Introduction to Palestine • A four-day adventure
Understand the complex politics
Experience life under Occupation
Stay with a Palestinian family
Jerusalem
Bethlehem
Nablus
Ramallah
Hebron
Hosted by Green Olive Tours staff, guides and Palestinian families, this tour is designed to provide an overview of the West Bank, Palestinian culture, and life under Occupation. It is an excellent way to begin your visit, and sets the stage for further independent travel.
Select Israeli and Palestinian guides will give you an intense and rich experience packed into four days. You'll see five Palestinian cities, meet dozens of Palestinians, and be provided with a huge amount of information about Palestinian history, culture and the Occupation.
Your overnight stays will be at a family home in Beit Sahour, a suburb of Bethlehem. Unless you come with a friend you will share a room with another person who is taking the tour. If it is a small tour then single rooms may be an option. If you would prefer a little more privacy then you have the option to stay at a hotel in Beit Sahour for a small additional fee.
Day 1 - Monday - Greater Jerusalem and The Old City
09.00am. A representative of Green Olive will meet you at the cafe of the Jerusalem Hotel. There will be a briefing with maps and an intensive 3-hour walking tour of Jerusalem's old city, taking a look at the Western Wall, passing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and seeing the Israeli settler homes that have been sprouting in the Muslim Quarter.
After lunch you will go on the road for a tour of some of the suburban Jerusalem settlements, Palestinian neighborhoods, the Separation Barrier, and segregated roads. These may include Pizgat Ze'ev, Har Homa, Beit Hanina, and Anata.
You'll drive through Ma'ale Adumim, one of the largest settlements in the West bank (pop. 35,000).
Then off to Beit Sahour to meet your host family after a busy and intense first day.
Day 2 - Tuesday - Bethlehem
Today you'll be with a Palestinian guide for an overview of Bethlehem. You'll see the settlement of Har Homa that you saw from the Jerusalem side of the Barrier yesterday. Today the view will be from the Palestinian side.
You'll visit the Aida Refugee Camp, and have a discussion with a representative of an organisation there. You'll see the Separation Barrier up close, and the famous Bansky Graffiti. You'll also meet Palestinians, and visit the Church of the Nativity.
In the evening your guide will take you for a night out to explore the beautiful city of Bethlehem at night. Options will be provided for where to go and what to see during the night-life.
Day 3 - Wednesday - Nablus
You'll be picked up early in the morning and travel up the spine of the West Bank on route 60 seeing many small radical settlements and Palestinian villages.
The first stop will be the Balata Refugee Camp where you'll see the crowded conditions and hear some stories about life there. You'll also visit one of the camp organizations that helps make life a little better for the residents.
The tour will include the Old City with its beautiful labyrinth of buildings dating back to the Ottoman period. You'll visit the ancient Turkish baths and an olive oil soap factory. You will also visit sites of historical and religious interest such as Jacob’s Well; a deep well dug by Jacob and where Jesus once asked a Samaritan woman for a drink.
You will also visit the Samaritan's hilltop village on Mount Grizim to see the site of their ancient temple. Sometimes a local Samaritan priest is available to have a discussion at the museum.
Day 4 - Thursday - Hebron and Ramallah
From Bethlehem you'll drive around the east of Jerusalem through the Judean Desert to Ramallah. You'll see many Jewish settlements en-route and enter the city through a checkpoint into the neighborhood of Kufr Akab. The Separation Wall divides the neighborhood from Jerusalem although it is part of the municipality and the residents pay city taxes. You’ll visit Arafat's Tomb and walk the streets of this bustling city, now the de-facto Capital for Palestinians in the West Bank
After lunch you'll drive to Hebron and visit Abraham's Tomb and the Old City where Israeli settlers live in close proximity to the local Palestinians. You'll visit a local glass blowing workshop that recycles glass from the city, crafting beautiful objects.
Day 5 - Friday - Departure
Morning - Depart by bus to Jerusalem. Taking a Palestinian bus to Jerusalem is an interesting experience and will give you a chance to see what local people experience at the checkpoints.
Your host family will see you on to the bus which will bring you to the bus station at Damascus Gate in Central Jerusalem. Private transportation can also be available if you prefer.
The tour ends on Friday morning in Beit Sahour
Your host family will see you on the bus which will bring you to the bus station at Damascus Gate in Central Jerusalem
Private transportation can also be available at an additional fee. Please contact us to make the arrangements
Passport
CASH for lunches daily & any entrance fees
• Pickup at the Jerusalem Hotel Cafe, Jerusalem
• 4 nights in a family home, Beit Sahour, Bethlehem
• Private Bathroom, Breakfast & Dinner
• All transportation from pickup point
• Daily guiding
• One piece luggage per person
• Airfare / Travel Insurance
• Private transportation to the pickup point
• Lunches
• Entrance fees, if applicable
• Private transportation at the end of the tour
• Any personal expenses
Optional extras: (please contact us)
• Extra nights with your host family after the tour
• Private transportation to the pickup point or at the end of the tour
• Hotel upgrade in Bethlehem