Beer Sheva Old & New
Today was a break from my soon-to-be routine. The only other Health and Human Rights Delegation member still in the country, Richard, came down from Jerusalem by bus to see Beer Sheva. He’s been doing a lot of olive picking with Palestinians being hassled by Jewish settlers, but he returns to the States tomorrow and wanted to visit a different part of Israel.
We spent a few hours wandering around old and new Beer Sheva, from Abraham’s Well through the Old City to the big shopping mall. I’ve been so busy settling in to the university that I hadn’t yet covered that much ground, so I was looking forward to checking things out. I expect to go back often once I’m past this initial adjustment. If I was going to stay here longer I’d look to live down near the Old City, where the street life’s a lot more interesting than here in the convenient but boringly isolated dorm.
What I noticed most this afternoon were the contrasts. And, of course, the obvious intrusion of western corporate culture. From Abraham’s Well to Burger King. Things have changed.
I’ve posted a gallery of a today’s photos on my website. Right now this is my favorite:
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