Preface: I have been traveling outside of the United States since July 9th. So far I was in Israel for 15 days with Taglit – Israel by Foot – Israel Outdoors, 30 days in Europe starting in Copenhagen and working my way south and east, and finally returning to Israel to remain here through November 29th. The first half of my trip I traveled with my brother Adam, and my best friend, Mike. They both left me in mid august, and since then I have been backpacking in Israel alone. Throughout this time I have been keeping a journal. I will continue to keep a personal journal, but I thought it would also be nice to reactivate my blog and periodically post updates about my experiences and thoughts during my trip. As I have already spent 1 month backpacking here, I will go back a little bit to add some posts on interesting experiences I have had here, but this first one i am posting was an experience I had as recently as September 17th… Continue on to read about my West Bank Experience….
I’ve just ended a full week’s stay at the Abraham hostel in Jerusalem, and believe me, it was the most stimulating experience I have had so far in Israel. Despite the fact that the week is still a blur to me, I felt it necessary to jot some notes down on an experience I was lucky to be a part of. If you had asked me before I started traveling this summer whether I ever saw myself going to the West Bank, the answer would have been firmly and unequivocally “No”. Yet, there I was, just three days ago now, on a nearly 12 hour trip through four cities in the West Bank – Palestine. I was fortunate to be included, along with 6 others from the Abraham Hostel, in what would be one of the most mentally exhausting days of my life. At first I was nervous and, I’ll admit, a bit
The 7 of us guests from the hostel departed at 9am, driven across the checkpoint into Bethlehem to be dropped off with our local (Palestinian) guide – Tamer.
Our group
Over the course of the day we would cities such as Bethlehem (a historic Christian city that is vibrant and full of life), Jericho (another historic city that dates as far back as the Old Testament), Taybeh , and Ramallah (the capital of the West Bank). The idea was to travel through the areas with a local guide to get a taste of the past, present, and future of this area. Past, present, and future combined when we went to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. We were accompanied by a church staff member who explained to us the significance of the church, the layout, and its history in the west bank. Right across the street from the church, a stage was being set up where the area locals could gather to watch the September 20th UN vote for Palestinian statehood. It was amazing to realize that in such a small area one could participate in so much history, as well as be a part of a future for a seemingly small area that will have a titanic impact on the world…
Stage for UN Vote
Church of the Nativity - Bethlehem
From Bethlehem we drove to Jericho to see Hisham’s Palace, which contains some of the oldest surviving mosaics in the world. For any history buffs, this is also the location of the world renowned Tree of Life mosaic. While in Jericho we also visited the source of the areas freshwater, an underground spring that is pumped and then distributed throughout the town. This is of vital importance to the city because of its close proximity to the Dead Sea and the deathly heat in the area. Somewhere in between driving from site to site, and walking the streets of each city, our guide Tamer would find time to take us to an excellent local falafel shop to enjoy an Arab specialty – Mesabecha (I cant ruin the surprise). Another surprise Tamer treated us to was a visit to the local coffee shop, “Stars and Bucks”. For a second I felt like I was back in America, until I actually read the name printed on the emblem.
Stars & Bucks
After a quick stop at the Taybeh brewery (an authentic palestinian beer) we continued onto Ramallah where we would drive through the city and end our tour at a discotheque that doubles as a pool/bar during the day.
It already seems like a full day, but I’ve left out the two most important parts. The first was the experience of walking along the Security Fence. In Bethlehem, the Security Fence is actually a monolithic wall, topped by coils of barbed wire, and interspersed with manned guard towers. The wall comes right to the edge of a street lined with several businesses and gas stations, simulating the feeling of a narrow alleyway. All along the wall there is graffiti art, pictures of children with hopeful smiles, and quotes from great peace activists such as Martin Luther King Jr.
Security Wall
Graffiti Art
Finally, Tamer, our guide. He completed the trip. He was extremely open, constantly urging us to dialog and ask questions. He discussed his views on the security situation, water shortages in the West Bank, the effects of the checkpoints on his daily life, and his general optimism and hope for a peaceful solution to the conflict. It would take me ten pages to detail our conversations throughout the day, so I’m going to save myself from typing it all and simply request that each and every traveler who comes through the area experience this trip for themselves, and form their own opinions on the matter. In the end, the most important thing to remember is that it is impossible to form an opinion with only one side of the story…
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