My day started with a bagel from a place called Holy Bagel - very good customer service in that place! I recommend. After bagel it was time for more serious stuff. I walked to the old town and looked for the Arab bus station near it. Today I would be going to visit in a very interesting area - Bethlehem in Palestinian Territory. The Arab bus station is located quite near the Damascus Gate of old town. I took the bus number 21 and I was surprised how most of the people in the bus were tourists (and I was also surprised that it was a big bus not a mini bus). We were quickly outside of Jerusalem and driving along the wall between Israel and Palestine. It wasn't my first time to see the wall, I already saw it from a Haifa-Jerusalem bus. Suddenly the bus stopped middle of nothing and most of the local people left the bus. Outside the bus there were lots of cars waiting. We tourists were very confused but then the bus continued it's drive and this stop is still mystery for me.
I didn't even noticed the point where we crossed the border but soon the bus stopped at big junction. Some of use where little confused if this was the last stop and asked it from the driver who said that this is the last stop. So we all left the bus and then everybody disappeared in different directions. I was little confused where to go but then I noticed otherside of the junction a familiar street name from the guide books (Pope Paul VI street). I started to walk along it and the streets were busy with people opening their shops and going to work and school. I passed Lutheran Christmas Church and I came to more older part of the Bethlehem. Soon I was at the Mager Square and the Church of the Nativity was standing before me. There was still Christmas decorations around the square. I then went to inside to the church. There was service still going and the priests (or monks) were singing and incense was smelling. Because the priests were inside of the Grotto of the Nativity their singing was echoing mysteriously around the church. Very mystic atmosphere. After the priests left somewhere through a secret door I went to see the grotto myself. Smell of incense was very strong and I had hard time breathing. I watched some time how people kissed the spot where Jesus was born and then walked around the church complex. When big Russian tourist group arrived I decided to leave.
I walked back to the Pope Paul VI street and decided to buy real Palestinian scarf from Palestine. I suck at haggling so I was totally ripped of but it was worth of it - I got nice tea and sweets. But after that I was so low on money that I needed to go back to Jerusalem. I walked back to the big junction and from there I started to walk towards north along Hebron Road. Soon I came to the wall between Palestine and Israel and I started to follow it. There was no other people around so I took pictures of the graffities without any disturbance. At one point I met 2 local guys who wanted me to take picture of them because they wanted to represent Palestine. Couple times the wall went behind houses or fences so I needed to walk along streets near it. The wall was at the same time a beautiful and sad experience. I advice people to go see it. Then I arrived to the border check point which was full of taxis with their drivers offering me rides to anywhere in the West Bank. I kindly ignored them and I walked to border check. First 100 metres made me feel like I was going to jail and soon I was speaking to border control people through black glasses so I didn't even see where they were. One girl checked my passport quickly and then I was back in Israel.
There was big line of mini buses (sherut) number 24 waiting for people going to Jerusalem. I had just enough money to go back - it was stupid thing to go to Bethlehem with little money. The bus left when it was almost full. It took more people inside on other bus stops so it was very full when I left it at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. I went to find falafel from old town and I met Olga and Marcin there. They were going to an internet cafe and Olga said she was going to come back home late this night also. After our conversation I went to a tourist information office to buy tickets for a walk on top of the old town walls. In the office I met one of the Israeli guys from the bar. He still remembered the Finnish phrases I taught him a day ago. After that I climbed to the wall. I met only 3 other people because it was close to the closing time. I walked from Jaffa Gate to the Damascus Gate and I really enjoyed the views from the wall. It felt like a secret place to watch people's life in the old town from above. Damascus Gate exit was closed because of renovations so I needed to walk little bit back to New Gate to get down from the wall.
As my feet were hurting from all the walking of that day I decided just go back to Olga's place. Later I went to eat first time in the Kosher McDonald's and I went to buy also a pizza because I was really hungry.
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