In a place with no airport, restaurant in a Boeing 707 is off to a flier before it’s even opened, with visitors paying an entry fee just to see the cabin and cockpit
- A magnet for selfie takers, wedding photographers and wide-eyed children, an airliner refurbished as a restaurant is already a hit – and it hasn’t begun serving
- Bought in 1999 by twin brothers who grew up as refugees and converted at a cost of US$620,000, its opening in Nablus, West Bank, will fulfil a long-held dream
In Nablus on the West Bank, an old Boeing 707 plane is nestled among brambles, dust and stones.
It might look as though it crash-landed on the concrete strip. But for 60-year-old twin brothers Ata and Chamis al-Sairafi, the aircraft is the product of decades of work.
The plane, the wings and tail fin of which are decorated with the colours of Palestine and Jordan, shines bright against the backdrop of mountains, prepared for a new kind of journey. The twins are just weeks away from opening a restaurant in the Boeing, a long-held dream.
Despite pandemic-related turbulance, “hopefully in two months we can open the restaurant, insha’Allah”, says Ata Sairafi. Born five minutes before his brother, he does the talking.
The twins grew up in the Askar Palestinian refugee camp, in Nablus, and made a living buying and recycling scrap metal for years. But they dreamed of working in tourism and entertainment.