As we arrived to Nablus, I could see it is a beautiful city. Nestled between two long, hilly mountains, Nablus looks like a cozy, comfortable city from above. There are numerous large white apartment buildings, and some beautiful rooftops of mosques and churches lining the neighborhoods near the mountain. From the road above, Nablus was picturesque. From below, as we explored the souq (market) and browsed through everything from pecans to sheep bladders to underwear and gold jewelry, Nablus was bustling with activity. Nablus is also famous for the best konafe, a special Palestinian dessert made with sweet white cheese, pistachios, sweet water and some sort of crunchy sweet stuff (no idea what it is!). It was as good as I always heard. :)
View of Nablus
Outside the bustle of the city, just over the mountain, lies Tel. Tel is a small Palestinian town/village with a population of about 5,500. After meeting numerous Zeidan aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, children.. (I was overwhelmed!) and saying a lot of marhabas and kef halkoom and kissing lots of women on the cheeks repeatedly :) we went out walking around the village. The Zeidans have some land on top of a hill near the village – its set up like a small summer camp. They had beds hanging from the trees! It was so cool, like Swiss Family Robinson Palestinian-style. :) From their perch on the hill, we could see the Mediterranean Sea. I could see Tel Aviv, Hadera, Cesarea beach, and the lights of the towns of Israel/1948 Palestine. It was amazing.
Darin's Aunt, who reminded me of my Great Grandma
Darin and I
Uncle Talal's Story
The more somber part of this trip was hearing stories of the occupation and oppression that weighs on the people in Tel and Nablus as they face the reality of a life without freedom of movement. One of Darin's uncles, Talal (or Abu Mohamed), lives in a small building at the 'camp' place on the hill that I just described. He used to work with the Palestinian Authority and worked outside the country for them, but then decided that he wanted to move back to Tel and bring his family with him. His family was in Jordan, waiting to move. Talal moved back to Tel just before the Second Intifada started in 2000, not knowing that it would mean years of separation from his family. After arriving in Tel, Talal had to apply for a Palestinian ID and permission to stay in the West Bank – but when the Intifada erupted he had no way to get them. For eight years Talal lived on the mountain illegally, afraid to travel anywhere for fear of being deported. He was also unable to get permits for his family to come to Palestine from Jordan. For eight years, Talal did not see his wife or children. Then finally in 2009, he was able to obtain an ID card from the Palestinian government, and was able to visit his family in Jordan. Two of his sons were able to apply for permission to visit Palestine because they were under 18 years old, and so they are now staying with him for the summer in Tel. His wife and other children are still in Jordan.
Graffiti from the 2nd Intifada, Tel village
It is maddening to hear of stories like Uncle Talal; regular people who worked hard and never got into any trouble in their lives, but are unable to have the most simple things in life. All this due to these RULES as I said in an earlier post: the ridiculous, cruel rules that govern the lives of Palestinians. That's what living under occupation means.
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