Why I Like Palestine - Pictures of Palestine

I hope the picture tells it all. Palestine is a living country, with plenty of fine people and interesting and special places.

Each day can be filled with events and experiences, some touching, some heart-wrenching. Life is not boring and routine here. The openness of the people makes a big difference.

They call on me to respond with openness and directness, with an emotional intelligence which, in my own country of Britain, tends to be withheld and reduced to too-comfortable margins.

Even just walking around the streets can be quite engaging. A kid comes up to you and starts talking. An old lady makes eye-contact which communicates the soul. Even when complaining about their lives, there's something vivid in the way Palestinians treat life.

But it's not just people: there's something scintillating in the land too, even though it is densely populated and, in parts, ruined by scenic atrocities such as the separation wall, army watchtowers and plenty of bulldozed land.

There are other problems too, such as litter, waste and busy roads. The holiness of this Holy Land manifests in the strangest of ways, in sharp-edged paradoxes and contradictions which completely fail to respond to logical understanding.

Moments can oscillate from the best to the worst, yet it's colourful and rich with human and spiritual issues.

This is very stimulating. It brings us to consider life's deeper issues and principles, to walk our talk and to clarify what we really feel about life. The poorest people can be so generous. The least educated can be astute and perceptive. A manager can be humane and spend time drinking coffee with you. A child can be one of the most mature people around.

I encourage you to consider coming here. Just walk the streets and relate to people. Be served hummus and tabouleh in a cafe. Go visit the tomb of Abraham or a marketplace anywhere. Pray for the world in a holy place. Let the human in you come out.

It could be the trip of a lifetime. It's safe in Palestine, contrary to expectation - a woman can walk alone through the streets. Yes, there's a low-level conflict going on, and unpleasant scenes. But strangely, it's this which adds the edge to being in Palestine.

It makes us aware of what justice truly could be. Palestine is a microcosm of the world. What happens here is relevant worldwide.

© Text and pictures copyright Palden Jenkins 2011. This is online material supplementing the book Pictures of Palestine by Palden Jenkins. You may print it out in single copies for your own non-commercial use or forward it by e-mail as long as the piece is unaltered and properly attributed to the author. The book's website is at  www.palden.co.uk/pop  

NEXT: Meet the People of Palestine