Nablus

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Today we went to Nablus to the Jacob's Well Church. It's a fairly new church. This is where they believe Jesus met the Samarian woman. When we got there, Brother Mark read us the story of the Samarian woman. Then we sang Come Thou Fount of every Blessing. We went inside the church. It's an Orthodox Church. There are many lovely paintings. In the corner, there's the burial place of a priest who was "martyred" in 1979. He was killed by an Israeli settler. 

We had to wait our turn to go down to the basement. There were four groups ahead of us. There is a well down there. We drew some water. Medieval pilgrims would have drunk from the well. Some of our group took a sip. I just poured some water over my hands. There was also a priest down there who was making icons. 

Then we went outside and gathered in small groups to discuss our thoughts. 

Afterwards, we went to the TanoreenRestaurant for lunch. It was really delicious. Each time we go to a restaurant for lunch, they bring him mums, baba ganoush and salad first. Then, today they served chicken, vegetables and rice. The change Chen is cooked underground. We went outside to see them pull it up. It was too dark smokey to get photos, but the chicken tastes like it had been barbecued. For dessert, we had kanafe.  

There's a Samaratan community nearby. We wanted to see their area. Our bus driver drove up there, but the gate was closed. It's Saturday and it's their sabbath. 

I should say a little about what it's like in the Palestinian Territories. When we go there (Bethlehem, Nazareth), we have to have our passports because they could ask for them at any time. We go through a checkpoint. Often we drive down a road where there is a fence with concertina wire on each side. Palestinians are forced to use Israeli money and to follow what Israeli police officers say. It's definitely life under occupation.