Artas | |
|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | أرطاس |
 Artas, Convent of the Hortus Conclusus | |
  Artas Location of Artas withinPalestine | |
| Coordinates:31°41′21″N35°11′10″E / 31.68917°N 35.18611°E /31.68917; 35.18611 | |
| Palestine grid | 167/121 |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Bethlehem |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village council |
| • Head of Municipality | Hamdi Aish |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.3 km2 (1.7 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 732 m (2,402 ft) |
| Population (2017)[2] | |
• Total | 5,745 |
| • Density | 1,300/km2 (3,500/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | Urtas, p.n.[3] |
Artas (Arabic:أرطاس) is aPalestinian village located four kilometers southwest ofBethlehem in theBethlehem Governorate ofPalestine, in the centralWest Bank. According to thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, thevillage council had a population of 5,745 in 2017.[4]
According tole Strange, the nameUrtas is probably a corruption ofHortus, which has the same meaning asFirdus (Paradise),[5] whileE.H. Palmer thought it was a personal name.[3] The name might also be derived from Latinhortus meaninggarden, hence the nameHortus Conclusus of the nearbyCatholicConvent.
Artas is located 2.4 kilometers (1.5 mi) (horizontal distance) southwest ofBethlehem. It is bordered byHindaza to the east,Ad Duheisha camp to the north,Al-Khader to the west, andWadi Rahhal to the south.[1] TheIsraeli settlement ofEfrat is located nearby.
Artas and the surrounding area is characterized by the diversity of landscapes, flora and fauna due to its location at a meeting place of ecosystems.[6] From a spring below the village an aqueduct used to carry water to Birket el Hummam.[7]
According toMoshe Sharon, professor of early Islamic history atHebrew University, two inscriptions found in the village show the great interest in Artas from leaders in theFatimid andMamluk states, as well as the wealth of the village at that time.[8]
Nasir Khusraw (1004–1088) wrote that "a couple of leagues from Jerusalem is a place where there are four villages, and there is here a spring of water, with numerous gardens and orchards, and it is called Faradis (or the Paradises), on account of the beauty of the spot."[5]
During theCrusader period, the village was known asArtasium, orIardium Aschas. In 1227,Pope Gregory IX confirmed that the village had been given to the Church of Bethlehem.[9] Remains of the Crusader church were torn down in the 19th century.[10]
Artas was incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in thetax registers as being in theNahiya ofQuds of theLiwa of Quds. It had a population of 32Muslim households. The villagers paid a fixed amount of 5,500akçe in taxes, and all of the revenue went to aMuslim charitable endowment.[11]
The village was reportedly destroyed twice during the Ottoman period: first, between 1600 and 1744, and again in the late 18th century.[12]
Until the 19th century, Artas residents were responsible for guardingSolomon's Pools, a water system conducting water to Bethlehem,Herodium, and theTemple Mount or Haram al-Sharif inJerusalem. The village had a tradition of hosting foreign and local scholars, not a few of whom were women.[13] A large body of research thus exists on many aspects of life in the village.[14]
The residents of Artas refused to pay tributes toIbrahim Pasha in 1831 under the pretext that they had been exempt since the time ofSolomon. He responded by demolishing their homes, which they later rebuilt[15]
In 1838,Robinson andSmith described Artas as aSunni Muslim village south ofWadi er-Rahib.[16] The place was inhabited but many houses lay in ruins. Robinson also found many signs of antiquity, including foundations of a square tower.[17] He further noted the fine fountain above it, which watered many gardens.[18]
In the mid-19th century,James Finn, the British Consul of Jerusalem (1846–1863),[19] and his wifeElisabeth Ann Finn, bought land in Artas to establish an experimental farm where they planned to employ poverty-stricken Jews from theOld City ofJerusalem. Johann Adolf Großsteinbeck (1828–1913; grandfather of the authorJohn Steinbeck) and his brother Friedrich, settled there under the leadership ofJohn Meshullam, a converted Jew and member of a British missionary society.[20]Clorinda S. Minor also lived in Artas in 1851 and 1853.
When the French explorerVictor Guérin visited in July 1863,[21] he found 300 inhabitants. Many of the houses appeared to be built of ancient materials.[22] An official Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed 18 houses and a population of 60, though the population count included only men.[23][24]
In 1883, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine described Artas as "a small village perched against hill-side...with a good spring behind it whence an aqueduct led toJebel Furedis...remains of a reservoirHumman Suleiman."[25]
In 1896 the population of Artas was estimated to be about 120 persons.[26]
According to German explorer and orientalistGustaf Dalman, in the early 20th-century, Artas supplied the Jerusalem marketplace withpeaches,apricots and greenpears.[27]
TheFinnishanthropologistHilma Granqvist came to Artas in the 1920s as part of her research on the women of the Old Testament. She "arrived in Palestine in order to find the Jewish ancestors of Scripture. What she found instead was a Palestinian people with a distinct culture and way of life. She therefore changed the focus of her research to a full investigation of the customs, habits and ways of thinking of the people of that village. Granqvist ended up staying till 1931 documenting all aspects of village life. In so doing she took hundreds of photographs."[28] Her many books about Artas were published between 1931 and 1965, making Artas one of the best documented Palestinian villages.
In the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, "Urtas" had a population of 433, 192 male and 197 female Muslims, and 1 male and 43 female Christians.[29] In the1931 census the population of Artas was a total of 619 in 123 inhabited houses. There were 272 male and 273 female Muslims, while there was 5 male and 69 female Christians.[30]
In 1944, archaeologistGrace M.Crowfoot, while researching Palestinian weaving techniques, recorded two lullabies being sung in Artas:[31]
O pigeon of the rivers,
Give sleep to both eyes.
O pigeon of the wilderness,
Give sleep in the cradle.
O pigeon of the valley,
Give sleep to my son.
O bird, O pigeon,
My darling wants to sleep.
And I'll slay the pigeon for thee,
O pigeon, do not fear,
I'll but laugh the child to sleep.
In the1945 statistics the population of Artas was 800; 690 Muslims and 110 Christians,[32] who owned 4,304dunams of land according to an official land and population survey.[33] Of this, 894 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 644 for cereals,[34] while 54 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[35]
In the wake of the1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the1949 Armistice Agreements, Artas came underJordanian rule. It wasannexed by Jordan in 1950.
In 1961, the population of Artas was 1,016,[36] of whom 68 were Christian, the rest Muslim.[37]
Since theSix-Day War in 1967, the town has been underIsraeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 1,097, of whom 43 originated from pre-1967 Israeli territory.[38]
After the1995 accords, 66.7% of Artas land was classified asArea C, 0.06% asArea B, the remaining 33.3% asArea A. According toARIJ, Israel hasconfiscated about 421dunams of Artas land for theIsraeli settlement ofEfrat.[39]
Across the valley from the village is the Christian Convent of theHortus Conclusus (lit. "Enclosed Garden", a name relating to both theSong of Songs and theVirgin Mary).[40]
The Artas Folklore Center (AFC) was established in 1993 by Mr. Musa Sanad[41] to document, preserve and share the rich heritage of the village. The village has a small folklore museum, adabka and a drama troupe. The Artas Lettuce Festival has been an annual event since 1994. Artas is a popular destination for visitors to Bethlehem who want to experience traditional Palestinian life, and for groups interested inecotourism.[42]
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