Facts on the Ground

I purchased a map of Jerusalem at a chain bookstore in Tel Aviv before heading
out to begin my class at Al Quds University. In search of Nablus Road, I followed
the map in the general direction of East Jerusalem, the Palestinian neighborhood
of the city which was occupied after the 1967 war. Despite knowing that Nablus
Road was a major street, I couldn’t locate it on the map. When I asked people
around Damascus Gate where it was, I was directed right across the gate’s arch.
As I moved closer, I saw that this road had two names, both of which were posted
on the façade of a corner building. In Hebrew I was able to read “Shchem” which
was labeled on my map, in Arabic I was able to read “Nablus” which wasn’t.