Have you ever heard of the Druze people? Well maybe you have, but probably not, as neither had I until I ended up staying with a couple of great friends, Natali and Alex in their home in Haifa in Israel. We hit backpacking pretty hard again in Israel, going through towns and cities a lot…
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When you are visiting Israel or Palestine, it’s a good idea to sample the food as well as take in the sights. Israeli and Palestinian cuisine is a melting pot of flavors from all over the world: Middle Eastern, American, Indian, Moroccan, and Eastern European, among others. It would be a mistake to skip trying…
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Ramallah sits proud and un-noticed. In reality, it’s the capital city of Palestine. Whether you believe that Palestine is a country or not, isn’t the point. Ramallah remains a Palestinian stronghold, nestled shyly north of the border between Israel and Palestine, this is the centre of the Palestinian authority. Politics aside, but with a bit…
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While backpacking in the Middle East, I made sure I headed to some insightful places to help understand the history and politics of this divided region of the world. After reporting on my tour of the Palestinian side of Hebron, I also visited the Israeli side to get both views, opinions and standpoints on this…
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I grew up on the streets of Northern Ireland back in the 1980s, which means that cultural, political, religious and geographical divides have always been a part of my life. Whether I’ve wanted them to be or not. As my travel lifestyle has developed over time, I have become much more intrigued by the parts…
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Things have calmed down slightly in terms of this border crossing. Yes the massive separation walls are as blatant as a Jewish penis at an orgy, but crossing the border doesn’t have the same stigma attached to it as it once did. The crossing from Jerusalem into Bethlehem is actually rather straight forward these days.…
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The power of world leaders and political figures is something you get used to as a global backpacker. While I’m not often the best person to ask about world affairs, I have studied politics and I grew up in Northern Ireland. Through my years of backpacking I’ve seen the mausoleums of Artigas, Ho Chi Minh,…
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Bethlehem is a town you’ll have heard of. I’m sure of it. Yet you might not know that Bethlehem is in Palestine. Yes, there are no Jewish people here, it’s not in Israel and Israelis are not officially allowed into the Little town of Bethlehem. So I got my backpack on, boarded a bus across…
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“Well it’s the same room but everything’s different; you could fight the sleep but not the dream” – Neil Finn. I loved touring Palestine and Israel a few months back and having been interested in the political situation there for a long time, I headed to the city of Hebron. Hebron has for many years…
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While a recent Thirsty Thursdays was about the first time I ever tried Palestinian beer (in Bethlehem), this week it’s all about the Taybeh Oktoberfest in Ramallah in Palestine. That’s right I ended up going to a beer festival in Palestine! One of my recent travel highlights for sure! What is Taybeh Oktoberfest? It’s a…
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