We've reached the occupied Palestinian territories. The birthplace of Jesus lies beyond the security fence in Bethlehem. It took 6 different service taxis in order to see Hebron as the taxis will not cross checkpoint zones. The Security fence, either a Berlin wall or a Great Wall of China, depending on your own outlook is fairly imposing. Huge slabs of concrete were pounded into the earth with concrete silos serving as guard posts. The wall is so high that even if you managed to scale it to the top, you'd break your legs on the multi story fall. To top it off, they've added a nice set of barbwire as icing....seemed a little redundant to me.
We came to Hebron to check out a mosque but got stuck in a few tunnels. The Isreali checkpoint was closed so we headed back to Bethlehem. I met a young Palestinian named Mohammad on the way back. He studies engineering at the University in Jerusalem. When I told him I was Canadian he laughed and told me he was offered a full scolarship to a Canadian university. I asked why he declined the offer and he said that he could not survive on textbooks alone. The grant, unfortunately, did not cover any living expenses. The convesation naturally veered towards the current political situation and as a side note Mohammad metioned that he'd just been released from prison in the negev desert for a small infraction. He wouldn't tell me exactly why he spent that year in jail but it had to do with the isreali military. I didn't pursue further.
Chirs pausing for a moment
Lots of fixer uppers in the area. Its a buyers market from the looks of it.
We've reached the occupied Palestinian territories. The birthplace of Jesus lies beyond the security fence in Bethlehem. It took 6 different service taxis in order to see Hebron as the taxis will not cross checkpoint zones. The Security fence, either a Berlin wall or a Great Wall of China, depending on your own outlook is fairly imposing. Huge slabs of concrete were pounded into the earth with concrete silos serving as guard posts. The wall is so high that even if you managed to scale it to the top, you'd break your legs on the multi story fall. To top it off, they've added a nice set of barbwire as icing....seemed a little redundant to me.
We came to Hebron to check out a mosque but got stuck in a few tunnels. The Isreali checkpoint was closed so we headed back to Bethlehem. I met a young Palestinian named Mohammad on the way back. He studies engineering at the University in Jerusalem. When I told him I was Canadian he laughed and told me he was offered a full scolarship to a Canadian university. I asked why he declined the offer and he said that he could not survive on textbooks alone. The grant, unfortunately, did not cover any living expenses. The convesation naturally veered towards the current political situation and as a side note Mohammad metioned that he'd just been released from prison in the negev desert for a small infraction. He wouldn't tell me exactly why he spent that year in jail but it had to do with the isreali military. I didn't pursue further.
Chirs pausing for a moment
Lots of fixer uppers in the area. Its a buyers market from the looks of it.
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