Hebron: A Palestinian City with a Whole Lot of Politics

Welcome to Palestine!

Although the sign certainly appears ominous, I have only one reaction upon passing these signs: excitement. These are a fancy little addition Israel has added along the streets of Palestine warning when the streets enter "Area A" territory. Sorry for the quick history lesson, but it's important. After the Oslo II Accords Palestine was separated into 3 types of territories: Area A (only 3% of the West Bank) is under full military and civil control by the Palestinian Authority. Area B contains land which is under Palestinian civil control but under joint control by both the Israeli and Palestinian militaries. Area C, which is a majority of Palestine, is under full Israeli civil and military control. Passing those red signs warn that I'm leaving the jurisdiction of Israel. Frightening for my university, parents, and government, but by all personal accounts it's one of my favorite parts of "Israel".

This past Saturday was my second time entering into such territory. However despite going with a tour guide (for my own safety) this was much less tourist oriented than my first time crossing into Bethlehem. I was off to Hebron.

I went through an alternative tourism group who pairs travelers with locals who show you around the city. I was joined by a 30-something Austrian embassy worker from Tel Aviv and his mother. The three of us walked around the Old City of Hebron, through the market, and just enjoyed spending the day in Palestine along with our local guide who is a school teacher outside of Bethlehem during the week.

This is a picture of myself, the woman traveling to Hebron with me, a local shopkeeper, and our guide for the day.

The main site in Hebron is the Abraham mosque/church/synagogue. It's the city where Abraham lived and the mosque/church/synagogue is located on his tomb. Locally Hebron is called الخليل which means "friend" in Arabic because Abraham is considered the 'friend of God'. The building has gone through different phases historically between being a church, mosque, and synagogue. Now it is split between the Muslim and Jewish communities in Hebron.

The Muslim part of the site. Israel has created a checkpoint which you can see on the left where Muslims have to get checked before they can go into the mosque to pray. For "safety reasons" I'm told.

The synagogue side of the structure. On the left you see two IDF soldiers who stopped us from going any closer since we aren't Jewish.

Inside the Abraham mosque. Behind me is the mihrab and to my right is the minbar where the imam talks from on Fridays. It was originally Saladin's minbar.

After the mosque our guide briefly left us on our own so we could enter the kilometer or so of street that Israel had seized from the Palestinians. They welded all the shops shut and threw out the locals so that a few Israeli's could move into a settlement there. It was one of the most surreal moments I've had while traveling. The streets were deserted and there was Israeli propaganda posted everywhere amongst the few remaining signs and buildings that hinted toward the Arab life that used to exist there.

The empty Israeli controlled street in Hebron.

Standing in the deserted streets.

One of the shops the soldiers welded shut with Jewish graffiti next door.

What was even stranger is when a Jew did decide to walk outside they were accompanied by flocks of soldiers. In the photo below there are at least 13 soldiers just to accompany two Jews who were walking in the street. It's just a really weird thing to observe and wrap your head around. Also, Hebron is supposed to be Area A where it's illegal for Israelis to be, but yet they're controlling certain parts quite significantly.

I'm aware that settlers are not representatives of all of Israel or of the entire Jewish population. That would be like saying the Westboro Baptist Church represents Christianity or Americans. I don't mean to point fingers at anyone in this post, merely express what a strange situation I observed while in Hebron. What was even harder for me personally is that most of these extremist settlers in Hebron are actually Americans. Hearing a Palestinian tell me that I'd get to meet my fellow people while walking around was such a painful thing to hear. The fact that a part of my identity overlaps with these people despite feeling so polar opposite from them made it harder to accept their behavior.

The soldiers accompanying the two men walking around.

For lunch we visited a local Palestinian family who cooked homemade Arabic food for us. They had been living on a specific piece of property for years when a settlement decided to set up right on the edge of their property just uphill of them. The settlers blocked off access to their house, blocked their water supply, and in general tried to make life as tough as possible for the family living there. There was no shortage of horror stories of violence toward the family.

The IDF stopped us and interrogated us when we tried to walk near the settlement to get to the Arab man's house for lunch. A soldier collected our passports, asked us a bunch of questions, and just seemed obscenely suspicious of our desire to eat a home cooked meal. On our way out of the neighborhood the same solider had the audacity (knowing I was an American due to obtaining my passport) to tell me he'd be interested in a green card. 

The Palestinian family who provided us lunch is in the house on the lower left. The bright orange building is the settlers' apartments.

Despite the hardships and the tension in Hebron the locals are incredibly friendly and welcoming. It's hard to walk around without being welcomed into a shop for tea or coffee and the locals are bilingually chatty. They were amazingly good about putting up with my basic Arabic speaking skills and both encouraged and corrected me along the way. The driver who took us through the separation barrier checkpoint was so pleased with my conversational skills he even offered to drop me off in my neighborhood so I wouldn't have to catch a cab on Shabbat!

One of the most interesting locals I met was Abed Abu Muhammad. He is one of the few shop owners left near the Abraham mosque and near the Jewish settlement. Despite being offered lots of money he refused to leave his shop and home. He was literally born inside those walls and over Arabic coffee and conversation he was keen to tell me to look at the stone beneath our chairs. "See that rock?" he'd knock on the ground, "The stone is tough. Palestinians are tougher." He has been there so long Israel refuses to grant him permission to leave Palestine for travel because he attracts so many visitors. The locals refer to the Israeli checkpoint near his shop as "Abed's checkpoint".

Sitting with Abed, one of the few shop owners left after he invited us in for coffee.

Hebron is clearly a city of polarities. As much as my post swings bipolarly between paragraphs so too did my entire day. It was an exhausting trip full of emotional stories and experiences but also really amazing locations and people. Maybe it's not where the adverage person would spend their free time, but I'm glad I got the chance to.

What do festivals, annunications, and ugly sweaters all have in common? Nazareth.

For the final class trip in my program our colloquial Arabic teacher took us to her hometown of Nazareth to experience the Christmas Market there. Essentially, she released nearly a dozen students on the town of Nazareth to explore and immerse themselves for two days. 

The first stop was an old ceramics factory in the city. It was a third generation business and the owners gave us a cool cultural lesson on life in Nazareth years ago. They also provided us with a delicious local lunch and had a bunch of fun Arab-related clothing to relate to the little history lesson.

The guys messing around in traditional headdress (worn not so traditionally in this photograph).

Lisa and I trying out different Arab headdresses. I'm gender-bending a bit culturally and wearing the traditional male head piece.

After lunch we checked into our hotel which was originally an Arab mansion but has now been renovated into a guesthouse. We settled in and prepared for the main event of the trip: the Christmas Market. Hundreds and hundreds of people showed up for what was the opening night of the five day market.

The girls on the balcony outside the apartment at the guest house.

(From left to right: myself, Ilona [our TA], Kati [my roommate], Melanie, and Lucia)

My classmates and I ran into some festive friends in town.

As the evening went on more and more people filtered into Nazareth. It was the first night of the market and at 8:00pm the official opening event was going to start. Hundreds of people packed into the center of town to see the lighting of the Christmas tree and lights.

The crowd in front of me at the main square.

What came next was easily a highlight of my trip. I stood pressed against friends in the crowd grinning as we shouted the countdown along with the crowd in Arabic. All at once the town light up: all of the Christmas lights illuminating simultaneously with the giant Christmas tree. At the same time the Church of the Annunciation's bells began ringing. Amongst all the spirited cheers, lights, and bells, the town of Nazareth set off one of the best firework shows I've seen. Standing only feet from where Mary was informed she was going to have a son I stood next to people from all over the world as the sky filled with festive light and music.

 Fireworks being set off from the Church of the Annunciation.

After the celebration, being the rambunctious students we are, we headed back to our housing for the night to continue with heated games of backgammon and some casual conversation before an early bedtime. After all, we had another whole day to explore in Nazareth. On Thursday we woke up and our teacher took us through the Old City and to the Basilica of the Annunciation.

Shops all decked out for Christmas in the market.

A side view of the Basilica. The main entrance is on the left. 

Just a tiny part of one floor of the inside of the Basilica.

One of my favorite parts of the Basilica was actually the structure around it. There's a sort of walled alcove surrounding the Basilica that has unusual pieces of art all throughout. The church asked people from all over the world to create mosaics to hang at the Basilica of the Annunciation. The only rule was they had to depict Mary and something regarding the Annunciation. It was fascinating to see global perspectives and art pieces and was such an interesting and beautiful place to walk.

 The mosaics from Indonesia and Thailand at the Basilica.

Lisa and I walking around the area with the mosaics.

A funny note about the sweater in the above picture: I obtained this sweater on our class trip to Jaffa. When we were walking around my roommate Kati and I discovered the sweater in a little boutique shop while we had some free time. We later showed our new purchases to our teacher from Nazareth who was absolutely speechless. After explaining to her the American concept of 'ugly Christmas sweaters' she seemed incredibly relieved because of how hideous she felt it was.

Anyways, it being a holiday sweater I stashed it in my wardrobe waiting to pull it out for the Christmas market in Nazareth. I packed it in my bag and was so excited to pull off my new tacky sweater for the day. In case the photos don't do it justice, it is a heck of a sweater: there's wool, black mesh, sequins, and bedazzling all on top of one another.

The second morning my teacher came knocking on our door to see if me and my roommates were up and ready. Since my roommates were occupied getting ready I answered the door to be greeted by my Arabic teacher. The exact words out of her mouth were: "Sabah al-khair-OH-GOD! You're wearing that thing?!" when she saw me standing in the doorway in my beautiful sweater. Over breakfast anytime someone would take a picture she'd rush over to me saying, "I'll stand next to the one with the ugliest sweater!".

All I can say is, I don't think ugly Christmas sweaters will be catching on in Israel anytime soon. Still, I had a blast wearing it and the stories were well worth it. Plus despite being incredibly absurd and over the top, the sweater itself is starting to grow on me aesthetically... although my mother insists the only appropriate place to wear the sweater is by myself on a train downtown in the dead of night so that hopefully something will happen to me so no one with ever have to see the sweater again.

Me standing at a beautiful vantage point nearby the Basilica. Also a closer up look at my crazy sweater.

Rooftop view of Nazareth.

A panoramic from the roof with the Basilica on the left.

Nazareth was an absolutely awesome trip. I'm so glad that our teachers decided to treat us to a little holiday spirit and take us up north for a few days. It was an incredibly beautiful area and another amazing place I'm glad I got to explore in Israel. 

Taking in the Scenery...

I have this constant mindset when traveling around Jerusalem that I'm always into finding a good view. I'm not sure if it's just because I'm not used to living in a city, but there's something incredibly beautiful about seeing Jerusalem sprawled out in front of you. It's not unusual if I'm out somewhere to walk well out of my way just because I think there may be a great view from a certain spot. And once I find a spot I like.... there's nothing quite like lingering and taking in the scenic view. I am studying abroad in a once in a lifetime city after all.

Anyways, the pictures add up and I don't necessarily want to flood Facebook or Instagram with a bunch of random landscape pictures. So here are some of the best I've collected in my wanderings along the way:

A view of the old temple wall and the Dome of the Rock from a vantage point off the highway on Mount Scopus.

Just off to the side of a building in Jerusalem giving a nice view of the center of the city on the hill on the right and the surrounding area.

A different angle of the religious epicenter of Bethlehem. I loved the way the clouds were descending in relation to the minaret.

The not so unusual phenomenon of me trailblazing along the way to some new vantage point. Here I had just climbed over the guard rails along the edge of a street near my apartment complex to check out the view over Jerusalem.

The view of Tel Aviv in the distance from a roof I was standing on in Jaffa.

Another roof top, another view.

Jerusalem at night from behind the Israel Museum.

I wanted to attach this photo because it's scenic in its own way. Cause, you know, um, the ocean...

An awesome view from a rooftop cafe I recently found in the Old City.

Another view from the cafe.

If you look from one side of our campus you can see the Jordanian desert sprawling in the distance.

And my academic building offers this lovely view every time I walk past.

Looking out over Jerusalem from my apartment building. There's no place like home.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

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.

Adding a little Color to my Week

Usually Tuesdays tend to be rather long and tedious. It's the middle of our school week and generally just full of lectures and homework. This week it was even more ominous because we walked to our 8:30AM class through hot and gloomy weather. 

With perfect timing the weather began to pour as our teachers assigned more and more work. One teacher announced there would be a quiz the next day. However, the mood didn't last. As the rain passed so too did the gloomy Tuesday atmosphere and my day became more, well... colorful.

We got blessed with this amazing view out our classroom windows from Mount Scopus a little before classes finished up. It was really cool to see the entire rainbow stretching across the area viewable from our little mountain.

I returned home from school anticipating a long afternoon full of studying, however, this new mood just wouldn't leave. My whole apartment got dragged into our decision to just enjoy the evening and soon books were long forgotten as we got  more creative with our night.

Living in an apartment full of art students is really a blast. What better occasion than a Tuesday night to just break out some paint and let loose? I spend all day at university surrounded by foreign language and politics, there's nothing better after that than coming home to a community of artists and friends.

Way more fun than studying.

One of the masterpieces accomplished last night.

Friends who finger paint together stay together.

Compensating with an early morning and a few cups of coffee over vocabulary review was well worth another fun evening in in Jerusalem.

Weekend Trip to Tel Aviv

I apologize for being so scarce in updating my blog lately. When I'm not busy I'm usually trying to use my few blocks of free time for some more adventuring out and about in Israel, but I keep forgetting to save time to actually share updates on them! This past weekend I finally got around to exploring Tel Aviv. Thursday a bunch of my fellow Arabic classmates, Noah, and I all headed back to Jaffa. We decided to take advantage of the 84 degree weather in December.

A pretty view of Jaffa beach and the city.

Noah and I in Jaffa. (Photo credits to Kati.)

We spent the day leisurely enjoying the markets and cafes around Jaffa before heading to the beach. We really hadn't intended on swimming, but the weather was amazing so we found ourselves spending our afternoon in the Mediterranean.

A rare sighting of Arabic students enjoying free time.

(L to R: Simon [Australia], Theresa [Germany], Kati [England], myself, and Lisa [Netherlands])

At the end of the day most of the group headed back to Jerusalem but Noah and I had booked accommodations to spend the rest of the weekend in Tel Aviv. We met up with Noah's friend Roi who showed us around the city. Including the best place for ice cream ever.

Roi and I take our ice cream very seriously.

Although we hadn't actually met Roi until that weekend we became fast friends. Without his help we would have been horribly lost and missed out on so much of Tel Aviv. Plus we got to enjoy Shabbat dinner even away from our usual Shabbat at the student village.

Saturday we lazily made our way to brunch before enjoying a little more time on the beach. We took our last day in Tel Aviv as leasurely as possible filling our day with louging seaside and sampling some more restaurants before finally heading back to Jerusalem.

Another beautiful beach in Israel.

I can't believe this is what I'm doing with my "winter".

A beautiful sunset on our last evening in Tel Aviv.

A little sun and a lot of good company is definitely a great way to end the week.