Asalamulaikum good people 👋😄 I’ve just come back from a trip to Palestine Alhamdullilah and wanted to share what to expect as I’ve had questions.
👮♀️Airport security (inbound) 3 hours
Ok your going to need a lengthy movie downloaded or a good book to keep you company because you’re going to be here a while.
The very first thing is you’ll scan your passport and if you’re unlucky, the machine will ask you to go to Immigration control.
At the desk, I had a (very) rude lady start to ask me questions: • Your full name • Religion • Dads name and Mothers name • Grandfathers name • Purpose of visit
She was rude because she insisted that because my fathers name is John, it is very weird for a Muslim to have this name and questioned if my father is even a Muslim in front of everyone which was really embarrassing.
My passport was confiscated and I (and my friends) were escorted to another side of the airport where we sat on red chairs in the middle of the waiting area. We were waiting for about 1.5hrs until someone came and took me into a room to ask some more questions. • Can you read/Speak Arabic • Will you be visiting Al-Aqsa • Do I know anyone in Palestine • Where am I staying, activities etc • Have I been in trouble with the law • Mobile no, email, work email, etc • Am I married
Once done we sat around some more until we got our passports back and a visa entry card. Total time was about 2.5-3hrs long.
Overall I found staff to be really rude and unwelcoming.
👮♀️Airport Security (outbound) 1.5hrs
Prepare for a lot of ogling stares from people in the airport and rude staff. GET TO THE AIRPORT EARLY.
You’ll have your passport confiscated and a sticker will be added on the back of it in the form of a bar code. If the bar code starts with a 6 (like mine) your designated for the highest security checks.
Passports taken. I was ushered to a different queue, predominantly made up of Muslim tourists. Here, pretty much everything in our belongings was thoroughly checked. I was placed in a military type X ray machine where the officer next me was receiving a landline call of what the images was showing by a remote officer lol. Had my socks, shoes searched and inner linings of my trousers and shirt. All electronics swabbed and checked. Total time was approximately 1.5hrs.
💸Travel money
Ok ok, so this was a shocker. It’s very expensive over there; we’re talking inner city London prices for food/water or anything. Jerusalem is not so card friendly either so bring cash. Everywhere else is fine.
🕌Jerusalem
As mentioned, it’s a city that thrives off cash rather than card.
The parking next to masjid Al-Aqsa costs about 10-30 shekels per prayer (depending on which brother is there lol)
Plenty to do. I felt very safe there; the IDF didn’t bother anyone. They stopped me a few times to ask where I’m from but as soon as I said UK they would say “welcome” or even give me Salaam.
We stayed in an airbnb in The Mount of Olives which was a 5 minute drive from Aqsa so highly recommend staying close as the traffic can get insane over there. Lots of tourists from 3 main religions are all crammed there haha.
🗺️other areas worth checking
Jericho Acre Haifa Hebron Bethlehem (Palestinian side, you’ll need a bus I think bus number 231/234)
[link] [comments]
from Islam https://ift.tt/il1wCOY
Post A Comment:
0 comments so far,add yours