Omar's Souvenirs - Original Olive Wood Hand Carvings

A trip to Jerusalem would not be complete without a stop at Omar Souvenirs – Original Olive Wood Hand Carvings.  It was a small shop located north of the Old City in a very congested Palestinian area and difficult to find.  After surviving some very narrow, winding roads that sometimes took you in circles, we spotted the small sign over the shop. Then we had to figure out where we would park.  There was a small, overly crowded lot across the street that we pulled into, but there was no room for us.  When Omar realized our group was there to give him some business, he came out and warmly welcomed us, telling us to give our keys to his friend who would take care of our car and make sure nothing happened to it.  Some girls, when realizing we were Omar’s friends, called out, “Welcome to Palestine!”

Omar's Shop

Once inside we were immediately drawn to a small bulletin board that had pictures and business cards pinned to it.  We immediately recognized some of the people in the pictures with Omar . . . President Benson, President Hinckley, Steve Young, and others.  It was obviously a shop very friendly to the Mormon Church, evidenced by his work patterned after familiar gospel prints; and Omar was delighted to have us there. 

He even showed us a beautiful nativity that he called the “Holland Nativity” because Elder Holland and each of his children as they come to Israel all purchase that particular set. He told us how he often spends months carving a single olive wood statue, and how happy it makes him when people admire his work, as we were readily doing.  His best (nearly only) customers are people from the states coming to visit the Holy Land.  He loves the Mormon people and knows a lot about them.

Omar holding the nativity we bought as a souvenir

The piece I would have liked to have bought but couldn't afford

After shopping, talking, taking pictures, and admiring his best work that he kept pulling out from the back room for us to "ooh" and "aah" over, we prepared to leave.  He didn’t want to see us go and asked if he could buy us dinner.  Doug tried to decline, but that only caused him to take offense; so we humbly accepted his kind offer.  He would have taken us to his home, but his wife was recovering from a stroke and was not able to entertain like she had done in the past.  Instead he left us in his shop for a few minutes while he went down the street.  He came back with schawarmas and freshly squeezed orange juice for all of us.  He turned over a large cardboard box that he brought from the back room to make a make-shift table, and we dined together telling stories and building a warm friendship.  I don’t remember how many hours we spent there, but it went by quickly; and no one left empty-handed.  Even after our purchases, he wanted to give us one more gift – a small nativity.  We also took a business card on which it reads: “This is the Place” and “Do it Now.” 

The picture above shows Omar with a set he had spent months carving.  It had exquisite detail.  Each piece of the nativity was a masterpiece.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Omar – a good man with a big heart!