The West Bank pt.2- Mar Saba & Hebron

My expectations of what would happen on the way out of Israel proper and into the West Bank had grown inside my head as the trip approached. Sam asked me when I got into his car if I had my passport. I usually carry it in my money belt, but for today I was going to carry it in my front pocket. All I had read left me expecting to have to show it at least 10 times. I expected the checkpoints to be a small break in the 'Seperation Fence', the 471km fence the Israeli Government is building on the border with the West Bank. The above picture is the fence as seen from the lookout behind the Seven Arches Hotel on the Mount of Olives. Where Sam & I crossed, it was a small check point, with the fence nowhere to be seen and a seemingly regular chain link fence (with some nasty looking barbed wire on top). Sam told me that this fence was also electrified, and that made it seem more formidable.

The West Bank itself is poorer than the rest of Israel. Lifestyles tend to be more traditional, as seen in the pictures above. Much of the West Banks economy relies on tourism, that's why times of unrest are particularly damaging for residents in these parts. Much of the rest of the economy is agricultural, especially in the northern part of the West Bank, and herding of sheep, camels and cows, is dominant in the drier south. Industry is the West Bank is almost non-existent, since the Israeli government has made it hard for Palestinian entrepreneurs to get permits to build factories. Few people would have the money to, as well, although Sam told me that some factories are starting to open up.

Mar Saba Monastery

The caves where Sabas originally settled

The Kidron Valley

Our first stop of the day was the monastery at Mar Saba, some 25km east of Jerusalem, in the baking Judean desert. The devout Saint Sabas occupied the caves opposite the current site of the monastery in the late 5th century BC. His popularity lead to a following of over 70 faithful monks, joining Sabas in his desert sanctuary. The first churches were build here in the early 6th Century. Destroyed by constant invaders, especially the Persians & Ottomans, and also by earthquakes, the current buildings are from the 1800s. They are dramatically perched over the Kidron Valley. The photos I have fail to give the proper perspective. It was the photo of this place in a book I saw before coming that drew me to want to visit it. Not getting the proper viewing angle was not the only disappointment for me, since upon arrival, we were met by a chattering monk, explaining that the main priest had gotten up early for prayers and was napping then eating, meaning we could not visit the inside of the compound itself. He did allow us to step inside the front gate so that Sam could explain what the buildings were from the balcony. He also didn't allow me to take any pictures from the inside. Sam said he'd had problems with this particular monk before.

We continued Southwest toward Hebron, passing Heroduim, King Herod's palace/fortress built during the time of Christ into a low hill.

Tomb of the Patriarchs/ Ibrihami Mosque

I'd wanted to visit Hebron for a few reasons. The first was that all my sources said that Hebron was a good place to get a peak into everyday Palestinian life in the southern West Bank. Nablus & Jenin in the northern part were the best place to find this, but those were out of my reach on this trip. The second reason for visiting Hebron, was to visit The Tomb of the Patriarchs, or the Ibrahimi Mosque. The building's history is as controversial as the history of the city itself. The shrine built over the Cave of Machpelah, the traditional resting place of Abraham, his wife and their offspring, was open to both Jews and Muslims, since both religions see Abraham as their patriarch. In 1994, Baruch Goldstien, a resident of the neighboring Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, walked into the Mosque dressed in his IDF uniform and with his IDF issued rifle, opened fire on Muslim worshippers, killing 29 before he was beaten to death.

Evidence of repairs of a bullet hole from the Goldstien massacre

Since the massacre, the building as been divided into Muslim and Jewish sections. Both sides have access to the tombs of Abraham and his wife Sara, with the tombs of Issac and Rebecca residing on the Muslim side, and the tombs of Jacob and Leah on the Jewish side.

The Tomb of Abraham

Security checkpoints existed at both entrances, but Sam and I were able to get into both sides.

The Muslim side was beautiful, with elaborate rugs, a gift from the King of Morocco adorning the floor in every direction. This side also contained a beautifully carved minbar (pulpit) from the time of Ottoman ruler Salah ad-Din in the late 12th Century.

The minbar and mirhab (central point of worship facing Mecca) were located between the tombs of Isaac and his wife Rebecca.

The Tomb of Jacob

The Jewish side consisted mostly of a courtyard for reading the Torah, and to the other side, the tombs of Jacob and Leah.

After the Jewish side, we went out and observed the traditional entrance to the Cave of Machpelah, the cave purchased by Abraham to serve as his grave, and the first geographic reference in the Bible that can be tied to and actual place today. We also took a look at the Jewish part of downtown Hebron, not to be confused with Kiryat Arba, the settlement on the hillside above town. The Jews has lacked a presence in Hebron since 1588, when the Jewish population was massacred by the Ottomans. Following the Six Day Way of 1967, Israel gained contral of the West Bank. It didn't take long (early 1968) for a radical Jewish Rabbi and some of his follows to reestablish a Jewish presence here by renting a downtown hotel for an indefinite period of time. When the incident became an embarrassment to the Israeli government, who hadn't authorized such a move, the colonists were moved to the hilltop settlement they occupy today. In another act of defiance, the Rabbi's wife and some settlers moved into some abandoned building in Hebron proper, setting up a clinic and assuring the town of a Jewish presence in the future. That part of Hebron today, isolated from the rest of the city, is essentially a ghost town, with a couple hundred residents living in dilapidated buildings and having no real businesses, except those revolving around serving the tourist crowds visiting the tombs. Even the Muslim souq had moved away from this area, now being located more toward the chaotic center of modern Hebron.

We left and drove north heading for the city of Jesus' birth, Bethlehem.