Many years ago I was given two traditional costumes as a present. I was already interested in the textiles and jewelry, but I never thought that one day this present would grow to be the one of the largest collections of costumes from Palestine and Jordan. I grew up in Bethlehem and studied in Ramallah, both of these cities were treasures of heritage and traditional styles. Both were weaving and embroidery centers and marketed their products to the woman of other villages.

I saw and felt the influence of the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 on the people. The beautiful picture I had of the village women dressed up in their best costumes and coming in groups to the market in Bethlehem had vanished. Because their village had been occupied and/or wiped out these women and their families were settled in refugee camps – facing a new style of life and a new “camp culture”.

This situation encouraged me to put forth a strong effort to collect costumes with information about them from their owners.
After the war of 1967, I faced a new reality – all villages in Palestine were now occupied and I had to double my efforts to collect genuine pieces before they were lost or influenced by the refugee camp styles.

With the costumes I collect the accessories such as jewelry, head covers, belts, and household items that women prepared for the weddings – these included cushions and home embroideries, weavings, pottery and straw work.

Living in Amman I became attracted to the interesting Jordanian costumes. In general the costumes in Jordan were unique and spectacular and were disappearing from use very quickly. I started collecting samples with documentation.

The voluminous costume of Salt, the variety of costumes in North Jordan, the colorful costumes of Ma’an and the Bedouin costumes all interested me.
I was fascinated by the beauty of all the costumes i found, but even more interested in the women behind the dresses.

Through my countless interviews with women in villages and cities I got to know them well and know their position in the family, their changing roles, their attachment to their heritage and their patience and endurance to keep the family together under all kinds of stress.

The women whose heritage I have collected remain my inspiration. They have honored me by sharing their sad and happy memories of the past with me. They inspired me to pass on their rich cultural heritage to future generations.