Hebron or Al Khalil - Pictures of Palestine

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About Hebron

Hebron is a very ancient city. It's 3,000ft up in the Southern West Bank. It's called Al Khalil by Palestinians, meaning 'The Friend', alluding to the Patriarch Abrahim or Ibrahim, 'God's Friend', who lived here over 3,000 years ago.

It was a Hittite, Canaanite, Jewish, Greek, Roman, Fatimid and Ottoman centre too. It has long been a trading place where traders from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Arabia and the Levant met up.

Today it has a population of around 200,000, and it's the largest Palestinian city on the West Bank, apart from East Jerusalem. The city is divided into H1, the Palestinian sector and 80% of the city, with nearly 200,000 people, and H2, the Israeli sector and 20% of the city, with 600-1,000 settlers.  It's Palestine's most important industrial centre, with pottery, glassblowing, engineering, carpet-weaving and clothing, shoes and other manufactures.

It all centres around the Ibrahimi Mosque, which is a synagogue on the other side - Abraham was patriarch to both peoples. One son, Isaac, gave birth to the Jewish people, and the other, Ishmael, gave birth to the Arabs, as tradition has it. Isaac and Jacob and others are entombed here.

It's a powerful place. The souk is both enchanting and depressing, for its history and character, and also the edgy influence of the Israeli settlers, who make life hard on the Palestinians. The mosque is captivating, an intensely spiritual place.

NEXT: Bethlehem, Jesus' birthplace
Or to read a chapter from the book about Hebron, click here

© Copyright Palden Jenkins 2011. All photographs on this website are copyright Palden Jenkins. You may not use these pictures in print or on websites without  permission of the author.  The book's website is at   www.palden.co.uk/pop