palestine: bethlehem

My last new city during this trip was Bethlehem. For Christians around the world, the city is known as the birthplace of Jesus.

Bethlehem is just 10km from Jerusalem, but the two cities are in two different worlds. To get from one to the other, its easiest for tourists to find the one bus that goes through the military checkpoint all the way to the center of the city of Bethlehem. Of course, that was not how i did the trip, which basically meant i spent more money than i should've.

I started that morning by packing up my stuff, hiking down the road 5km, then catching the next bus from the dead sea back to jerusalem.

That trip wasn't long, it was a sunday morning. Then i had to find my way around the crazy bus station in jerusalem, to catch a bus to bethlehem. I ended up having to ask the lady at the information counter, as the bus i wanted wasn't exactly at the station, it was outside, across the street. While i was waiting for that bus, there was a bomb scare, or something along those lines. Police blocked off the street, leaving an empty space about 100m long, around a backpack someone had left behind, probably by mistake. Everyone backed up, and no buses got through the street for about 20 minutes. A guy sortof dressed in bomb gear (he didn't look like the guys you see on tv shows who dismantle bombs, but it wasn't the normal police/military outfit either...i guess these sorts of bomb/suspicious bag scares happen quite regularly in jerusalem) investigated the bag, and after a few minutes, said everything was okay...traffic started up again, life went on as normal...my bus came along a few minutes later, and i was on my way to bethlehem...

the bus i took dropped me off at one of the military checkpoints...(this was not the bus i mentioned earlier)...there were no people waiting in any sort of line, and very few signs telling me where to go...it took me a while to figure out where i should go to get out on the palestinian side of the border...people going the other way have to have their passports ready, and maybe other documents as well? I don't really know...
as i exited, a heap of taxi drivers pounced...all i wanted was a ride into the center of bethlehem, so i could walk around and see a few sights...that was not what they wanted me to hire them for, they all wanted me to hire them for a day trip around the area...one guy said a round trip taxi ride from the checkpoint to the city center (and back) would be 20 euro...is it just me, or is that a LOT? The distance is only 4.5 km each way!! i think that was supposed to include waiting time, but seeing as how i had no idea how long i'd be wandering around, this was not a deal i wanted to make...

it took me 10 minutes of haggling just to get someone to say they'd drive me one way...even so, on the way, he kept trying to get me to hire him to drive me all around the area...he explained that most tourists spend all their money in israel, and that palestinians are really suffering...he sounded very bitter to me, and i understand that...still, the feeling of being looked at as only a human atm instead of a person reminded me of how things work in southeast asia...i hate that feeling...

i got to the city centre, it took me a while to figure out which way to face my map, and where i was on that map...bethlehem is the birthplace of jesus (who was jewish) but it is now in palestine, and therefore doesn't have the same calendar work week as israel...which means me visiting on a sunday wasn't great planning on my part...a lot of places were closed, including the information center...argh...oh well...for whateva reason, it took me longer than usual to get oriented as to where i was on the map...i hate not being able to figure out where i am...

i visited the church of the nativity, which is shared by three denominations of christians...roman catholics, armenians, and greek orthodox...different areas of the church are claimed by each denomination...i don't really understand why there is squabbling, or why the differences between each denomination seem to be so important in this part of the world...anywho...

the entry to the church of the nativity is quite small, not at all ornate...i thought it was a side entrance, and kept looking for a larger, more obvious entrance, until i realized the small door was where i needed to go...the altar area of the church is 'owned' by the greek orthodox, and therefore is decorated in that tradition...(an iconostasis, hanging lanterns/lights, etc)...i don't remember which group 'owns' the grotto under the altar, or the other parts of the church...(i don't remember because to me it didn't make any difference)...

visiting on a weekend was again a mistake in that i had to wait in a line to see the grotto area under the altar...in the grotto is a hole in the floor, surrounded by a silver star...this is in a little alcove on one side of the room...this hole in the floor marks that exact spot where jesus was born...how such a thing was/is known, i don't know...i don't know who decided this was/is the right spot, but evidently enough people agree with the designation that the church of the nativity was built over the spot...the story goes that jesus was born in a manger, because all the hotels in the town were full...since a manger is not exactly a permanent structure, and jesus himself didn't become known for a number of years, i don't know how anyone would know where he was born...anywho, that's beside the point...heaps of people visit this church so they can see this spot...there is a priest standing by who keeps the line of people moving...

most visitors to bethlehem come around the christmas holidays, you have to book a hotel room months ahead if you want to spend christmas eve in the town where jesus was born...this is the only time each year when the city is busy...

after being herded through the grotto area, i spent only a few more minutes in the church...it isn't architecturally interesting, it's just a point of pilgrimmage...

from the church i made my way across what is known as manger square, and thought about entering the mosque on the other side of the square...i tried to dig a scarf with which to cover my head out of my pack, but couldn't find it, so i didn't go in the mosque...

from there i figured out where the local market was, and walked through there for a while...it's a regular market, filled with locals selling all sorts of produce...nothing unique, but i always enjoy seeing the 'normal' part of any city i visit, so i had fun wandering...and i found pancakes:)

after that i found a couple places selling postcards...the guidebook was right, everything is cheaper in palestine...i ended up buying most of my jerusalem (and bethlehem, of course) postcards in bethlehem because they were cheaper...(and when you buy them in the quantities i do, small differences in price make a big difference:)

from there i wandered to the church of the milk grotto...the outside isn't noteworthy, but the inside is all white...something about a drop of mary's milk being spilled and the whole thing turning white...waaaaay back when...

all over the city center i saw palestinian flags, which isn't so surprising...being so close to jerusalem means there are people with stronger feelings about an independent state...

around that time, i decided i was ready to go back to jerusalem...i didn't want to deal with taxi drivers again, and i was hoping there was a faster/easier way to go...i asked the clerk in one of the shops that sold me postcards, he gave me directions to find a bus that would go through the checkpoint...i love helpful people:)

on the way to the bus stop i stopped at a cafe called stars and bucks...i wonder if the international company we all know has threatened this particular cafe (yet) about changing it's name...i bought a tasty sahlab (sp?)...soooo good...

it took me a while to find the bus stop, it wasn't quite a straight walk down the road...i ended up asking a kid on the street, we chatted for a bit and he pointed me in the right direction...

getting on the bus was easy, and it was cheap...only 8 shekels!...the interesting part of the ride was when we went through the military checkpoint...all the locals had to get off the bus with their papers/passports and show them to soldiers manning the checkpoint, then get back on the bus...(it isn't easy for palestinians to cross the 'border')...as a foreigner they glanced quickly at my passport, but there were no other questions...everyone got back on the bus, and it took me to a stop really close to my hotel in jerusalem...

palestine: dead sea (ein bokek, ein gedi, masada, wadi daragot)

 the dead sea is amazing...absolutely amazing...not only is it located entirely below sea level, it's the most salty body of water on earth...(i think)...the water of the dead sea is something like 33% solid...the dead sea chapter was one of the first chapters i read when i got my guidebook...
i started the first morning by waking up waaaay too early to catch a bus from tiberias to a national park, from there to a highway junction, and from there to the bottom of a hill...the bottom of the hill was a military checkpoint, as the top half of the dead sea is in the west bank/palestine...the place i had arranged to stay was up that hill, and i found out it was a 5km walk, with no transport available...

the soldiers encouraged me to wait for someone to offer a ride...i waited at the bottom of the hill for a while, and two guys from tel aviv drove me up to the top, i was marveling at the landscape the whole time...amazing...the dead sea is not only really low, it's surrounded by cliffs and wadis...amazing...
i checked into the hostel, which was actually a kibbutz!! i put my stuff in one of the tents meant for three people, rested for a while, then started walking back down the hill...fortunately people started coming down sometime while i was walking (two guys from poland) and they drove me to the bottom of the hill...they were going back to tel aviv, i was going the other way, so i walked to the bus stop and waited for the next bus...buses run the length of the dead sea every so often, but not super often, i had to wait 30 minutes or so...it was an expensive bus for a relatively short drive...

my first area to visit was called ein bokek...it's a public beach, and it's free...one of the few free beaches on the dead sea...it's not a place you go to lay out, at least not in the middle of winter...the area of ein bokek is basically a resort area, a lot of russian families come for a week or more...there are spas in all the hotels...i just wanted to float:)
i had it in my head that the water would be warm...it wasn't...it wasn't cold exactly, but it was.not.warm...i came close to not going in, but then i figured that would be absolutely ridiculous; to go all the way to the dead sea but not go in the water seems like going to the grand canyon but staying in your car in the parking lot...anywho...

floating in the dead sea is one of the strangest things i've ever done...very very strange...as a swimmer i've spent a LOT of time in water, a LOT of time floating...i guess i do certain things to float without thinking about it, like taking a big breath and holding it...howeva, when you are in the dead sea, you don't have to do any of that...it's very odd to stay so high in the water but not feel anything holding you up...my feet wouldn't stay under water until i 'sat' or 'stood' in the water...even as i try to describe the feeling, i know you won't understand until you try it yourself...

the signs on the beach give several directions: don't drink the water (call a lifeguard if you do)...don't swim out very far...don't put your head under the water...(all the minerals in the water are NOT good for your hair)...drink a lot of water as soon as you get out, as the salt will dry you out without you being aware of it...no one splashes around at all because no one wants salt water on their face or hair...
after 10-20 minutes of floating i got out, and changed into dry clothes...there are small little 'changing' rooms along the beach, so i wasn't revealing myself to anyone...

in dry clothes, i walked through some of the shops selling products of the dead sea...there are heaps of face masks, exfoliating scrubs, creams, etc...they all seemed rather expensive, considering the materials came from approximately 20 meters away...i bought my normal purchase: postcards :)
the bus back to the bottom of the hill was really crowded, but at least it got me where i needed to go...i walked up part of the way before being picked up...the stars in the sky were AMAZING!
the next morning i got to enjoy the fantastic breakfast with this hostel...it was kosher, and huge...(and very healthy)...there were a lot of veggies, i took advantage :)

i walked down the hill and caught the next bus heading toward masada...another set of ruins, of course...there are a number of ways to get up the hill, i chose to go up the 'snake path'...it wasn't easy, but plenty of people went zooming past me, so im probably just out of shape...the ruins were nice, but not stunning...(i'm probably just a jaded traveler)...i really enjoyed the views over the area, since the ruins are on top of a cliff/hill...masada was once a protective fortress, hence the reason for its location...
the hike back down went a LOT faster, but i had to worry a bit more about sliding, or falling...i ate lunch in the cafeteria area, falafel, of course...i had to wait a while, but eventually a bus heading to ein gedi came along...

ein gedi is one of the best known resort areas along the dead sea...i entered the spa, and the receptionist told me i only had an hour to relax, as the spa closes an hour early on fridays to prepare for the start of shabat...oh well...too bad i hadn't caught an earlier bus from masada...i took the little train to the beach, where i found mud! it was grey, and definitely an exfoliant...i rubbed it all over, then went swimming :)...i was sad i hadn't brought body lotion with me when i changed into dry clothes, as my skin was crazy dry...i didn't have the guts to ask someone to use a little of theirs...

i waited at the bus stop for a while before realizing there weren't going to be any more buses that evening...it wasn't yet sunset, but i think the buses stop plenty early...i counted myself as very lucky when a car of young men stopped and offered me a ride...they turned out to be russian...they dropped me at the bottom of 'my' hill, and i walked up to thoughts of dinner:)
when i planned this part of the trip, i knew the next day would be shabat, so i would have no way of getting back to jerusalem...instead, i hiked the area around my hostel...AMAZING...i wish i'd had another day of hiking...

the views across the wadi were fantastic...i went down into the wadi, then up the other side...i ended up hiking down another side of the hill with a couple who lived in a kibbutz on the other side...they offered me tea and snacks, then drove me back to the hostel...i would love to do that day again...(but bring snacks with me when hiking this time!)