Israel and Palestine

Jerusalem
I don’t usually see too many American tourists while I’m traveling, and I think it’s because so many of them are in Jerusalem. During the day, the old city was full of large American tour groups. The biggest draw to Jerusalem is the religious sites: the Stations of the Cross, the Wailing Wall, the Dome of the Rock, but I found that watching the people was much more interesting than just looking at the sites.

I did feel a bit uncomfortable because it seemed like every 18 – 20 year old was carrying an assault rifle and many of the residents expressed towards other ethnic groups. However, Jerusalem felt very safe for me as a tourist.

Bethlehem

Bethlehem was the only city we visited in the West Bank, and I was really glad we went. We arrived in Bethlehem just days before Mahmoud Abbas officially applied for UN state recognition for Palestine. Everyone was in a jubilant mood and there was an all-day celebration for the Palestinian freedom movement with parades and dancing.
Grafitti

Outside of Bethlehem are the West Bank Separation Barrier and Aida, a permanent refugee camp. As we drove to Bethlehem, we saw how imposing the wall is and how severely it divides the landscape. Before leaving Bethlehem we went out to the wall to see Banksy's graffiti art, and we were surprised to find so much other art on the wall. The town felt very imprisoned as we left the city to go back to Jerusalem, passing through a crazy security checkpoint along the way.

Akko/Jaffa/Tel Aviv

After Bethlehem we headed north for Akko (Acre) and Jaffa,former Crusader towns. Acre has a neat citadel, a few secret tunnels, and very good hummus. Jaffa had lots of picturesque alleys and great views of Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv was a surprisingly Western city with lots of tall skyscrapers and delicious and diverse food. The beaches were right next to the city and they were beautiful, much nicer than the beaches we saw in the resort town of Eilat.

More Pictures are Here