Palestinian Home

One day we went to Bethany to see Lazarus' tomb...and while we were there a Palestinian woman (Bethany is in the West Bank) whose house was right down the road from the tomb started talking to one of our professors. She was kindly enough to let some of us come and have a tour of her home...which was an awesome experience. At that time I didn't speak Arabic so I had no idea what she was saying, and she only spoke a little English. But from what I gathered, 9 people (including some of her extended family) lived in this house.

This is the walkway in from the gate through her yard to her house.



This is her front door. I think most of the family was short enough for it to be ok.



Her yard/garden. Those are olive trees.



Her kitchen. How would you like to cook for 9 people in this thing? The kitchen is actually newer than the rest of the house and is not attached to the main room. She was so proud when she was showing us her kitchen--that she has a covered place to cook food. And yes, that hole in the ground through the doorway is the toilet. They also have indoor plumbing (and the traditional Arab "toilet," which I just never got used to). :)



These last two are of the inside of her house. It was one room and I am standing about 3/4 of the way to the wall by the door. So what you see is more than half of her house. There were only 4 beds (all pushed against the 4 walls) so we asked her where the other 5 slept (9 people live there). She lifted up the cover of one of the beds and we saw blanket rolls under the bed. "On the floor," she said.

Wow. I hope no one needs to get up in the middle of the night...maybe they let that person sleep by the door...



These are the decorations on the wall. The one on the left is a picture of her mother. By the one on the right you can tell that this was a Christian Palestinian family.

Hezekiah's Tunnel

Hezekiah's Tunnel is a must see in Jerusalem. Although the first time the Jerusalem Center crew (also known as the JSAC) went through I was riding in a car through the back streets of the city with a JC guard (I was forbidden from entering the tunnel because of over-worried professors and a knee problem I picked up in Egypt, but this is another story for another day), I did go through another day. So take that, over-worried professors. :)

Hezekiah's tunnel is fun for all ages (except the sick, babies, elderly, and those with knee problems :) because you walk through 533 meters of water, with the deepness ranging from up to your ankle to above your knee (if you are short). And you can still see the chink marks made from the workers.



Highly recommended--but remember to take a flashlight. The tunnel doesn't have electricity. :)