al-Dawayima

The village was spread atop a broad rocky ridge on the western slopes of the Hebron Mountains, overlooking Wadi Qubayba to the north and viewing higher hills from the east. Although the terrain generally slopes toward the southern coastal plain, this view was not clearly visible from within the village, as the hills to its west obscured it.

The village lay at the crossroads of two secondary roads: one connecting northeast to the village of Idna, and another northwest to the village of al‑Qubayba, which in turn connected to the main al‑Faluja–Bayt Jibrin road leading toward Jerusalem–Jaffa.

Some scholars estimated that the area corresponds to the ancient “Bosqat” mentioned in the Old Testament. In the ninth century CE, al‑Dawayima was a thriving settlement deeply rooted in olive cultivation, featuring a prominent shrine with notable prestige attracting visitors. The residents were Muslims; among the local shrines was one for Sheikh Ali. It had a spacious courtyard and a large prayer hall, surrounded by fig, carob, and cactus trees. This shrine drew visitors from neighboring villages. At the center of the village stood a mosque associated with the Khalwati Sufi order, following the path of Sheikh Umar al‑Khalwati, who died in 1300 CE. The villagers expanded the mosque and, in the 1930s, added a towering minaret.

The village was laid out in a star pattern, enabling expansion in all directions—especially northeast and northwest along the two roads mentioned earlier. Shops were scattered throughout the residential neighborhoods. Homes were built of stone and mud, separated by narrow lanes and alleys. The older homes were clustered closely together and organized around small shared courtyards (hawsh), where women carried out household tasks, children played, and families gathered in the evenings and on special occasions.

As the village grew, newer homes were constructed outside the central area. These were larger, built of stone coated with whitewash (“chalk”), and some featured thick masonry walls known as “judari” (from “jidar,” meaning wall). These newer homes, however, retained the same design layout as the older ones: a two-storey structure with the upper floor for the family and the lower one for livestock. The wealthier villagers’ homes included large courtyards surrounded by living rooms, storage rooms, and adjacent animal stalls.

The village had a primary school founded in 1937, which drew students from surrounding villages. The community constructed rainwater-collection installations for domestic use, and in the 1940s, built several cisterns to store rainwater.

Rainfed agriculture was the backbone of the economy, with grain crops—especially wheat, barley, and corn—forming the primary yield. Additional income came from fruit trees like figs and grapes. By 1946, the total area planted with grain amounted to 20,011 dunums, with 12 dunums irrigated or used for orchards. Native trees such as oaks and terebinths grew in the rugged areas encircling the village.