Blaine and I went into Bethlehem to pay the electric bill. We walk along the separation wall to get to the city building. They have printed posters along the wall for tourists to read as they wait in line at the border crossing to leave.
The wall cuts through neighborhoods.
Mohammad was at the branch building with his daughter Miriam. She's shy and sweet but has a mind of her own. She kept asking Mohammad to put up the Christmas tree he had just taken down. She was not appeased until Blaine got her an ornament from storage to take home.
Blaine climbed a hill outside of Bethlehem for this picture. It's looking south into Bethlehem.
It looks so peaceful.
This is the building Blaine was hiking up to see. We still don't know what it is but it's on the road to Bethlehem at the Gilo exit.
We then went to Shekel, a workshop for handicapped individuals. Their philosophy is that everyone needs to feel productive and contribute to society. They teach their people to make something they can sell. There is everything from hand painted coasters to assembly of circuit boxes.
The workshops are bright and cheery and the people seemed happy.
They have a gift shop on the first floor where they sell their handicrafts.
When we returned to the Jerusalem Center, Blaine walked down the hill to look for a Bedouin cave that he heard about. A Bedouin family lived here while the Jerusalem enter was built. The contractor ran a water pipe from the Jerusalem Center to his cave so he would have fresh water. He stayed there after construction was completed. A Bedouin custom is to move when a family member dies at that location, so the family moved when a death occurred. The cave is now sealed.
The inside of the cave.
Another cave on the hill below the Jerusalem Center
A sign which explains about the park below the Jerusalem Center
This is the hill below the Jerusalem Center where the caves are located.
Your adventures are so interesting. I saw the signs when we went to Bethlehem also. So sad. Loved seeing the gift shop managed by those with handicaps. Is that building near Bethlehem the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church? It looks like it. We saw Mar Elias on the "Overlook" trip with the students.
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