"What's your religion?" I stood at the entry to the Muslim side of the Cave of the Patriachs/Ibrahimi Mosque and an IDF soldier was asking. I answered: "None, I am an atheist." He was befuddled and repeated the question: "Sorry, but what is your religion?" Again, I truthfully answered "None." At this point, he concluded that asking me for my religion wasn't going anywhere. "Okay, what's the religion of your parents?" Honest answer would have been "None" again. Understanding that he needed an answer, I asserted that they were Christians, culturally. This made him happy, and he allowed me to enter to the site.

The main site of Hebron is the Cave of the Patriarchs/Ibrahimi Mosque which is 2.000 years old and a structure dating back to Herodot, i.e. pre-Roman. The belief is that Abraham and his kin are buried here. Muslims in addition believe that Mohammed stopped here, before ascending to the Heavens in Jerusalem.

The structure has undergone several changes from a Jewish temple to a Byzantine church to a mosque and back to a church. In modern times, the site is primarily a mosque with a Jewish place of prayer attached to the side. Both faiths have a view of the tombs and the underlying cave. As "Christian", you are allowed to explore both the Islamic mosque as well as the attached Jewish synagogue.

While the structure is impressive, as an atheist I find it hard to ignore how much violence is caused by it and similar structures in the Holy Land. Any rational human being would not want to live amid 150.000 Palestinians who are openly hostile to your presence. But some 500 orthodox Jewish settlers (i.e., colonists) have made a different call due to religious reasons. Apparently, Hebron is the entry to the Garden of Eden and plays a key role in the messianic Age of Redemption.

Practically, the Jewish minority can only live in Hebron, because a massive IDF detachment protects their enclave 24x7. I don't see how a peace process in this constellation can ever succeed and that was as depressing a take-away as they get for a world heritage site.

With this background, it's hard to get to a neutral assessment of the OUV of the site. I think a pre-Roman temple warrants inscription on its own. We only got glimpses of the old town, but I found Bethlehem to be more impressive in comparison.

Getting There

Easiest option is getting a cab at Checkpoint 300 or in Bethlehem. You can include a short stop at Battir and tick off all of Palestine's current WHS in a day. Cost should be 250-300 NIS (75€). While Palestinians are a great bunch (friendly and open), they are still cabbies. So: Agree up front on price and itinerary. And don't change the itinerary midway as cost may go up significantly.

If you don't want to take a cab, thanks to the Jewish community, there are direct bus connections from Jerusalem and probably also Beer Scheva. Note: You need to be Christian to be able to roam freely in Hebron.

There are servis back to Bethlehem, so you can visit both sites in a day with public transport. Battir meanwhile will be hard to do.

While You Are There

Situation in Hebron is tense. The day after our visit there was yet another incident, this time with a leftist Israeli protester. I would recommend keeping it brief and heading back to Bethlehem which I found way more pleasant overall.