The
city of Hebron is known worldwide for its glassblowers and designers. Glass
factories have been a feature of this city since the Middle Ages.
As you
enter one of these factories, the temperature rises dramatically because of the
furnace (al-furun) located in the center of the factory. The al furun is
surrounded by two to four glass blowers who, as though playing a musical
instrument, pull the glass out as semi-liquid, and blow through a pipe to form
an object. The shaping process continues with a metal instrument (kammasha) and
the vessel is complete. Then the glass is put aside into a small chamber
adjacent to the furnace to cool down.
This
process is repeated every two to three minutes in an amazingly fluid movement
in spite of the boiling heat. The traditional intense colors of Hebron glass
include dark and light blue, turquoise, and light and dark green. More
recently, they have adapted to include popular frosted glass.
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