A new year is starting with new hopes that we pray may not be shattered too harshly – although no end seems in sight with more daily clashes and more deaths – with new resolutions that we intend to follow, and with new and familiar challenges that we are free to dread or embrace, maybe try to cherish?

The pages of this new issue of This Week in Palestine invite you on a visual journey into different aspects of Palestinian ancient and modern history and daily reality. They intend to engage you, offering the opportunity to take a closer look. Immerse yourself in the details of the medieval maps that are as much a symbolic representation of the known lands as they are an expression of the contemporary world view, and find not only Egyptus, Libia, Anglia (Britain), and Francia (France), Ur, Ninive, Susa, and Cyrene, but also Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge and the place where Noah’s Ark landed, as well as the mythical sun-gazers and apple-smellers that were known to need no other form of nourishment. Compare different proposals for the division of Palestine, presented in the last century or hovering in uncertainty today. Understand what as dry a term as “power outage” can mean for the daily lives of two sisters from Gaza who depend on electricity for their dialysis schedule – and remember them, and all the others affected similarly, whenever you feel overwhelmed! Be intrigued by how much we can learn and benefit from photographs that were taken during a spying mission at the end of WWI. Follow the links presented in references, and let them provide you with yet another level of information. And as you look at the maps, keep in mind that they can be deceptive, as described in the illuminating article on how to lie with maps.

There are only a few articles in this issue – but much more effort than apparent at first glance went into the captions. Many thank you’s go to their authors and to the individuals and institutions that provided us with the informative and splendid visual material.

So grab a blanket (or a bottle of suntan lotion?), make another cup of tea, you might want a magnifying glass for the medieval maps, and enjoy winter (or summer) break with “a bit of light reading,” to quote Hermoine, my favorite character from the famous series. From all of us at TWIP, merry Christmas to our Orthodox and Armenian readers, and a peaceful, happy, and healthy new year to all of you!