Cremisan

The Cremisan Monastery is a Salesian monastery in the West Bank, near Beit Jala.^[1] The monastery, located on a hill 850 metres above sea level, is five kilometres from Bethlehem and 12 kilometres from Jerusalem.^[1] It was built in 1885 on ruins of a 7th century Byzantine monastery.

The main monastery, housed in a building featuring stone floors, thick walls and high arched ceilings, is decorated with pictures of Pope John Paul II and Don Bosco, the founder of the Salesian order.^[1] The monastery accepts theology students from around the world.

Cremisan Cellars

The Cremisan Cellars have been in operation since the establishment of the monastery in the 19th century. Modern equipment was introduced in 1997.^[2] The grapes are primarily harvested from the al-Khader area. Only 2% of the wine production (around 700,000 litres per year) is made from Cremisan's own grapes. The rest comes mainly from Beit Jala, Beit Shemesh, and the Hebron area.^[2]

Conflict with Israel

Recently, the monastery has been in conflict with the Israeli authorities concerning confiscation of land. It is said locally that Cremisan eventually received some of their land back, but at the expense of several extra houses being demolished. Their inhabitants are now said to be suing the church because of this. [1]

Allegedly, the monastery has been silent on account of its "bottom line" interests and its requiring access to the Israeli market.[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Cremisan Cellars - History
2. ^ ^{a b} Jahsan, Ruby. "Wine". The Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20071117144242/http://www.bethlehem.ps/shopping/wine.php. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 

See also

• Taybeh Brewery

Coordinates: 31°43′37″N 35°10′21″E / 31.727006°N 35.172601°E / 31.727006; 35.172601