they paint it, but this color is red. After they paint it, they put it with milled glass, and put it in the oven again at 1100 degrees. Then it becomes ready like a plate, like this plate. This is the basis of “faience.” The basis of “faience” is similar to the pottery, but the mud is different.

In the shop, we met a visitor who shared his thoughts on Hebron’s glass and pottery handicrafts.

I’ve been touring throughout Israel and Palestine for the last 3 weeks. And it’s been really amazing coming here to the ceramic and glass factory because not only do you get to see the incredible artwork that you can see here behind me, but it’s really amazing to think that there are so few places that are Palestinian owned, Palestinian made, and to see such beautiful artwork that simultaneously is helping support the Palestinian economy, I think is pretty incredible. And any chance that people have to support this artwork, I think they should.

We thank the Al-Natsheeh family and the talented staff at the Al Salam Glass & Pottery Factory for demonstrating some of the most remarkable skills of traditional Palestinian handicraft making. May the age-old heritage be carried forward by future generations, and continue to be appreciated worldwide as the exquisite artistry of the peace-loving Palestinian people.

Beautiful viewers, thank you for joining us today on A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. Up next is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, after Noteworthy News. May the love of the Divine grace your life.