The IntraPal members are back one more time for a final round in the hub of Palestinian culture and economy, Ramallah. Previously, the group visited Hebron and Bethlehem with a look into Dahashi Refugee Camp, the largest in Palestine. It was their first trip to explore Palestine to get as much rich information and experience as they could by getting to know first hand what it’s like to live in those cities. Our second visit to the Nablus area included a tour of the old city, an exploration of Balata Refugee Camp, and a taste of village life in Yaseed.

Now it was the time to take off to yet another popular city in Palestine; Ramallah, a city that’s particularly distinctive from the rest of the West Bank cities in terms of modernism, social life, nightlife, cultural and economic nature and architecture.

Organized by Karen AbuZant, the Director of IntraPal, and facilitated and managed by IntraPal staff; Khaled Tayeh, Suma Qawasmi, Bassam Daher and Kussay AbuRahme (the city’s host), all group members managed to meet on time despite the fact that the country was under a low pressure weather system, accompanied by heavy showers of rain, strong winds and very cold conditions.

Ramallah, once considered a small rural town and a cool summer destination by many Palestinians, is now considered one of the main Palestinian cities, thanks to development which includes tall buildings, museums, cultural and social organizations and groups and government ministries. This is why it was only normal for the group to pick the best museums in the city to explore and visit.

The first stop was at the Palestinian Museum in the Ramallah town of Birzeit. The museum is an institution dedicated to supporting Palestinian art and culture nationally and internationally in variety of exhibitions representing history, society and other Palestinian-related themes.

The group enjoyed a leisurely walk around the museum enjoying the installations in the ‘Intimate Terrains’ exhibition, on its last open day to the public. Then they  sat to watch a short film titled ‘Bayaretna, with a Palestinian woman narrating her family’s love for planting orange trees in the Gaza Strip, only to have it destroyed by Israeli forces. It was the only time the group were completely silent the whole day.

Once the group was done exploring the museum, Karen asked members to choose one piece of art that they felt a connection with and asked them to show it to the rest of members and talk about it and why it felt special to them.

The second stop was another museum in Ramallah; Yasser Arafat Museum. The museum is considered to be an essential part of the city that’s continuously visited by tourists and foreigners.

The museum is dedicated to educating Palestinians and the rest of the world by telling the Palestinian narrative through the life of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

Upon conclusion of the exploration of the museum, the members took off to a restaurant nestled in the old city and run by young entrepreneurs, where they enjoyed both Palestinian National Dishes; Musakhan and Maklouba. Before lunch was served though, they enjoyed a hot cup of tea, while listed to a presentation from Amer Djani about a scholarship opportunity at the Arava Valley Institute.

After lunch, they sat for a discussion, where each member talked about their experience with the program and their future community projects and endeavors. Although this was the final tour, all agreed to work together on the following ventures:

• Create a workshop for kids that can be presented in any Palestinian community, based on their experiences in IntraPal.
• Find and present Palestinian humanitarian stories about challenges people face. These will be presented on Palestine T.V. in hopes that a listeners can help us effect change
• Help recruit for the next IntraPal Program.
• Keep sharing with the group opportunities like scholarships, trainings, programs, volunteering project etc.

Written by Khaled Taye and Karen AbuZant