On Saturday April 16th 2011, I made my first visit ever to Ramallah. Although we didn't hang out in the streets of the city, driving through gave me a good idea of what to expect. We headed to the Ramallah Cultural Palace to watch a passion play, with the leading role of Jesus being played by a good friend of the family's cousin. The center itself was very nice and is located on a hill, right near Mahmoud Darwish's burial place. Inside, the auditorium was quite huge. To my pleasant surprise it was packed, and some people weren't able to have seats, so they just sat on the steps to watch. The play was really well done, and the cast ranged from teenagers to early 20-somethings. At times they used some of the instrumental music from Mel Gibson's movie, but the play consisted of Arabic songs at almost every major scene of the play. After about 2 hours, some stayed on to take pictures with the cast, but for sure it was the main character getting all of the attention. As it was dark when we came out of the center following the play, that is when I was able to notice some aspects of Ramallah.
Historically Ramallah was a Christian city, and I was told my Palestinian family was originally from there before they moved to Jerusalem. The city now has a Muslim majority with a remaining strong Christian minority. Nowadays, Ramallah is seen as the center of economic and political activity in the areas under the Palestinian Authority. It's also known for its cafes and nightlife, and that became quickly obvious with all the young people hanging out in the streets, almost everywhere really. However, it's also known for its crazy traffic, and even though it may be easy to get into Ramallah,most people complain about having to wait hours at the check-point to leave the city. It may also be perceived as a somewhat 'turbulent' city at times, especially when I hear stories of clashes between Palestinians and soldiers at check-points, with guns firing and family members of mine being caught literally in the middle of this, yet thankfully able to drive away from the clash... Eeeeeh!!
Of course I don't believe that paranoia does much good to one's life, but it just reminds you to be safe and to be aware of your surroundings, which is important no matter your location. In the time that I'll be here, there are some plans to spend more time there and do a bit of exploring.
Some pictures of the play:
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