The Neighborhood's Gate

Just about every restaurant here has a at least a small TV set going in the corner.  Larger, flasher places have big projection TVs set up.  Apparently a bit of a Ramadan tradition has developed whereby each night during Ramadan, all the restaurants screen a Syrian soapie called Bab al-Hara or "The Neighborhood's Gate".  Apparently it's a rollicking tale that is enjoyed by millions of people across the Arab world.  To borrow from Wikipedia:

The series chronicles the daily happenings and family dramas in a neighborhood in Damascus, Syria in the inter-war period under French rule when the local population yearned for independence...Bab al-Hara airs during Ramadan and forms part of the emerging modern tradition of the Ramadan soap opera. The Arab satellite channels broadcast special programming every night during Ramadan to try and capture audiences from among the families who have gathered together to eat and break the fast.

The themes resonate with Palestinians young and old.  While I can't understand what's going on, it all seems very melodramatic and the audience laps it up.

I've noticed that patrons start filing in to restaurants at about 8.45 to find a seat and order a drink and sheesha.  At 9pm, the conversation dims as the speakers are turned up for the latest installment.  Even the waiters get caught up watching the show!  The place is a hive of activity during the ad breaks with drinks and deserts ordered, coals replaced on sheeshas and discussion and speculation over the show thus far.

At the restaurant we were at last night, there was even a birthday celebration held during an ad break.  This involved a large cake being brought out.  The cake looked like your garden variety chocolate cake except for the large firework protruding from it's centre.  The volcano type firework (remember those) and several sparklers were lit, and and everyone (including strangers) stood around the birthday boy clapping to the Happy Birthday song being played over the loud speakers (in a mix of arabic and english). The fireworks, song and celebrations were all completed in time for everyone to settle back down to the next session of Bab al-Hara.

A Brief History

Ok, I've been trying to write this post for about a month now. I wanted to outline a few main historical events before I talked about some contemporary issues like the wall and settlements. As I said before, everything here is governed in some part by your historical point of view. I've had two problems. Firstly, there is just too much damned history, and secondly, there are two versions of just about every event that's happend here for the last 2500 years.

After reading a few histories, timelines and summaries. I think I've found a way to distinguish whether the site is pro Israeli, pro Palestinian, or relatively neutral. You can usually just tell by the name of the organisation. However, if that doesn't help, then look for the 1947 war. If it's called the "War of Independence" then it's probably a pro Israeli site. If reference is made to the 'al Nakbar" or the "Catastrophe', then the site probably leans to the Palestinians. If it mentions both, then you may have hit a more neutral site. Another way to see which way the wind is blowing is to look for mention of the Hebron massacres I mentioned in an earlier blog. If 1929 is mentioned and not 1994, then the history may be slightly Israeli, and vise versa.

Anyway, based on these crude measures, I think the BBC website has the best short history. Follow this link to have a look. BBC

The Wikipedia Timeline also has a good (but longer) timeline with plenty of links to more detailed info on specific events.

The main points are that the UN tried to partition the British Mandate of Palestine into Jewish and Palestinian states. The Israelis agreed and announced their independence, while the Arabs didn't. There was a War in 1947/8, which concluded with Armistice Agreements that basically gave the boarders of the West Bank and Gaza. The term Green Line, which you might hear from time to time in the Israel/Palestine debate, refers to these Armistice lines - presumably because someone used a green marker on the map.

At the end of this war, Egypt controlled Gaza, Syria the Golan heights, and Jordan the West Bank (which included East Jerusalem and the Old City). In 1967 there was another war, the Six Day War (it lasted longer than that). After this war, Israel had annexed Gaza, Golan and the West Bank.

So, when you hear about peace negotiations etc, what people are usually talking about is reverting to the '48 Green Line. That's of course if you agree that the state of Israel has the right to exist (position of Fatah and most of the international community). A big issue at the moment is that Hamas does not believe that Israel should exist. That makes peace a bit hard.

The Israeli side of the Green Line encompasses 78.5% of what was British Mandate of Palestine in 1947. Although the line does not denote an official border, as is explicitly stated in ("military considerations only"), in practice it is largely used to differentiate between those areas within the Israeli side of the Line, which are administered as part of the State of Israel, and the areas outside it, which are either administered by the Israeli military or in agreements with the Palestinian National Authority.

When you hear about settlements, they are talking about Jewish people setting up shop on the wrong side of the green line. More on this later.

I want Ice Cream

The tap water here is desalinated, well partially desalinated to be exact. As such, it's a bit salty for drinking and cooking with. For drinking water, you have two options.

Option 1 is to buy bottled water. You can get either local stuff or the slightly more expensive Egyptian stuff which is brought in through the tunnels. Actually, pretty much everything/anything comes through the smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt. Apparently a lion was even brought through for the local zoo!

Option 2 for the water, is to buy it in bulk from your friendly corner store. Most of the little general stores (there's about one every fifty meters) have a large stainless steel tank out the front. You pay your money, get the tap, and fill up your large BYO bottle to lug home. These tanks are filled up by water trucks that come around regularly. The trucks, which seem to drive past the office every 20 minutes, announce their presence by playing a Mr Whippy-like ice cream song. All this is making me crave ice cream!

Some friends of Shez's recently immigrated to Victoria and I'm a bit torn as to whether I should tell the kids what the song announces in Australia.

Breaking Fast

It's Ramadan at the moment. Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting where participating Muslims don't eat, drink, smoke or indulge in anything that is in excess or ill-natured from sunrise to sunset. In a fairly religious place like Gaza this has a few practical implications for we visitors.

Firstly, it would be rude to eat in front of someone who is fasting so lunch is a discrete affair, usually taken after the local staff have gone home at about 3 o'clock.

Secondly, figuring when and where to eat out can be tricky. Since breaking fast at sunset is traditionally a family affair, and given the fact that no one is eating during the day, many restaurants are either closed during the day, or only serve drinks and desert in the evening. Some just don't seem to bother opening at all. Figuring out which one is doing what makes chowing down of a night a bit hit and miss.

Myself, Shez and a colleague went to one restaurant a few nights ago where we spotted the staff turning the lights on as we entered. So we broke the golden rule of eating abroad: only eat in places that are packed with plenty of locals. We were the only ones there! The place turned out to be a fish restaurant, but we aren't eating fish at the moment owing to the polluted waters.

The water is polluted because the sewage system needs repair, but they can't get the required materials through the blockade, resulting in a vast amount of raw sewage being pumped directly into the sea. The fishermen are restricted to fishing within 3 nautical miles of the coast so there is little chance of them getting much beyond the pollution zone. So we're not eating fish, despite some supposed cracking fish dishes in these parts.

Anyway, the three of us all decided to go with the shish kebab option. After we ordered, we began discussing how hard it would be for a restaurant to keep stocked over Ramadan when you have a large menu on offer but most people are eating at home. When the luke-warm meal arrived, we began to wonder if the way the chef solves this problem is to have no stock, and to just duck off to the nearest kebab shop to fill the order. I'm happy to report that, despite our misgivings, there were no dodgy stomach issues.

Another thing to be aware of in Ramadan is the fact that without food and drink, or possibly more importantly cigarets and coffee, people's attention spans and tempers are likely to be a bit shorter - especially later in the day. Thus, Shez's training sessions will run from 9 until 2pm next week.

It's also advisable to not cross any roads just before sunset. The traffic around hear usually ambles along at about 40km/h, with most cars giving a short beep as they pass to check if you want a lift (every car is a taxi in Gaza). However, as sunset approaches, the beeps change from polite "would you like a lift" toots, to long "get the hell out of my way" screeches. The speed also seems to double as people rush to get home in time to break fast with their families. Stepping out onto the street is akin to wandering around a giant pinball machine blindfolded.

The time of sunset changes slightly each day, so the exact time of the breaking of the fast is announced by the Maghrib (sunset) call to prayer, the fourth for the day. By this time the streets are pretty much deserted.

The other night I was heading to the office just before sunset and had to dodge the traffic at great peril. By the time I came home, 15 minutes later, the streets were dead. I saw three friends sitting outside their store when the loudspeakers of the many mosques came to life. All three instantly sprang to their feet and ran the literally ran into the shop where they had heaped plates waiting to be demolished. Not a second was spared. Guess I'd be the same way if I hadn't eaten all day. I think I'd at least be petitioning to move Ramadan to a winter month where the days are shorter!