A Day on the West Bank

Ramallah

Once again we arrive at Abraham Hostel at 7:30am for a full day tour of the West Bank. If you have an Israeli passport, you are not allowed to come on this tour.

There is a huge security wall separating Jerusalem from the Palestinian Territories (West Bank). Our bus drives past a peaceful protest.

Our first stop is Yasser Arafat Square in Ramallah (the economic centre and political heart of the West Bank). Yasser Arafat spent his last few weeks under seige in this city before dying in Paris from an unexplained poisoning.

This square used to be called clock tower square. In 2012 it became Yasser Arafat Square and they were allowed to raise the Palestinian flag. Raising the flag used to be a crime.

We stop at a bakery for pastries. We buy eight and only pay 10 shekels total. Quite the difference from Jerusalem where you would pay that for each. We also buy coffees and teas for 3 shekels each…it would be 10 in Jerusalem.

There is a Stars and Bucks coffee shop on the square. It has a very similar looking logo as well. 

We walk to the Main Square before going to the final stop in Ramallah; Yasser Arafat’s tomb. This is a temporary tomb surrounded by water where he rests as he said he wanted to be buried in Jerusalem.

The tomb has no signage and the area is guarded because it also has the Palestinian government offices on the grounds.

On to Jericho

Leaving the city, our big bus heads through the narrow, mountainous roads, stopping at the side to let other vehicles going in the opposite direction to pass.

There are a couple of camels hanging out in the parking area of the Jericho Archeological site. Jericho is 250 metres below sea level and is the oldest city in the world. The site has 23 layers of city built upon city, built upon city….

In the background is the Mount of Temptation where Christ was tempted by the Devil.

Baptismal Site

The next stop is the site on the Jordan River site where Christ was baptized by John the Baptist. The river is only a few feet across and on the other side is Jordan. John and I visited this site when we were in Jordan last year. Here is the link to that day.

Many people are being baptized in the brown, muddy waters. They are wearing white robes with t-shirt type religious pictures on the front. These robes were probably purchased in the gift shop. Vince fills a bottle with some of the water from the river.

Banksy and The Shepherd’s Field

The bus winds it’s way up out of the Jordan Valley to take us to a place for lunch.

Just before lunch we stop to see wall graphitti called the “First Soldier” by Banksy.

We have lunch in the area known as the Shepherd’s Field where the shepherds first spotted the star. Those shepherds would never recognize the place if they were to see it now as its covered in buildings.

Bethlehem

After lunch we head to Bethlehem with a population of 30,000 people. It is not what you expect when you think of the serene nativity scene. We arrive in a bus terminal built to handle the multitude of tourist buses that arrive daily. Buses are everywhere with tour groups going hither and whither. From the terminal we walk up a hill with crazy honking traffic, busy streets and tons of souvenir stands. I see the white baptismal robes for sale.

We head through Manger Square to the Church of the Nativity. It is very busy and the line-up is so long that we cannot get into the cave where Jesus was born, however our guide gets us into the same cave on the other side of the wall. The original cave had been blocked off into two by a man-made wall.

We also see another cave where bones of many children were found, possibly from when Herod tried to kill all the young children.

Banksy and the Wall

On our last stop, we see another Banksy and then we go to part of the separation/security wall.

The wall was built to separate Jerusalem from the West Bank. However, we are told that it is not built on the border but a ways into the West Bank land.

Today has been a real eye opener. It shows that there are many sides to the same story.

At the Market

On our way back to the apartment, we stop by the Yehuda Mahane Market with streets filled with market stalls. Fresh produce, fish, baked goods, wine; all at better prices than we’ve been paying. Why haven’t we discovered this before?

We buy olives, pastries, figs, bananas, wine and more. On our way back Em and Vince get shwarama and John and I get lentil soups. We have the makings for a good supper and then we have an early night.