“I arrived in Hebron at about 10 PM. Passed the checkpoint, I turned on my maps and put “Excellence Center Hebron” in the search bar. BEWARE! The address Google gives you is of the old center, so before you arrive to make sure that you know exactly where you need to go to meet your hosts.
The best thing, if you can, is to contact your hosts directly beforehand and tell them your estimated time of arrival.
Taxis are incredibly cheap in Hebron, so a maximum of 15 shekels will get you to where you need to go within the city.
My personal experience began with a taxi driver asking me if I needed a lift. My instinct was to turn down his offer: I could just walk and I didn’t think I had enough money, plus we’ve all been told as young girls not to get into stranger’s cars in foreign countries. But he insisted and said I need not worry about money, saying that it was too late for me to be walking alone.
I got in the car, hoping that this man was telling the truth while my mother’s worried voice drummed in my head telling me off for behaving so recklessly.
Fortunately, I was about to get my first taste of Palestinian hospitality. The man introduced himself, asked me about my trip from the airport, had a good look at the map, and asked me if it was ok if we stopped off to pick up his son from a party along the way. Of course, I said this was ok, and as soon as the son had introduced himself he asked his father if we could stop and buy something. I didn’t understand the Arabic word but it had something to do with cake.
We stopped off in a little shop (I should mention that all shops stay open ’till late in Hebron, so anything you might need upon arriving can we brought in supermarkets and convenience stores until late at night), and the son got out of the car. He returned shortly after with 3 long fried things. One for me, one for the taxi driver and one for himself. That was the moment I realized I still hadn’t had dinner! I thanked them profusely and enjoyed my pastry (unfortunately I don’t recall the name, but it was a lot like a Spanish Churros).
The take-home message is that you should ask for help once you get to Hebron, you will find a bustling and welcoming city even at night, and people will not only help you out but also maybe go out of their way to get you where you need to be. This sort of thing happened to me again during my stay and is guaranteed to make you feel safe along the way.”
