Need a ride to prayer? Hajjeh Nafeesa’s got you
Need a ride to Al-Aqsa mosque?
Location: Jerusalem
Nafeesa Khweis is known for offering fellow worshippers lifts
in her golf buggy which she bought herself
when it got too difficult to walk there
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SELF-STYLED SENTRY OF AL AQSA MOSQUE, NAFEESA KHWEIS, SAYING:
"I have had this cart for two years now. I used to get tired going back and forth to al-Aqsa mosque. God gifted it to me, and this cart gives me a lot of comfort when I go to and from al-Aqsa for the five prayers. It was also beneficial for others. It was beneficial for the people who wanted to go to al-Aqsa. More people wanted to go to there because I would go and pick them up and take them to al-Aqsa and take them back home. Thank God, people who didn’t used to go started going because I could take them there.’’
Khweis has frequented Al-Aqsa mosque for more than 50 years
and has become an iconic figure in the area
She is widely known in Jerusalem’s old city as 'Hajjeh Nafeesa'
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SELF-STYLED SENTRY OF AL-AQSA MOSQUE, NAFEESA KHWEIS, SAYING:"When it comes to al-Aqsa, it is my soul, my spirit, it is my life, al-Aqsa is the blood in my veins. I cannot stay away from al-Aqsa for one day…”