Day 14: The West Bank, Israel - That's Right, I'm in the Palestinian Territories

This is the security wall separating the West Bank. Note its largeness and intimidating stature.

And now for something a little different. I'm in Israel. I hear there's some conflicts in this area. Wouldn't it be a nice learning experience, I thought, if I saw some of the conflict zones? So I did. The first thing I had to do was change bus systems. Unbeknownst to me, Jerusalem has segregated buses. There are Jewish buses and Arab buses. The Jewish buses are nicer and newer, while the Arab buses are older and imported from Jordan, though they are still pretty nice by virtue of Jordan being pretty awesome (see previous posts about Jordan). At any rate, only the Arab buses went to the West Bank, so I took one. It dropped off me, some other tourists, and some Palestinians at the security wall, because it could proceed no farther.

Proceed if you dare.

Security and inspection was surprisingly easy, as long as I ignored the extremely grey and looming detention center like structure I was in. The security guard barely even looked at my passport before waving me through. That was it, really. I had to zig-zag my way through check points, fences, and barricades, but soon enough I found myself on the other side of the wall, only to see...

A lot more wall.

In the West Bank, the security wall is large and in charge. It dominates the landscape and is virtually impossible to dismiss. Graffiti, artwork, and murals occupy every square inch of the wall from the ground to about the 15 feet mark. Much of it is very poignant and artistic.

Much of it is also brutally to the point.

One particular establishment took advantage of the wall by taping a bedsheet to the wall and projecting World Cup matches onto the bedsheet. The irony of watching an event that unites nations on the security wall separating the Palestinian Territories was not lost on me. The name of the cafe was even "The Wall Cafe." 

The West Bank.

As far as a destination was concerned, I visited Bethlehem of nativity fame. It's right on the other side of the security wall. It's a sleepy little place, not terribly downtrodden, though there is certainly a more palpable sense of desperation in the air. The main attraction is the Church of the Nativity, containing the Grotto of Nativity where Jesus was purported to have been born. There was a service occurring in the grotto, with numerous pilgrims praying before a permanent nativity scene.

I ate some lunch, watched life pass in the West Bank, and called it an early day.

At night, I watched the World Cup at that same location as the previous night. Nobody in Israel cheered for Germany. Wonder why.