The Location of Ras Abu Ammar | Ras Abu Ammar over the years | The Ethnic Cleansing of Ras Abu Ammar

Where are you from?
In the Middle East, that simple question reveals so much. My answer: Ras Abu Ammar, Jerusalem.

I searched old maps and travel logs until I found Guérin’s account in Description of Palestine (1868)—a small hamlet called Er‑Ras, perched atop a mountain with about eight houses and eighty men waiting to greet the traveler

There’s almost no trace left in records, and the story barely survives among those of us farthest from the homeland. So I started this project—archiving every mention, map, photo, and memory of our ras. With help from Wikipedia volunteers and digital archives, each fragment brings her back to life.

My grandfather spoke of that earth like a living being. To him, soil was a language: when it was alkaline and red, like ours, it meant olives, figs, and grapes would thrive. He would always compare any land he set foot on to the soil of Ras Abu Ammar.

He joked that olive oil in the mortar of his family home’s ceiling was an act of both pride and wealth—only landowners could build two-story houses sturdy enough for that kind of extravagance.

When he lost it all—house, land, kin, and roots—he lost home. And I lost part of our story.

That’s when I decided: I owe this to my daughters.