Letter from Palestine, 18. Family visit.
3rd January 2005
Dear friends!
Hotmail is back, we will see how long it lasts. I have spent some time to write this letter. My family has left and I am alone again. I had a cold when they were here, and I have got a new cold now, so the working spirit is not the best. The everyday life is soon here, though I don’t know how it will be like. I think you are interested in how Christmas in Bethlehem turned out, so I will try to give a view on that, in addition to the other experiences we have had.
When we went to Bethlehem the day before Christmas Eve, I discovered that the soldiers had tuned in on Christmas mood. We passed the checkpoint easily and were wished merry Christmas. Those who passed on Christmas Eve got chocolate on their way, I heard! 23rd December the Church of the Nativity was as empty as the Sunday before. We were almost alone in the Grotto, there was only a nun praying there. But Christmas Eve the tourists and pilgrims appeared. We had got “tickets” for the Midnight Mass. Many others had got the same, and so we were standing close together in the back of the church. I have to admit that it for us was more a show than a mass, but this could also be the experience in Norway in Christmas. While it was a long line for going to the grotto on Christmas Day, there were not so many after the Midnight Mass. My family had also left earlier, while I tried to experience as much as possible of what happened.
We stayed at the Lutheran Guesthouse in Bethlehem. There we had a special Christmas Eve dinner with 5(!) dishes. Christmas Day we were among the few foreign guests attending the service with the local congregation. We were well welcomed and could easily follow the liturgy as it was translated to English. I am just sad that the sermon was only in Arabic as I have heard that this pastor has much relevant to say. My family was a bit surprised of the Arabic version of “Church coffee”, “Church drinks”, served after the service. It is not Norwegian standard, but I have got used to it though the “Church juice” is enough for me.
The musical experiences this Christmas were given by the Choir of London. They had a concert in the International Centre at the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem the day before Christmas Eve. We were too late and only got tickets for the screen in the floor above. It was a disappointment. But then we were lucky and had the chance to go down as it was not quite full though. They also participated in the Evensong in the Anglican Church in Jerusalem, St George’s, on Christmas Day.
After a few nights in Jerusalem we went out on a trip in a rented car. With my father as the driver and me as the map reader, we came around to Jericho and Galilee. We saw Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, and Ein Gedi, where we could have a nice walk along a stream of water, in addition to the compulsory floating in the Dead Sea.
I myself have only had one day in Nazareth before, so the trip around the Sea of Galilee was new also to me. We visited Bethsaida, Kapernaum and Tabgha. We also went to the Mount of Tabor, in sunset before we drove to Nazareth. In Nazareth we had not ordered a place to stay on beforehand, so it was a bit back and forth before we found a place to stay, we ended at the hospice of the St Charles convent. In addition to the Church of Annunciation, the Well of Mary and the Synagogue Church, we visited the “Nazareth village”, a village built up to show how life was at the time of Jesus.
On our way back to Jerusalem we went to the Mount of Karmel before we because of lack of signs (not only because of bad map reading, I think) drove back and forth on the highway south of Haifa and then a big way around almost whole Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem we at last got a political tour around the city with ICAHD (Israeli Committee Against House Demolition). It is my fourth tour with them. It is good to see that there are Israeli peace activists who distance from what the Israeli state do in the Palestinian areas. We saw many settlements and the wall. Where I normally pass on my way to Jericho, it was now closed. The soldiers would not let anybody pass, and it did not help that we were there. The soldiers thought it was better for the Palestinians to walk the 7 km extra to pass by the next checkpoint. The Christmas mood was certainly gone.
At last I want to wish you all a happy new year. I hope we will see a change to the better in this world in 2005. It is a bit strange that I am already halfway in my stay in Palestine. These four months have passed quickly, and I feel that four months left is too short time. But I think it is positive that I feel like this and not the opposite.
Best New Year wishes from Hanne.
Dear friends!
Hotmail is back, we will see how long it lasts. I have spent some time to write this letter. My family has left and I am alone again. I had a cold when they were here, and I have got a new cold now, so the working spirit is not the best. The everyday life is soon here, though I don’t know how it will be like. I think you are interested in how Christmas in Bethlehem turned out, so I will try to give a view on that, in addition to the other experiences we have had.
When we went to Bethlehem the day before Christmas Eve, I discovered that the soldiers had tuned in on Christmas mood. We passed the checkpoint easily and were wished merry Christmas. Those who passed on Christmas Eve got chocolate on their way, I heard! 23rd December the Church of the Nativity was as empty as the Sunday before. We were almost alone in the Grotto, there was only a nun praying there. But Christmas Eve the tourists and pilgrims appeared. We had got “tickets” for the Midnight Mass. Many others had got the same, and so we were standing close together in the back of the church. I have to admit that it for us was more a show than a mass, but this could also be the experience in Norway in Christmas. While it was a long line for going to the grotto on Christmas Day, there were not so many after the Midnight Mass. My family had also left earlier, while I tried to experience as much as possible of what happened.
We stayed at the Lutheran Guesthouse in Bethlehem. There we had a special Christmas Eve dinner with 5(!) dishes. Christmas Day we were among the few foreign guests attending the service with the local congregation. We were well welcomed and could easily follow the liturgy as it was translated to English. I am just sad that the sermon was only in Arabic as I have heard that this pastor has much relevant to say. My family was a bit surprised of the Arabic version of “Church coffee”, “Church drinks”, served after the service. It is not Norwegian standard, but I have got used to it though the “Church juice” is enough for me.
The musical experiences this Christmas were given by the Choir of London. They had a concert in the International Centre at the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem the day before Christmas Eve. We were too late and only got tickets for the screen in the floor above. It was a disappointment. But then we were lucky and had the chance to go down as it was not quite full though. They also participated in the Evensong in the Anglican Church in Jerusalem, St George’s, on Christmas Day.
After a few nights in Jerusalem we went out on a trip in a rented car. With my father as the driver and me as the map reader, we came around to Jericho and Galilee. We saw Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, and Ein Gedi, where we could have a nice walk along a stream of water, in addition to the compulsory floating in the Dead Sea.
I myself have only had one day in Nazareth before, so the trip around the Sea of Galilee was new also to me. We visited Bethsaida, Kapernaum and Tabgha. We also went to the Mount of Tabor, in sunset before we drove to Nazareth. In Nazareth we had not ordered a place to stay on beforehand, so it was a bit back and forth before we found a place to stay, we ended at the hospice of the St Charles convent. In addition to the Church of Annunciation, the Well of Mary and the Synagogue Church, we visited the “Nazareth village”, a village built up to show how life was at the time of Jesus.
On our way back to Jerusalem we went to the Mount of Karmel before we because of lack of signs (not only because of bad map reading, I think) drove back and forth on the highway south of Haifa and then a big way around almost whole Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem we at last got a political tour around the city with ICAHD (Israeli Committee Against House Demolition). It is my fourth tour with them. It is good to see that there are Israeli peace activists who distance from what the Israeli state do in the Palestinian areas. We saw many settlements and the wall. Where I normally pass on my way to Jericho, it was now closed. The soldiers would not let anybody pass, and it did not help that we were there. The soldiers thought it was better for the Palestinians to walk the 7 km extra to pass by the next checkpoint. The Christmas mood was certainly gone.
At last I want to wish you all a happy new year. I hope we will see a change to the better in this world in 2005. It is a bit strange that I am already halfway in my stay in Palestine. These four months have passed quickly, and I feel that four months left is too short time. But I think it is positive that I feel like this and not the opposite.
Best New Year wishes from Hanne.
posted by Hanne at 2:54 PM
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