It was raining when I landed in Tel Aviv. Passport control was easy but getting cash wasn't. None of my credit or debit cards worked in any of the atms I tried in the airport. I knew the only cash I had was 5 euros so I was wondering how I was going to Jerusalem with no shekels. I found the Nesher Taxi which is a shuttle van but the driver wanted 61 shekels. He didn't take credit cards so I went back into the airport. I decided to try the money changers to see if they would take my card but the queue was too long and I didn't want to miss the Nesher Taxi. It was already 8.30. Luckily as I was scrambling around in my money belt I felt a piece of paper...it was my emergency £10 note that I completely forgot about. I tried my luck with the driver as I remember him saying he would take dollars and wondered if he would take my euros and sterling as the queue at the money changer was still too long. I told him what I had and he said it's a little less but he would take it. Now I was on my way to Jerusalem.
The drive took 45 minutes but it took another 45 minutes dropping people of at their individual destinations. I ended up being the last in the van and he took me straight to my hostel at Damascus Gate. It was now 10pm. He asked me for the hostel's phone number as he wanted the owner to come get me. I asked why and he said it was not good for a young girl to be walking near the gate at this time alone and he made me wait in the taxi until the owner came and escorted me back to the hostel.
The owner spoke to me in Hindi asking how I was and what was my name...this is the usual thing I get when I travel as they always assume I'm from India. The first few things to note about my hostel were the area...pretty run down and it was very cold. I quickly settled in. The owner informed me that he only took cash but was happy for me to pay the following day when I found some cash. I slept in my clothes as it was too cold to change not that I wanted to. The cold breeze wafting into the room through the broken window didn't help. You might wonder why I would stay in this dump on Christmas day. Well it would have only been for 7 hours or so and I needed to be by Damascus Gate as that was going to be the meeting point for the start of the tour. It was the difference of paying $60 or $16 and I can live with that.
The next morning I frantically searched for an atm that would take my card. No luck. I finally went to a money changer and he took my card for a high fee but at least I have cash. I ran back to the hostel and paid the owner. I picked up my bag and ran to the meeting point. Unfortunately I was 10 minutes late to meet my guide, Yanev. It was not a good birthday morning. There weren’t even any lattes being sold at the cafe. The day looked up when the tour of Jerusalem began. In all the running around I realised the number of soldiers were dotted about Damascus Gate. I say dotted I mean gathered. During the morning tour I must have seen at least 200 soldiers and police all armed and most just chatting to each other and on their cell phones. We walked in the Muslim quarter and Jewish quarter and saw the stark difference of services offered or not in this case. The Jewish quarter was clean and immaculate, bright and spacious. The Muslim quarter was dark and dirty, cramped and there was dampness in the air. They both pay the Israeli government the same taxes even though one earns less and don’t get the same services offered to them. This was the reality of being a Muslim in an Israeli government.
My guide Yanev is Jewish and he lives in Jerusalem. He knows it's not fair what is happening. He learned about how bad the Muslim community are during his indoctrination at school. This made him eager for National Service. It was only after completing his service that he started reading books by Jewish authors condemning the situation in Israel. This is why he joined the Green Olive Tours. To show people like me both sides of the story which uses both Israeli and Palestinian guides and where you stay in Israel and Palestine.
We visited the Western Wall and saw Bar Mitzvahs taking place...where men and women pray separately. Right next door is a mosque. When the Western Wall is busy with a service, Muslims are restricted in numbers to access their mosque. We also visited the Church of the Sepulchre, Mount Olive and an Austrian church to see views of Jerusalem and settlements from the rooftop. After we were driven to Bethlehem to meet our host family.
It wasn't quite what I expected a host family to be. They are Palestinian Christians...that wasn't the problem. It's the fact that they have a thriving Airbnb business. Technically we were staying in part of the house which is huge and has three storeys that were used by Airbnb guests. One of the family members did eat with us to imply being a good host but I didn't buy it. If I had known about the situation, I wouldn't have given them their gifts as they could probably afford it themselves. It was OK, things like this do happen and I just make the most of it. What was really bugging me is how cold the house was. Everybody knows I hate the cold and this place was super cold. It only warmed up when she turned on her portable gas heater. If you moved away from it was cold. So the idea is to stay next to it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take it to my room. Luckily I brought my hot water bottle so this help.
The next morning we met our Palestinian guide Yiman and he took us on a day tour in and around Bethlehem and the West Bank. Some parts are occupied territories just like in Jerusalem. In particular the separation walls with all the graffiti especially a certain famous Banksy. This was my favourite part of my trip. I love graffiti and even more so the meaning behind them. These graffiti had definite meanings and I had to see them all. We also visited the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square. I even touched the stone Jesus was born on. I lost the group for 10 minutes but they weren't far at a restaurant for lunch. It was expensive and uneventful as all tour group meals are. We also got to see and meet people from the Aida Refugee Camp which was opened in 1948. I say opened, I mean developed after Israeli declared itself to be the State and took away the Palestine’s land. As they had nowhere to go, the camp grew and is still standing to this day. It's a city within a city. Nobody has any status except their refugee status. The locals call this the 5* camp compared the others. But even 5* camps need help. Alrowwad is a community of people helping children be children and women to learn a trade. The most important thing they do is Art. Resistance by Art is what they are showing to the world. They teach dance, music, photography, filming, interview techniques, drama and so much more. None of this is paid for by either government, only by Aid from overseas.
In the evening we were supposed to hear talks by visiting speakers at the AIC but as it is the holidays everything was shut. So it was a short day. We relaxed at our homestay.
The next day we headed for Nablus. We met another guide who technically wasn't a guide but a mate of Yiman. He was old and experienced in life and he had amazing stories. His manner was not professional but he was passionate about Palestine. On our first check point stop we were met by three heavily armed soldiers. Two came to the passenger side and one was in position with his rifle aimed at me. This sniper as they are called had a seriously crazed look in his eyes and he was ready to shoot if needed. Once our guide explained what we were doing, the two soldiers opened our side of the van door to look in. They said Hi and I waved to them. I looked to my left to see the sniper. He had relaxed his gun and was now smiling as he waved back to me. He looked like a completely different person and so young. As we got driving our guide is quick to point out the settlements on the hills opposite Palestinian villages. In fact at every entrance to a Palestinian village or town there is a large red sign warning Israelis that it is dangerous to enter the villages, it is a threat to their lives and it is against the law too. We drove past many check points with soldiers and one in particular was called the Roundabout of Death. Apparently no Palestinian will walk through this on their own. It was a long drive to our first stop at Jacob's Well where a Samaritan woman offered Jesus some water. Then we crossed the road to Balata Refugee Camp. This camp has been running since 1950 but it's more 2* than Aida. The first difference is the kids. They are more rowdy and some of them I met at the entrance were holding stones. Apparently they throw them at cars with Israeli number plates. The guide also told us one person gets killed by Israeli military or Police in the camp everyday. The second difference is the number of martyr posters plastered everywhere of young men posing with guns. These types of posters are prevalent around Palestine's occupied territories. Our guide told us how he knew two boys from Balata who filled their car up with explosives and was ready to drive to Tel Aviv and blow something up. He exclaimed they were shot by the soldiers as if he was shocked that it happened. He told many stories like this and smoked while he told them so I wandered off into the centre trying to get awy from the smoke. I found a group of women chatting and was invited to sit with them which I did. They told me they are learning to be beauticians. I pointed to my hair and asked if they wanted to cut it and they jumped at the chance. Their teacher did all of the cutting while the girls circled around me with their notebook and pen taking notes. I showed how much hair to cut off but I could see a lot more hitting the floor. They were so nice and even fed me fried rice while cutting my hair. I have never had my hair so short but it was a nice cut and finish. I gave the teacher some money as thank you but she didn't want it...in the end I insisted. It was a wonderful experience and the photos were great.
After the camp we headed to Mount Gerizim which is a holy place for Samaritans. The Samaritans are an off shoot of the Jewish religion. The fortress of Saladin is also on this mountain. The locals have figured out the treasures in this area as they come with metal detectors to look for roman coins. Lots have been found already so they have cordoned off most of the mountain and the fortress.
The next day we drove through the Judean desert and visited the de facto capital for Palestinians in the West Bank, Ramallah. We saw many Jewish settlements on route and enter Ramallah through a check point into the neighbourhood of Kufr Akab. The Separation wall divides the neighbourhood from Jerusalem although it is part of the municipality and the residents pay city taxes but they don't get the same services as the Jewish neighbourhood. In Ramallah we visited Arafat's Tomb and museum and learned all about his life and death. He was held in his offices for 3 years under siege. We then walked the streets of the bustling city with many shops and restaurants, just like any other city.
After lunch we drove to Hebron and to visit Abraham's Tomb and the Old City where Israeli settlers live in close proximity to the local Palestinians. The Palestinians have to put wire mesh up to stop the rubbish that the Jewish people throw on them. The graffiti is pretty scathing too. This is Palestine is scrubbed out...we didn't see any gas the Arab graffiti but we only walked in the market area.
We saw Abraham's Tomb from the Jewish and the Muslim sides. I never knew that Abraham's tomb was shared in a room; one side is seen by the Jewish people and the other side by the Muslim people. The only difference is the bullet proof shield out in front of the window on the Jewish side. There is no such shield protecting the Muslim people. The only bad thing about the Muslim side is the terrible coat they make the women wear. This is my bug bear about this religion, the fact that they tell women what to wear...another degrading thing imposed on us by men. I looked like a demure member of the Ku Klux Klan. Ridiculous. It was a long drive back to Beit Sahour to our homestay.
On our last night we were invited to meet some Bedouins. We saw them dotted about the countryside in little shanty towns. They are also slowly being forced out by the Israeli government. We were delivering plastic solar lanterns to them. We parked in the hard shoulder of the highway and then we had to cross the highway. We were told to look out for the Police as we would be fined or worse. As we ran to the central reservation dodging cars and buses, we heard police sirens. We panicked and just played statue all the while hiding behind the box of lanterns. I don't know what we were thinking or how we thought we might not be seen but the Police car just drove right past us. We all laughed and ran to the other side to meet the Bedouins. We saw their school which I never would have imagined existed behind the shanty town. It was built by Italian aid and it was a wonderful school, spacious and colourful. It will soon be demolished by the Israeli government. It was a wonderful end to an amazing trip in Palestine. The next morning on our last few hours in Palestine we crossed the checkpoint on foot. It was almost empty which isn't always the case. The place is just bars and metal grids and not friendly at all. We crossed over without any incident. It was a little anti-climactic. We hopped on the local bus and headed to Jerusalem.
