Palestine Day 2!

Yesterday I left my blog with waiting for Stephen to finish teaching. Well once I finished this blog I decided to read up more on the area but fell asleep. I woke up with Stephen text me to ask if I can meet him at the lift has I had the key so I can freely walk around the area. When Stephen got back, we went down to the old city of Nablus (Al-Qasaba). We were looking for a cafe which did good Kenafah! We didn't find it but we found another one and I have to say that I like Kenafah. Nablus is well known in Palestine for Kenafah so if you ever come here you should try it!!! The old city was great to walk around. Really narrow streets in a maze with shops either side with carts being pushed as well.

The Clock tower in the old city

Today we got up at 8am so nice lie in compared to yesterday, so we could do some of the sights before Stephen had work! First stop was Jacobs Well. We looked around the outside of the church and looked inside the church. It is a Greek Orthodox church and there were many Pilgrims inside having a service. This meant we could not get to the tower where the well is.

Inside the church

After visiting the church we went up to Joseph's Tomb. We had to walk through Balata, the largest UN refugee camp on the west bank. Walking through here was eerie and but I got to see how the refugees lived. They were helpful when we asked for directions to the Tomb and welcomed us. At the Tomb we were asked by the Police what religion we were and where we were from. They then opened the Tomb for us to see. We followed around to make sure we didn't cause any trouble (we were the only ones in there), didn't take photos. The officer who was following us around made sure we saw the whole thing as we walked past one part and he pointed us in the right direction. After the Tomb we went to Tell Balata Archaeological Park. We had to walk through more of the refugee camp and got more directions but we eventually got there. We walked around, it was amazing being so close to the archaeological features and lots we could still identify has buildings etc.

The East Gate in Tell Balata

Afterwards we had a drink in the city and then went back to get Stephens teachings and went over to the new campus. We went to a presentation on Indigenous people and how other societies treat them with the main focus on "White" Australians and the Aborigines. Afterwards 2 of Stephens students came to talk to him and then started to talk to me. As Stephen had a class they kidnapped me, showed me around the University (New campus).We compared their university to the one I went too and they told me all about life in Palestine. It was a really interesting afternoon and I learnt a lot. I did also learn that one skipped her class with Stephen, but he forgive her as she turns up the rest of the time and she was speaking English to me which is better than learning out of a boring text book (apparently).

Any way Stephen has woken up and we are now discussing where we are going to eat. More tomorrow!