Considering I came to Jerusalem to study Arabic, I'd been looking forward to officially crossing the wall and checking out life in the Occupied Territories. However, due to safety concerns it really hadn't happened yet. With Christmas approaching though there was one place I really wanted to get a chance to visit: Bethlehem.
So this past Saturday Noah and I walked down to the Arab bus station in Jerusalem and I dragged him onto the bus headed to Bethlehem. Despite being only a few miles away it's actually difficult to get to considering the whole border and checkpoint phenomenon. Still, before long we were getting off the bus in Palestine. Only a short taxi ride stood between us and the epicenter of Bethlehem.
And what a taxi ride that was. Within a minute of climbing in the cab Noah leaned forward and sternly told the cab driver, "you're not allowed to speak in English; she needs to practice her Arabic", which launched into one of the most fun and stressful conversations I've had in colloquial Arabic yet.
There's not a whole lot in Bethlehem, but it was a fun place to experience. Obviously the big tourist attraction is the Church of the Nativity where Jesus was supposedly born. I'm really a terrible religious tourist when it comes to places like these. Thousands of pilgrims show up to squeeze in these places and become overwhelmed with emotion and have these spiritual moments of meaning. When I enter these locations I feel overcrowded and annoyed. Furthermore with most of the important Christian locations in Israel/Palestine being owned by different Catholic denominations, I really can't explain a lot of what's going on any better than my favorite Jewish travel buddy can.
Still, making an unusual team to take on the Arab city, we spent our day checking out the sights in Bethlehem.
Outside the Church of the Nativity.
Standing inside the church.
Noah inside the church questioning what he's doing there.
Noah and I outside the church.
At one point we ducked into a little falafel place for a bite to eat and accidentally ran into a bunch of Noah's friends from his university. It's crazy how small this place can be sometimes; we spent our afternoon enjoying good food and chatting in a mix of English, German, and Arabic. I was in my element.
Lunch candid.
My favorite part of Bethlehem was how it finally felt like Christmas season. Walking around Jerusalem there's absolutely nothing that points to it being the holidays. I miss the Christmas music, lights, and festivities. Bethlehem had it all and then some. Granted, you would expect the birthplace of Jesus to have a decent amount of Christmas spirit.
Finally a Christmas tree!
Overall, it was a really fun day trip and a nice break from the usual culture of Israel. Plus when we left it was dark enough I got to enjoy Christmas lights on our drive back. A little Christmas wonderland in the middle of a country that's perceived to be anything but.
Sitting on a ledge overlooking Bethlehem.
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