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Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick

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The Security Fence, the Anti-Terrorism Barrier, the Wall

The troubles of the Holy Land have taken a toll on both sides. While one man’s terrorist may be another man’s freedom fighter, the fact is that in recent decades, both sides have suffered terribly: Palestinians have killed Israeli Jews, and Israelis have killed Palestinians.

Since 2003, Israel has been building a wall around the West Bank in the name of security from terrorism. While Israel calls this the “Security Fence,” most Palestinians think of as a degrading and illegal land grab. Israelis would say that it’s been effective — noting that in the three years before it was built, suicide bombers killed 293 of their citizens; in the three years after it went up, that number dropped to 64. Since its construction, terrorist attacks have dwindled. Palestinians would counter by saying that this decline is not because of the wall, but because Palestine, its president, its security forces, and its people have all realized that violence is a losing strategy. Palestinians assure me that if anyone really wants to get through the wall (which is far from finished), it’s very easy to do.

It’s hard to argue against the land grab case. If the fence or wall was simply for security, as claimed, it would have been built along the internationally recognized border that was defined by the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993. But it’s generally well to the Palestine side of that border. In fact, it’s nearly twice as long as the border it claims to defend — gerrymandered in order to protect settlements, aquifers, good farmland, and holy places within the West Bank for Israel.

Walls are ugly. They may be necessary, but they represent a diplomatic failure. While it can look almost pretty from the Israeli side, the wall is unfinished and depressing from the Palestinian side.
Walls are ugly. They may be necessary, but they represent a diplomatic failure. While it can look almost pretty from the Israeli side, the wall is unfinished and depressing from the Palestinian side.
Restrictions and regulations necessary in the days of suicide bombers and violent resistant survive. For example, it’s much cheaper to get your car repaired in Palestine than in Israel because the standard of living and wage scale are so different. (The Israeli per capita GDP of about $33,000 is more than ten times that of Palestine’s.) But, of course, this could be a devious way for a bomb to be planted and imported into Israel unknowingly by the Israeli owner of that vehicle. So it’s forbidden.
Restrictions and regulations necessary in the days of suicide bombers and violent resistant survive. For example, it’s much cheaper to get your car repaired in Palestine than in Israel because the standard of living and wage scale are so different. (The Israeli per capita GDP of about $33,000 is more than ten times that of Palestine’s.) But, of course, this could be a devious way for a bomb to be planted and imported into Israel unknowingly by the Israeli owner of that vehicle. So it’s forbidden.
This map is a popular poster you see around Palestine and in pro-Palestinian publications. It illustrates quite graphically how Israeli control of the region is growing. Israelis remind us that Arafat turned down a chance to have a solid two-state option, and that the Second Intifada made the aggressive Israeli approach unavoidable. There is an internationally recognized border with a solid and viable West Bank, but Israel has created a system of designated areas that gives complete control only to "Area A" (18 percent of the land in the West Bank, with about 55 percent of the people), while Israel controls the rest (Areas B and C, used for settlements, natural resources, and the major roads enabling Israel to, when necessary, lock down the country and isolate the cities of Area A). The last map (far right) shows why Palestinians compare their control of the West Bank today to Swiss cheese ("Israel gets the cheese, and Palestine the holes").
This map is a popular poster you see around Palestine and in pro-Palestinian publications. It illustrates quite graphically how Israeli control of the region is growing. Israelis remind us that Arafat turned down a chance to have a solid two-state option, and that the Second Intifada made the aggressive Israeli approach unavoidable. There is an internationally recognized border with a solid and viable West Bank, but Israel has created a system of designated areas that gives complete control only to “Area A” (18 percent of the land in the West Bank, with about 55 percent of the people), while Israel controls the rest (Areas B and C, used for settlements, natural resources, and the major roads enabling Israel to, when necessary, lock down the country and isolate the cities of Area A). The last map (far right) shows why Palestinians compare their control of the West Bank today to Swiss cheese (“Israel gets the cheese, and Palestine the holes”).

I’ll continue this Holy Land series until November 21st. Then, to celebrate my homecoming, I’ll give a live, free slideshow lecture on Thursday, November 21st at 7 p.m. P.S.T. in Edmonds, Washington. You can attend in person (registration required)…or watch the live webcast from anywhere in the world (no registration required). Learn more at Rick Steves – Holy Land: Israel and Palestine Today.

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Night Ride to Ramallah

RS13Summer_0944Palestine’s time zone is an hour earlier than Israel’s, so it gets dark early — and during our visit, we invariably found ourselves driving after dark. While I wouldn’t do that in Egypt, we felt very safe on the road at night here. The biggest hazard was speed bumps, placed every 200 yards whenever passing through a town — for the safety of kids who don’t have parks and generally play in the streets.

Every so often, we’d cross a checkpoint. When approaching some checkpoints at night, those with green Palestinian license plates (as opposed to yellow Israeli plates) must turn their headlights off and cab lights on. Sometimes guards were vigilant, peering into the car. Sometimes they were looking for trouble…until they saw an American passport, their search stopped, and we were waved through. And very often, bored guards hardly looked up from their iPhone games. Passing through towns, the sidewalks sparkle as headlights hit broken glass.

Lights were instructive. In the countryside, there were no streetlights unless we were under an Israeli settlement or military base — in which case, the highway was well-lit, including powerful spotlights on the light posts facing away from the road, illuminating the land nearby. In the distance, the faint flicker of lanterns and makeshift dangle lighting marked off-the-grid Bedouin camps. And you could identify Palestinian towns on the horizon by the joyful green lights of their minarets.

I’ll continue this Holy Land series until November 21st. Then, to celebrate my homecoming, I’ll give a live, free slideshow lecture on Thursday, November 21st at 7 p.m. P.S.T. in Edmonds, Washington. You can attend in person (registration required)…or watch the live webcast from anywhere in the world (no registration required). Learn more at Rick Steves – Holy Land: Israel and Palestine Today.

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Sitting on the Curb in a Refugee Camp

I was sitting on a curb working on my script when a series of cute kids stopped by to see who had dropped into the neighborhood. This clip is a little of that interaction. It ends with a big brother coming in to shut me down. (I don’t blame him to be wary of some stranger filming little kids on the street.)

By the way, there’s a common image of Palestinian kids with toy guns shooting imaginary Jews. I saw lots of that, and it was a bit disturbing to me. But then, in the Jewish West Bank settlements, I also saw Jewish kids with plastic guns gunning down imaginary terrorists. And it occurred to me that, if we’re being honest, what American man today didn’t grow up with a toy gun happily shooting Indians or Soviets in their imagination? Whether it’s cowboys and Indians, Commies and Capitalists, or Jews and Palestinians, little boys throughout the world are raised with a toy gun in their hands to shoot their parents’ bad guys.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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The Balata Refugee Camp

Refugees are a big issue in the Holy Land. In 1947, after the Holocaust and the end of WWII, the United Nations helped found the modern state of Israel. And Jews, long dispersed throughout the world, returned to their ancient homeland. In the process, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced. (Some Jews were displaced, too, but far more Palestinians were.) And to this day, both peoples struggle to find an equitable and peaceful way to share what they each consider to be their rightful homeland.

Among the many refugee camps in the West Bank, the biggest — with over 20,000 people — is Balata, just outside of Nablus. The original ten-foot-by-ten-foot platting — marking where tents were pitched in 1948 — survives. Only now the tents are gone, replaced by multistory cinderblock tenements.

This gate welcomes you to the biggest refugee camp in Palestine. The world is full of refugee camps, and wandering here, it’s hard to imagine life with such a dense population, being a parent with high-demand kids and no money, and the lack of privacy.
This gate welcomes you to the biggest refugee camp in Palestine. The world is full of refugee camps, and wandering here, it’s hard to imagine life with such a dense population, being a parent with high-demand kids and no money, and the lack of privacy.
As you can imagine, an American TV crew with a big camera was big news to the kids of Balata. For over 60 years, the United Nations has kept a calming and helpful presence. When the UN-run-and-funded school lets out, the streets flood with children happy to practice their English with a rare tourist venturing into their world.
As you can imagine, an American TV crew with a big camera was big news to the kids of Balata. For over 60 years, the United Nations has kept a calming and helpful presence. When the UN-run-and-funded school lets out, the streets flood with children happy to practice their English with a rare tourist venturing into their world.
On my scouting visit, I saw a little boy drop by the chicken shop, chose a chicken, and watch it killed, drained, de-feathered, gutted, washed, and popped into a bag for the boy to take home for dinner. Returning with our camera, I wanted to duplicate that cute little scene. We chose a boy after a quickie audition on the street and let him re-enact the chore for our show. It was great TV, our little star enjoyed the attention, and he walked very proudly home, chicken swinging in its plastic bag, with a heck of a story to tell his mom.
On my scouting visit, I saw a little boy drop by the chicken shop, chose a chicken, and watch it killed, drained, de-feathered, gutted, washed, and popped into a bag for the boy to take home for dinner. Returning with our camera, I wanted to duplicate that cute little scene. We chose a boy after a quickie audition on the street and let him re-enact the chore for our show. It was great TV, our little star enjoyed the attention, and he walked very proudly home, chicken swinging in its plastic bag, with a heck of a story to tell his mom.
Balata is at the edge of the city of Nablus. Nablus is famous for its fighting spirit (and, consequently, has been hard-hit in recent flare-ups and wars). The city is encrusted with posters honoring young men killed in the struggle (men most would call "terrorists," but many here would call "freedom fighters"). I first visited Nablus on a Friday (Muslim holy day), and the city was closed up tight as a drum. Without any people or open shops, the martyr posters decorating the empty streets seemed much more prominent. With this visit, it was a regular workday, and the city was vibrant and a treat to explore. In fact, of all the cities we visited in Palestine, Nablus is the one I was most charmed by.
Balata is at the edge of the city of Nablus. Nablus is famous for its fighting spirit (and, consequently, has been hard-hit in recent flare-ups and wars). The city is encrusted with posters honoring young men killed in the struggle (men most would call “terrorists,” but many here would call “freedom fighters”). I first visited Nablus on a Friday (Muslim holy day), and the city was closed up tight as a drum. Without any people or open shops, the martyr posters decorating the empty streets seemed much more prominent. With this visit, it was a regular workday, and the city was vibrant and a treat to explore. In fact, of all the cities we visited in Palestine, Nablus is the one I was most charmed by.

I’ll continue this Holy Land series until November 21st. Then, to celebrate my homecoming, I’ll give a live, free slideshow lecture on Thursday, November 21st at 7 p.m. P.S.T. in Edmonds, Washington. You can attend in person (registration required)…or watch the live webcast from anywhere in the world (no registration required). Learn more at Rick Steves – Holy Land: Israel and Palestine Today.

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The Lonely Hebron Walk

Hebron, with the Tomb of Abraham — so revered by both Jews and Muslims — is the place where I feel the most tension in the West Bank. Jews expect access, as do Muslims, and, with a history of massacres on both sides, trust is fragile here. Palestinians can do little but annoy the huge number of soldiers stationed here. Talking with soldiers who seemed to have little empathy for the people they were controlling, I thought of the troubling fact that in World War I, the French and Germans were so willing and able to slaughter each other on the Western Front because the vast majority of them had never broken bread with someone from the other side. The society here seems purposefully structured to prevent people from knowing each other. (I asked a Jew why, in a lifetime of living here, he had never shared a meal with a neighboring Muslim, and he blamed the dietary restrictions of their religions.) Seemingly likeable young soldiers were fun to chat with. Then, when it was time to go, one of them told me, “Time to bust down a door.”

Here’s a little clip taken on the no-man’s land street….until a soldier tells me not to shoot here.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.