THE LAST SAMARITANS

They are an ethnic and religious group who are believed to have been descended from the twelve tribes of Israel. They speak modern Arabic and Hebrew. It is known that in the Byzantium times there were over a million. Today they are said to be happy to be just 750. They are divided into two communities: on Mount Gerizim next to Nablus in Cisjordania and the city of Holon, in Israel. On certain days such as "YOM KIPPUR DAY" (Day of Atonement) the whole community meets in the synagogue found at the foot of Mount Gerizim. For them this mount is the most sacred place, where the world was created. On Yom Kippur Day even the children fast for 24 hours whilst the men pray and the women help. Visiting them has been like travelling to the past. There is no shortage of electronic gadgets or anything that arrives to their area as a symbol of modernity. But listening to their explanations on their religion and their way of seeing things creates the feeling of going back in time.