I’m back at base after an extraordinary whirl through the Middle East, from the citadel and souks of Aleppo, to the fabulous desert ruins of Palmyra, to the Ummayad mosque and caravanserais of Damascus, to Jerusalem with its manic religious intensity and finally the West Bank, that bleeding wound at the heart of the region. So much to say, so little time. For a peaceful starter, here is the interior of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
As a huge pile of work sadly limits the extent of my blogging, the best I can do (again) is post some snaps with quick commentary. Number one to mention, the most moving and most appalling, is the concrete separation wall (NOT fence which it is often euphemistically called) which climbs the hills of the West Bank, dividing inhabitants from their land, olive groves and even families. From what I saw, this Israeli construction is particularly atrocious in Bethlehem - what an irony. The pics of it are in high contrast to the serene nave of the church at the heart of the town above, which is what most tourists come to see.
My taxi-driver, Ashraf, had been one of the dozens of Palestinians besieged in this church in 2002 - “we ate leaves and drank dirty water”. This is an example of the striking Palestinian spirit that resists, despite the fact that these Bethlehemites live in a virtual island encircled by the wall. Ashraf, for example, is driving a taxi to help fund his university studies, hopefully taking him on to better things, while the wall itself has inspired incredibly inventive grafitti - some from visitors (including the British street-artist, Banksy) others from the ‘inmates’. I use that term knowingly, because this is what is feels like when you leave Bethlehem through the cattle-mustering structures of the checkpoint - you’re leaving a prison. But a prison for innocent people and now, inevitably, integrated into daily life. As one Palestinian artist I met said, “A checkpoint represents time, not space” - i.e. you never quite know how long it will take to get through. What he didn’t say was how humiliating that could be.
Author: Fiona Dunlop,.
Nice blog! Facinating to see the photos. The wall has inspired some interesting responses.
Comment by Russell on November 15, 2008 @ 3:23 pm