For those of you who don’t know much about the situation in the West Bank, to cut a long story short, the West Bank, also known as the occupied territories, or Palestine (although some would debate what constitutes Palestine..) is separate to the rest of Israel in that although the Israeli military maintains the borders, Arabs mostly occupy this land. The currency is the same as Israel but in many ways it’s a separate state. Although there are Jewish settlements in parts of the West Bank, Jews will generally not venture into this area – the army will stop them from entering in some cases. Likewise, Arabs wanting to enter Israel may find difficulties in doing so – they will need to pass checkpoints and show their IDs.
The situation really can’t be summed up in a few words and it’s quite hard to find articles that aren’t biased in one way or another. The wikipedia page is probably a good start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bank
Following violence in 2002 between Palestinians and Israelis, a wall started to be constructed to stop Palestinian suicide bombers from entering Israel and essentially separating the West Bank from the rest of Israel. This controversial wall has been the subject of many debates, and since Banksy left his mark on it 2 yrs ago, others have followed in his footsteps. The wall is now strewn with all kinds of political messages.
I think this is one of Banksy’s pieces:
Another one of Banksy’s:
So this was in Bethlehem. I came here last year as well and I found it really peaceful – there were literally no tourists. This time there were groups of pilgrims everywhere which was annoying, but considering Bethlehem’s significance to Christianity, it makes sense. It’s weird.. even though I love street photography which is mostly people-based, I tried to avoid capturing any tourists in these images.
Church of Nativity:
The security officer in the left of this image remembered me from last year:
(Apparent) Birthplace of Jesus:
I think I waited 5 minutes to get a shot as there were so many crowding around it..
Church of St Catherine:
I’m not religious nor Christian, but yet I find religion quite fascinating and to think that this is one of the most sacred towns in the world is pretty cool. There’s just so much history here..
Next stop from Bethlehem was Hebron. Hebron is also in the West Bank and we took a Service Taxi there. These are a common way for locals to travel – it’s basically a shared taxi/bus service and it costs around 7 shekels (around £1.20).
Hebron isn’t your typical tourist town – it really seemed ‘authentic’ in that there were no markets catering for outsiders, for example selling souvenirs. There was, however, this brilliant glassblowing factory made up of one man..
He was rolling it into all kinds of shapes and it was quite an intricate process.
He asked me if I wanted to try but the furnace was HOT and I really didn’t have the confidence to be glassblowing when I don’t have a clue as to how to do it.
I wanted him to make me a customised one but it takes a day for it to cool..: (
There was also this man making pots:
They had a shop of all the stuff they’d made:
That place was so cool and the glass was also so cheap. As the bus driver had told me – Hebron is famous for two things – glass, and grapes.
Hebron’s food market:
Mmm.
These guys were trying to sell me some fruit and they wanted a picture taken. They were being pervs as well. I actually found that many Arabs were pervs (without generalising) – they’d try to be flirtatious and it was really quite unappealing. I’m not sure why it is.. I mean OK maybe in Hebron tourists aren’t a common sight, but even in Jerusalem, young Arabs would try to lure women – I got a number of marriage proposals. That’s not to say there weren’t any decent Arabs – quite the opposite. I wish I’d taken a picture of the man from Hebron who sat next to me in the bus back to Bethlehem – he was really helpful and we had an insightful conversation about politics and the state of the West Bank.
Some more graffiti from the wall:
Even the Hindu ‘Om’ sign featured..
None of these messages reflect my own opinion. This is simply what I saw.
I guess tourists and locals use the wall as a way to channel their views
So it was back to the checkpoint to go back to Jerusalem:
You have to wait for the light to turn green before entering:
Luckily it wasn’t busy – I’ve heard it can take hours to get through during busy times such as when Arabs go to Jerusalem for Friday Prayers.
On the way back to Jerusalem:
View from Jaffa Gate, and my lame attempt at a night shot:
More from Jerusalem and the Dead Sea next time.. : ) Sorry if this entry sounded a bit dull – I had a bit of an accident and ended up falling face-first into concrete so my face is bruised and grazed which means I won’t be going out for a while! : ( I guess I’ll finally have the time to edit all my pictures..! Ah, painkillers, here I come..
Thanks as always for looking.
I’m back from my second trip to Israel :D You can find my first trip’s blog here – http://www.tanya-n.com/?p=125
Flying out from Terminal 5, which is the new terminal at Heathrow Airport. It’s really spacious and a lot less crowded than some of the other terminals.
Full-view:
£1 for TEN minutes to use the Internet?! Airports are a huge rip off.
Waiting to board..
..and we’re in Israel! Bring on the great people, great food, great weather and all-around greatness.
My lovely Israeli friend Rivka, or Ricki :P
I’m not a fan of cats – I’m convinced they hate me. I think I might have only ever taken three or four cat pictures, but for some reason I found myself photographing Ricki’s kittens lots – she has five of them and I have to admit they’re pretty damn cute!
Mmmm:
A Yemmen speciality – cheese and spices in a pastry.
More cuteness
Maybe I’ll quit photojournalism and street to take pictures of kittens!
Ricki has an awesome family – they’re so full of character and life, like her lovely granny :) I’ve never met a woman of this age with so much youthfulness!
We headed to Jerusalem from Netanya. I tell everyone that Netanya is named after me. We took a train to Tel Aviv and then a bus/coach to Jerusalem. Strangely, buses are faster in Israel than travelling by train so it’s the preferred mode of transport.
In Jerusalem!
We went to the Western Wall which is located in the Old City of Jerusalem and which is also one of the holiest places for Judaism.
There was a wedding taking place
There were a lot of soldiers around taking pictures of each other, and the bride and groom asked to pose with them which I thought was cool:
Army service is compulsory in Israel from the age of 18 to 20/21 for both girls and boys, so it’s a common sight to see young Israelis walking around in uniform with guns. The first time I saw this last year I was surprised but I soon got used to it. I can’t imagine the youth of Britain walking around with guns.. but here it’s simply part of the culture and part of growing up. From what I see it also contributes to the solidarity and loyalty of society.
I love the shadows at the bottom of this:
Men and women pray at the Wall in separate areas so women stood over the edge to take pictures of the men’s side.
The women’s area:
The tradition is to face the wall and pray, and to speak into the wall or to write messages to insert into the stones of the wall.
Literally every single nook and cranny of the wall had small pieces of paper stuffed into them:
There’s now a Twitter service that allows you to send a message which someone will deliver to the wall personally. Ah, technology, eh.
I tried to get the driver in the frame but I think I was too short :/ We had a conversation with him and he was really friendly. I like the sign in Hebrew next to the mirror which says not to talk to the driver while he’s driving.
We went to Pinati, a fantastic place for hummus in down town Jerusalem.
This stuff was amazing – definitely the best hummus I’ve ever had, and the owner was really welcoming:
Walking around town..
Random cat:
Israeli cats definitely love posing : )
Why anyone would want to wear a Pringles kippah is beyond me, but I guess it’s unique! I think it’s more as a souvenir rather than to actually wear..
We walked around the Jewish market and came across this place selling Halwa:
Halwa is a kind of Middle-Eastern sweet and this stall had some really unusual and tasty flavours such as cinnamon and pistachio Halwa. The guy was on the phone and Ricki told him jokingly that people would walk away as he’s on the phone and not paying attention to the customers. He replied saying he’s talking to his wife and she’d leave him if he didn’t give her attention. It was a cute moment.
There’s so much to explore in Jerusalem. You can literally walk around for hours and immerse yourself in the surroundings.
This residential street was particularly interesting. As we walked through we found people praying in one building (below), kids playing in the street (above) and a house from which we could hear a guy playing the piano beautifully, and singing. We stood outside listening until the end of the song, and then applauded him. He shouted thanks to us, and started playing another tune. It was a nice moment..
I didn’t try the falafel here but it could not have been as good as the one I had in Nazareth last year – that was simply divine!
Back in the Old City:
As it’s Ramadan, and the Old City has a large Muslim population, many of the Arab-run markets closed earlier than usual (around 6:30pm in order to break the fast at 7:15pm)
This man’s little clock shop was one of the few shops open, and he asked to be photographed:
Pomegranates can be found on most street corners – they’re a pretty important fruit in Judaism and Christianity, and you can find sculptures of pomegranates around the country.
I was staying only a few minute’s walk from the Western Wall so the next morning I went back there.
There was a lot of activity this time – it turns out Bar Mitzvahs were taking place!
I had to climb on a chair like many other women to see what was happening on the men’s side.
A Bar Mitzvah is a Jewish ceremony that takes place when a boy turns 13 to symbolise his coming of age.
I was using the 50mm lens and a photographer on the other side of the fence on the men’s side asked if I wanted a picture of myself. I thought ‘why not’ and gave him my camera and he took the below:
Perfectly out of focus :D He also complained that the lens was too narrow. Ahhh.
I wanted to visit the Dome of the Rock, which is the famous gold-topped mosque – an icon of Jerusalem and the second holiest place for Muslims (after Mecca and Medina). It’s also home to the Foundation Stone, known as the holiest place in Judaism but ironically Jews will not usually be found there. You can read more about the mosque’s significance on Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_rock
Anyway, the directions to get there were a bit confusing despite the mosque being located on the other side of the wall, and I had to ask a security man for help, who was happy to be photographed:
Finally made it.
It’s a pretty stunning sight – the wide angle lens and the deep blue sky helps :P
Entry inside the mosque itself is completely forbidden for non-Muslims (pictures of the interior are rare) and in fact even the areas just outside were only open for tourists between 8am and 11am.
I wanted to photograph the mosque by night as it’s meant to look stunning, but every single alley leading to it was blocked by border policemen who would simply not allow me to even walk ONE metre beyond the barriers they’d put up to get one shot.. it seemed strange. I didn’t really understand why this restriction was imposed. The Muslim Arabs themselves who saw me with the camera seemed happy for me to photograph them, and some even joked that they’d take a picture for me (not that I’d have given the camera to a random person!). Yet the policemen would not even let me have a peek at it – they’d actually put up the barriers in such a position so that it was not even possible to look at the mosque.
Anyway, I gave up on the idea of getting a night shot after trying a few entrances. It wasn’t a huge deal but just would have been a nice bonus. There must have been a valid reason for the restriction I guess.
After leaving the mosque when I visited during the day, I went down one of the many alleys and ended up in the Cotton Merchant’s Market. The exit was manned by two officers/soldiers who told me that I couldn’t go back to the mosque from this alley – it was purely for exiting only. So many alleys.. so confusing.. the Old City is like a maze and even though its possible to walk through the entire area in a short space of time, it’s so easy to get lost in the maze of narrow cobbled streets.
Anyway, the soldiers were really playful and were asking me about my origins, and the guy on the right did a Bollywood song and dance which was great!
They even let me play with their truncheon.. :o
This was the view of the Cotton Merchant’s Market:
Just to point out, this area is predominantly Muslim, and apart from the soldiers, you won’t find any Jews walking around this part of the city. Even though it seems perfectly safe to me, being a tourist, there are areas where both Muslims and Jews would not feel comfortable or welcome at all. It’s sometimes easy to forget that tension in Jerusalem can be high – it’s one of the oldest cities in the world and its historical and religious significance is unlike any other sole city I have visited. Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the distinction and difference from one area of the city to another are very apparent.
I’ll stop now as I think I have RSI from editing pictures for hours. More Jerusalem, Hebron, the Dead Sea, Tel Aviv, and lots more to come soon!
Thanks as always for reading : )
