birthday gift

Impressions from a guest blogger 

The family arrived just in time for my birthday on Dec 23rd 
and this Allyee's initial take on our first full day in Bethlehem.
The gang includes daughters Sarah and Allyee, 
their boyfriends Chris Hunter and Coty Mc Clung, 
and my "adopted  "daughter" Jennifer Reimer.

Chris and Allyee walking to the market

Jet-lag woke us up bright and early just in time to watch the sunrise over Bethlehem while sipping on Turkish coffee. The sun slowly revealed shepherds, donkeys and an array of homes across the vast landscape. Then it was off to the open market in Manger Square for fresh produce and delicious falafels! The background was filled with car horns, beautiful Arabic chatter, and the amplified call to prayer from the Muslim mosque.

Separation Wall with Bansky tag

On our way to Jerusalem we passed the dividing wall - twice the height of the Berlin Wall - and although it broke my heart, the protest graffiti art was filled with hope: "make hummus not war." We passed the checkpoint easy breezy but the machine guns sent shivers through most of us. We stopped at a view point in Jerusalem for a brief lesson from Mama Whaley - the quote of the day being, "how can you tell the difference between an Israeli settlement and an Arab village?" The answer of course lies in water - those who have access to it and those who don't.

watering the donkeys on the way to St. George Monastery

We traveled back into Palestine and headed into the massive dessert of Wadi Qelt where we befriended a group of nomads - the Bedouin people - who let us ride their donkeys and served us fresh pomegranate juice. With their encouragement we hiked down to St. George Monastery (built around the 3-4th century BCE), where it is believed St. Elijah hid from persecution.  

a few of the many Santas we saw

After Mama Whaley's birthday dinner in Bethlehem, we headed back to Manger Square to see the giant Christmas tree and got stuck in a parade of Santas! In the square we quickly befriended a shop owner who has two degrees, social work and physical therapy, facilitates trips for National Geographic, and has met Banksy TWICE and assisted him in maneuvering his art onto the Wall!  We sat with his family, drank tea and talked for well over an hour before our jet-lagged little butts needed to head home for some more sleep.

our crew with shop owner, Adnan, and his family