The Story of the Orange Blossom

Traditional embroidery motif of Beit Dajan (Jaffa area)

Beit Dajan Dress (2011) by Falak ShawwaTIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Jaffa Area

Embroidery work from the Jaffa area in Palestine was distinguished by fineness and intricacy. The patterns were detailed and the overall effect of the dress was elegant.

Jaffa Beach (1920)TIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Jaffa City

Before the pivotal year of 1948, Jaffa was a bustling Arab city with a thriving economy and cultural scene, with well-known markets, cafes, theatres, and cinemas. 

City Port (1936)TIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Jaffa's Port

Jaffa had a major port and was considered one of the most important cities in the Mediterranean. Its surrounding villages produced large quantities of citrus, which helped develop the city into a hub for trade. 

Jaffa Oranges (1900s) by American Colony (Jerusalem) Photo DepartmentTIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Jaffa Oranges

The area was home to the unique Jaffa orange. In the 1800s, Palestinian farmers created a new mutation of sweet-tasting oranges called shamouti. The motif of the orange blossom became popular in the local embroidery.

Orange Harvest (Jaffa) (1900s) by American Colony (Jerusalem) Photo DepartmentTIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Jaffa's Orange Groves

In the era preceeding 1948, many Palestinian families in the Jaffa area were involved with either owning, managing, or harvesting orange groves. In some years leading up to 1939, as many as 300,000 dunums were cultivated with citrus and 15 million boxes of oranges were exported.

Beit Dajan Couple (1900s)TIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Beit Dajan

The most famous garments of the area were from Beit Dajan, a Palestinian village depopulated by Isreal in 1948, situated approximately 6 km from Jaffa. The village was renowned for producing dresses featuring rich embroidery on the chest, sleeves, and sides.

Thob Aswad Front (2022) by Nabil QutainehTIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Thob aswad, Arabic for 'black dress' (front)

This festive (or bridal) dress from Beit Dajan (ca. 1925) is made up of embroidery on dyed linen in the cross-stitch technique. You can see lines of orange blossoms decorating the chest and side panels. The squared chest panel design is typical of traditional Palestinian dresses.

Orange blossoms on the chest panel.

Orange blossoms on the side panel.

Thob Aswad Back (2022) by Nabil QutainehTIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Thob aswad, Arabic for 'black dress' (back)

You will also notice the complex couching (or tahrir in Arabic) technique on the upper part of the back, sleeves, and sides, which gives the dress its majestic feel. This type of embroidery had been influenced by Bethlehem, another Palestinian town.  

Bethlehem couching technique.


When a gold or silver cord is used in couching, rather than silk, it is known as qasab.

Beit Dajan Thob Abyad (2015) by Tiraz CentreTIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Thob abyad (Arabic for white dress)

Another example of a Beit Dajan festive dress (ca. 1925) in handwoven linen. You will notice orange blossoms decorating the chest and side panels. You will also see the couching technique used on parts of the side panels and sleeves.  

Beit Dajan Chest Panel (2021) by Tiraz CentreTIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Beit Dajan Chest Panel

Orange blossoms embroidered on the top part of a chest panel from Beit Dajan as seen in the book 'Palestinian Embroidery: Traditional Fallahi Cross-Stitch" by Widad Kawar and Tania Nasser.

Palestinian Embroidery (1936) by American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Department, photographerTIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Cross-Stitch Technique

Like most embroidery from Palestine, the orange blossom pattern was made using the cross-stitch technique, in which X-shaped stitches in a tiled, raster-like pattern form an image.

Girls Learning Embroidery (1968) by UNRWA ArchivesTIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Living Tradition

Palestinian women and girls continued to learn the cross-stitch and the unique patterns from each area after becoming refugees in neighbouring Arab countries.

Embroidery in Refugee Camp (1968) by UNRWA ArchivesTIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Woman working at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) embroidery workshop in Amman.

Um Ibrahim (2021) by Nabil QutainehTIRAZ widad kawar home for arab dress

Im Ibrahim

Display at Tiraz Centre erected in honor of Ruqaya El-Santarisy (or Im Ibrahim), master embroiderer and refugee from Beit Dajan. She trained several generations of embroiderers during her life. Today, her family and students craft products that pay homage to her enduring spirit.

Orange blossoms on the right side panel.

Orange blossoms on the left side panel.

Orange blossoms on the chest panel.




Explore more content from Tiraz Centre and the Widad Kawar Collection on Google Arts & Culture.

Credits: Story

Tiraz Centre, Laila Mushahwar, Salua Qadan, Falak Shawwa, Nabil Qutaineh, Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, Widad Kawar, Tania Nasser

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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