Ruba Imam
Prof.Alessandro Petti
Human Geography
AL-Eazar
(Bethany)
This project examines the effects of the seperation wall on tourism in Bethany, as well as its effects on the social and economic aspects of the city. It tries to show these effects through comparing the situation beore and after building the wall, supporting the claims and examination with numbers that prove the dramastic changes that took place. Collecting information was based on interviewing souvenir shop owners whose shops are located in the area behind the wall and who are part of the citizens that have been affected by the wall.
Bethany,
or in Arabic called "Al Ezaryah" is a small town to the east of
Jerusalem. Bethany used to be part of east Jerusalem until the separation wall
was built. It used to be a conjunction point between West Bank and Jerusalem.
If one passes through the main road of Bethany, s/he can see a number of
churches on the way; that's because of the religious history of the town where
Jesus brought life back to a man called " Al Eazar". It is believed
that Al Eazar is one of God's messengers and so the town was named after him. Visiting
Palestine, Bethany is an important stop for tourists coming to Jerusalem.
Before building the separation wall Bethany used to be the second stop for
tourists after Jerusalem. It was easy to reach regarding the fact that it is
one of the nearest towns to Jerusalem. In fact, Bethany has its own special
standing; it is the first stage of the Via Dolorosa, meaning that it is
the starting point of the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Despite this strategic
importance, Bethany today became the last stop for tourists in Jerusalem. This
has affected tourism in Bethany in many ways.
After
building the wall many changes happened to the town. Not only the objects and
movement of people changed but also the change included people's lives, whether
inside or outside Jerusalem. These were the words of an owner of a souvenir
shop in Bethany. His shop, as well as other souvenir shops, are located precisely
behind the wall where a church stands. The wall created distance between
tourists and the places they need to visit in Palestine. From this point, Bethany became a less interesting place for
tourists after the wall. It became only a past without any present
manifestations or signs of life. The ability to visit Bethany became less
possible; souvenir shop owners made this point clear when they stated to me
that the percentage of tourists has become less by 70% after building the wall
and barriers. In fact, the wall is not the only effective factor; the political
situation also has its own role. One of the souvenir shop owners gave precise
numbers for this decrease in the number of tourists. He stated that before the
Second Intifada, 10,000 tourists used to come to Bethany during certain holy
occasions. As for the present time, less than thousand tourist visit during
these occasions. Moreover, in the period of 2000 until 2006 souvenir shops were
closed as a result of having the political situations affecting the tourism
sector in Palestine generally and in Bethany and Jerusalem specifically.
This shows how the wall and
political reasons affected the lives of people and tourism. First, some
souvenir shop owners had to change their profession due to the economic deterioration.
And second, holy places situated behind the wall ( like Bethany) became less
reachable by tourists. As a result, Bethany's religious significance became
something from the past. The Past that has become buried in the remains of the
old houses of the city, and its glories has become imprisoned behind the grey
separation wall no matter how much people try to keep it in their minds. For these
shop owners I felt that going back to the lost past and living in the glory of
the old days became nothing but a dream.
Pictures from the tourist site in the city that also show part of the seperation wall in some of the pictures below:
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