ADVENTURE NORTHWARD TO RAMALLAH, NABLUS AND BEYOND

At 8:45 a.m. , Tuesday, we caught the #124 Arab bus from the corner of the Hebron and Gilo Roads. This bus takes you toward the old city of Jerusalem. We disembarked at the end of the line at the small, congested, noisy Arab bus station near the Damascus Gate of the old city. We inquired about another bus that would take us in a northerly direction toward Ramallah. We had heard that a bus should be able to take us to Ramallah. We walked several bocks to another small bus terminal where we heard that no bus can get you to Ramallah because of the security wall or fence as the Israeli government prefers it to be called. However, in the area of Jerusalem there is no mistaking that it is a Wall. Tall, gray and concrete.

A young Arab man convinced us that we should take the #18 bus to the Qalandya refugee camp where we would have to disembark and walk across the "green line" or the old boundary between Israel and the northen portion of the West Bank. Off we went, the six of us who decided upon this adventure. We had no class until 7:30 p.m. so we figured we should make the most of the day.

By 10 a.m. we could see the security wall under construction (which it is in many places) and people on foot making their way through gaps in the wall heading both north and south. There are no Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldiers to be seen here. We disembark the bus and find all around us a frantic mood as merchants who have set themselves up temporarily bark for your attention. They hope to sell you some supplies for your journey. Taxi drivers and their agents run through the surging crowds looking for fares for their taxis to every and any place you want to go. Since the IDF set up "flying" check points anywhere they please, it is wise to learn what routes are open and what routes you will want to avoid. We would not be in danger of course, but we could be inconvenienced because of the bottleneck these flying (and every checkpoint for that matter) creates. Some of the drivers have learned from past experience that they do not wish to tangle with the IDF.

From amidst the shouts and jostling of the crowds an older, white-haired woman approached me and spoke to me in English with an accent that I have now learned is a local Israeli accent. She showed me her identification card and asked me if I had heard of the work of the group to which she belonged. I confessed that I hadn’t and asked her to explain the work to me. She shared with me that she and other women who belong to her group go to the various security checkpoints throughout the country each day and observe. They are looking for any injustice or unfair treatment of the Palestinians who find it necessary to travel across the security line, in and out of the West Bank. They intervene in situations where they suspect or observe unfair treatment occurring. Sometimes they are successful in their advocacy work and other times their pleas go unheeded. Further, she told me that "some Israeli’s are ashamed of the policies the Israeli government have implemented toward the Palestinian people. I thanked her for the work she was doing, and I moved on.

We negotiated a taxi ride to take us through Ramallah, the former headquarters of Yasser Arafat, and north to Nablus (also called Shechem). We were quickly told that no one could take us to Nablus, only to the checkpoint south of Nablus. We agreed and were on our way. Nablus is only 60 kms north of Jerusalem yet it would take over two hours to make our way there. The checkpoint proved uneventful as we walked a kilometre through a muddy no-mans land and caught yet another taxi.

On the outskirts of Nablus is the site of Jacob’s well situated at the foot of Mount Gerizim. This well is forty metres deep and has provided a constant source of water since long before Jesus’ time. This is the well where Jesus rested after leaving Jerusalem and journeying northward back to Galilee. At this well Jesus met a Samarian woman, a story recorded in John 4. Here, Jesus says, "Everyone who drinks from this well will thirst again. The water that I give you will become a spring of living water and will never be thirsty again." The story is depicted in the painting or icon to the right.

Although other churches have stood on this site over the well, the present day church was begun in 1908 and construction ceased as the British began their mandate over Palestine in 1917 at the same time that money ran out. Construction has resumed in the last three years. The walls have been completed as has the roof. The resident priest has painted numerous beautiful icons or paintings depicted religious stories including Jesus’ meeting with the woman from Samaria. When we visited the dirt floor was yet to be laid in stone as well as the stone and carved appointments throughout the sanctuary. The church has beautiful stained glass doors as seen in the photo to the right.

Upon leaving the church we decided to hire our driver for the day for 300 shekels. He then took us took the top of Mount Gerizim a site of Samaritan worship and sacrifice as mentioned by the woman at the well in John 4:20. Actually, we had to walk to the top of Mount Gerizim because the IDF had set up a road block a distance from the summit and our driver wanted nothing to do with them. At the summit is an enormous excavated remains of the Samaritan temple and courtyards and surrounding walls and gates which you can see in the photo to the right. The view of the valleys below was breath-taking. One could well imagine the pilgrim worshippers making their way from their surrounding villages to this mountaintop to worship God and to bring their best offerings for sacrifice to God.

We lingered a while on Mount Gerizim before setting off for Sebastya, some 20 kms northwest from Nablus. We travelled a winding narrow road through forest and along steep valleys to a quiet village perched on a hilltop among olive trees, grape vines, fig and pomegranate trees. Sebastya was the royal capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, made so by King Omri whose son was King Ahab who married Queen Jezebel. Magnificent palaces and temples once stood here. Jezebel worshipped idols and introduced them to Sebastya which is said to have displeased God resulting in its downfall and destruction by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC and the residents were deported.

King Herod rebuilt it as a Roman metropolis with an enormous theatre, forum and stadium. Impressive columns still stand today. It became a centre of rest and relaxation for Roman soldiers on leave and those retired. The head of John the Baptist is said to have been sent to Sebastya and kept there. The amphitheatre is seen in the photo to the right.

Being that Palestinian elections are taking place on January 25th, many towns and villages are having political gathering much like in Canada, as candidates sweep through their constituent areas. Sebastya was no exception, and as I was preparing to leave, the local candidate arrived for a rally. The shop keeper with whom I had been in conversation took me to meet him, introduced me to the politician who had just appeared sporting a lengthy greying beard, headdress and flowing blue robes. He greeted me warmly, asked me where I was from in fluent but thickly accented English, and said, "You are welcome here." As the man moved on through the gathering crowd the shop keeper revealed to me that the candidate was one of the leaders of Hammas.

The return trip to Jerusalem again proved uneventful. We had to produce our passports several times, but as we were clearly "westerners" the authorities were relatively disinterested in our presence.

I must say how impressed I am with the hospitality of the Palestinian people. Wherever we have gone they have been welcoming and helpful. If one does not know English he finds someone who does in order to help us. If you cannot find the cookies you want, the shop keeper will take you to nearby shops until you find the right ones. We have received invitations to dinner with their families in their homes. Every one we meet has a cousin...... who owns a shop, operates a restaurant, or drives a taxi. Friendly, warm people to be sure.