Palestinian Oktoberfest


  • Without a car, we are fairly limited in our travels. We called in a favour for one particular event that we could not miss.
  • Taybeh is a small Christian town in the West Bank, where Jesus spent time before his final Passover.
  • More recently, it is the site of the Holy Land’s oldest microbrewery, which makes a solid beer.  
  • For almost 15 years, Taybeh’s Oktoberfest has drawn people from Jerusalem and around the world.
  • It was a mix of local and Germanic traditions: Palestinians danced the dabke, Austrians played the strings and Christian butchers served pork sausages.
  • There were several limited batches of very Palestinian flavours (including prickly pear and za’atar), with their standard brews also on tap.
  • Unlike North American alcohol festivals, this was quite family-friendly. We saw friends from school and work.
  • The event did feature one annoying local custom: music cranked up to 11 (the default setting on all stereos).
  • Outside the brewery, locals were ready with olive oil, handicrafts and camel rides, which the girls could not resist.
  • The town also has ancient churches and Byzantine ruins. Probably modest by local standards, but next time, we’ll have to take a closer look.

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