Ma’an
The Palestinian Heritage Center in Bethlehem designed a special embroidered kuffiyeh, or Palestinian scarf, to be presented to the pope when he visits Bethlehem’s Ayda Refugee Camp on Wednesday. Maha As-Saqa, the director of the center, said the scarf shows the star of Bethlehem, a key representing Palestinian refugees’ right of return, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Nativity, and the Vatican flag.
Pope will Visit Ayda camp on Wednesday after celebrating mass at the Church of the Nativity.
The kuffiyeh, in winter and summer weaves, is worn during cold weather around the neck and on the head to keep off the sun in the summer months. The patterned scarf has become a nationalist symbol for Palestine, the black and white version made famous by the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The traditional pattern of the scarf is seen at the bottom of the gift prepared for the pope.
