St. George Festival on West Bank Attracts Muslims and Christians

The World

Our Geo Quiz is about a dragon slayer.

The legend of St. George goes back two millennia. The Roman soldier famous for slaying a dragon has been immortalized in icons through the ages. Even the Boy Scouts consider him a patron saint.

He was a Christian martyr who professed his faith despite being tortured by the Roman emperor.

Nowadays there are festivals around the world honoring St. George. The festivals take place this time of year in England, Greece, and Bulgaria to name a few places. Also in Moscow, Barcelona, and in a Palestinian town we’d like you to name.

This town outside of Bethlehem shares its name with the old Christian monastery there, in fact the West Bank town is named after St. George.

So if you know a little Arabic then you probably have the answer on the tip of your tongue.

The name of the Palestinian village where the Feast of St. George is celebrated is Al-Khader. The World’s Matthew Bell visited the monastery in Al-Khader where St. George the Dragon Slayer still inspires a religious holiday attracting Christians and Muslims alike.

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