Bradford group caught up in 'war zone' happy to be home
The Al-Aqsa Mosque sits in East Jerusalem and is part of a site considered sacred by Muslims, Jews and Christians worldwide. The area was captured and occupied in 1967 by Israeli forces. Under international law, East Jerusalem is considered part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs).The Bradford group's visit, alongside a larger party of 45, coincided with a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, which began on 13 June – four days after the group flew out – when Israel carried out airstrikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites.Iran responded with large-scale missile and drone attacks before a US-brokered ceasefire was declared on 24 June.The Bradford group, speaking at a homecoming event, said they had been aware of pre-existing tensions in the wider region. However, they had not anticipated they were walking into a "war zone", with the conflict in Gaza focussed 40 miles away.
Despite the experience, they say they have no regrets, with many in the group saying they would travel again to the sacred site.Saadia Mushtaq said: "Naturally, we are human and it's something that we have never experienced before, being British. We've never experienced missiles going off above our heads."But the way I look at it is that the difficulties were nothing compared to what the Palestinians go through on a daily basis."Speaking about why such trips remain important despite the risks, she added: "It's important to bear witness. A lot of people within our group had never been there before, so it was to help them understand the importance of that holy place and the fact that it is important for all of the Abrahamic religions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam."
Another participant, Mariam Nisa, said: "I feel so relieved. I think we haven't really processed everything that's happened yet. It feels surreal."She added: "The mosque is a holy place that is mentioned multiple times in our scriptures. So we know that it's a duty of ours to try to visit if we are able to, and we are the lucky ones who are able to do that. "The actual Palestinians and people who live in Jerusalem are not actually able to enter the compound. We want to try to go and visit because we're very lucky to do so."On the timing of their departure, she said: "No regrets. I am so grateful for the journey."Ms Gora added: "This visit was a gift – but also a wake-up call. Al-Aqsa Mosque is not just ours to admire, it's ours to protect – in faith, in memory and in action."Foreign Office (FCDO) advice to British nationals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories has relaxed since the conflict. It no longer advises against all travel or all but essential travel to some areas of Israel and the West Bank, but continues to advise against all travel or all but essential travel to other areas of Israel and the OPTs.A spokesperson for the Foreign Office previously told BBC Yorkshire: "This is a distressing time for British nationals in the region, their safety and security is our top priority."The Foreign Office is working around the clock to... support British nationals affected."
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
2 days ago
- Leader Live
Five-figure grant paves way for Welsh Camino enhancements
Plans to enhance the North Wales Pilgrims Way, known as 'The Welsh Camino,' have received a boost following the grant, worth £78,000, from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. A Pilgrimage Development Project Lead will now be appointed to explore, in the words of a spokesperson for the Diocese of St Asaph, the "potential for growth" in the number of people walking the 130-mile route. This could include providing suitable pilgrim accommodation as well as transport links. Possible means of promoting the Welsh language, culture, and heritage will also be considered. The route passes historic churches, sacred wells, and other sites of spiritual significance. It begins at Basingwerk Abbey, near St Winifred's Well in Holywell, and ends in Aberdaron across the Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island). The route passes landmarks such as St Asaph Cathedral, the ancient Yew Tree at Llangernyw, Aber Falls, Eryri, and the Llŷn Peninsula. The Diocese of St Asaph, which has been awarded the funding, will employ the new project lead. Sarah Wheat, engagement officer for the Diocese of St Asaph, said: "There has been a significant rise in interest in the experience of pilgrimage, with many people keen to undertake The Welsh Camino. "Yet there is little in the way of infrastructure, such as accommodation for pilgrims along the route or public transport. "We'd like to explore how local churches could assist with offering shelter and hospitality to pilgrims, and consider how we can showcase more of Wales' heritage, culture, language, and spirituality. "By bringing together local churches, businesses, accommodation providers, and key stakeholders, we think we can improve the pilgrimage and tourist experience and attract much-needed investment into the area." The North Wales Pilgrims Way was launched in 2011 by volunteers. The route was recently featured in the US travel magazine Afar, which named it "one of the best underrated places in the world to visit in 2025." Last year, it was also featured in the BBC Two programme, Pilgrimage, which followed a group of celebrity pilgrims on the journey. READ MORE: Seaside town on Anglesey one of Europe's best hidden gems More information about BBC Two's Pilgrimage is available at More information about the project lead role is available on the Diocese of St Asaph website at and the North Wales Pilgrims Way website at The Diocese of St Asaph is one of the six dioceses of the Church in Wales, an independent province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
What Santiago's many 'Camino' pilgrims often miss
Europe's most famous pilgrimage destination is also one of Spain's most stunning – and under-explored – cities. Now, the city is keen to show off its artsy side. For the last 1,200 years, the Unesco World Heritage city of Santiago de Compostela has best been known as a pilgrimage destination for devout Catholics. Last year alone, nearly 500,000 faithful hikers set out along the series of well-trodden trails called "the Camino", journeying through the lush wooded hills and river-flecked valleys of Galicia in north-west Spain to reach the city's towering Romanesque years, I'd heard about Santiago's beauty from friends and fellow travellers who had gazed upon its towering church spires and twisting honey-coloured lanes. Yet, one of the great ironies is that many of those who had walked for weeks or even months to get there admitted that once they arrived, they shuffled alongside the masses into the cathedral to see the tomb of St James, slumped into one of the many touristy tapas bars around Rua Franco and then quickly headed home. If they had just taken a few more steps, I'd always wondered, would they have discovered more? I wanted to dig deeper into the city's medieval and more modern heart, but I didn't have the time or energy to trek the demanding trail myself. Fortunately, a high-speed rail route now whisks travellers across the nation to Santiago, giving visitors a blister-free way to explore one of Spain's most stunning – and under-explored – cities. The fast track Though Spain boasts Europe's longest and most-advanced high-speed train network (second in the world only to China's), it wasn't until December 2021 that the nation extended its three-decade-old high-speed Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) network to Santiago. "We're in an isolated corner of Spain," Ana Munín, from the Santiago de Compostela Convention Bureau, tells me. "We get things last." Stepping onto the platform at Madrid's Chamartin station, the white flanks of my streamlined AVE train were adorned with proclamations of its top speed (330km/h) plus a logo indicating that it was powered by 100% renewable energy. According to Munín, the arrival of these high-speed trains has brought an increase of Spanish travellers to Santiago, while simultaneously reducing the number of flights arriving at its small regional airport. "A one-hour flight – it is just wrong," she remarks. As my train leaves Madrid, I watch the seat-back speedometer rise inexorably until, after 20 minutes, I'm cruising serenely along at 300km/h. Arid plains dotted with weathered ochre-coloured villages and clusters of hardy trees scrolls by. Passing the city of Zamora, moorland gives way to sylvan valleys where mountain streams glint below the tracks. The train eases across the wide span of the Miño, Galicia's longest river, as we reach the ancient hot springs town of Ourense. From here, a series of viaducts carry us across hills carpeted by a tight arboreal tapestry, dotted with colourful villages whose facades seem brighter in the clear hill air. Barely more than three hours after leaving Madrid, I step off the train into the heart of Santiago. A new vision Pilgrims approaching Santiago on the Camino's network of trails often describe their first glimpse of the cathedral's ornate spires. Instead, I was struck by the dramatic rollercoaster curves and soaring glass facades of the City of Culture architectural complex, which rises atop Mount Gaiás and overlooks the train station below. Designed by US starchitect Peter Eisenman, this eye-popping, futuristic set of museums, gardens and libraries was designed as a "beacon for pilgrims of knowledge" when its first two buildings opened to the public in 2011. Inside the vast multipurpose cultural space (now known simply as the Gaias Centre Museum), I take in a retrospective of artist Rafael Ubeda before wandering through an exhibition on global tattoo designs and culture at the neighbouring UTESA convention and culture centre. "We have fantastic contemporary architecture, modern art – and the gastronomy scene has just grown and grown," Munín later tells me. As we sit at a communal table sipping Galicia's world-renowned Mencia wine and savouring the region's prized octopus and mackerel at Abastos 2.0, a hip diner attached to the historic food market, I look around and noticed that there doesn't appear to be a single foreign visitor in sight. "Santiago is also very much a university city," adds Munín, revealing that a quarter of the city's 100,000 residents study or work at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, which dates back to 1495. As she explained, this infuses the city with a vibrant, youthful energy, as students and young creatives frequently showcase their work at pop-up arts events – like the exhibition of contemporary photographs I soon stumble upon housed in a 17th-Century church nestled amid the city's medieval core. Santiago's Old Town is a glorious, compact melange of squares and historic porticoed streets that give way to promenade-lined parks like the central Alameda and more secluded Bonaval. Munín explains that in recent years, ancient edifices have been refashioned into atmospheric museums. But unlike the tourist-thronged cathedral, I experience near solitude in every other cultural space I visit – as if the pilgrims don't realise that reflection can be stirred in Santiago's quiet corners, as well as on the trail. Inside the austere granite outlines of CGAC (Galician Centre for Contemporary Art), for example, I see just four other people during my hour spent exploring three floors that include a brilliant exhibition of Galician photographer Mar Caldas. Mere metres from the end of three Camino trails (the French, Northern and Primitivo Ways) on Rua de San Pedro, incoming pilgrims walk right past a showcase by young Galician artists at the tiny Defímeras gallery. After taking it in, I tuck into a luscious Galician bean stew and generous pork loin at the nearby local favourite O Dezaseis. Inside a neighbouring Dominican convent now housing the Museum of the Galician People, there's just one other person absorbing evocative displays of ancient industries, linked via a dazzling Baroque spiral staircase. At Colexio de Fonseca, the university's oldest college, I immerse myself in a contemporary art show beside its leafy Renaissance courtyard while all alone. Ditto at the nearby Fundacion Eugenio Granell, which showcases Surrealist art inside an 18th-Century mansion once believed to be Santiago's loveliest. The following day I visit Casa RIA, a foundation opened in 2023 by famed British architect David Chipperfield which aims to promote sustainable development in the area. As well as displaying exhibitions on topics like Galician food markets, there's a stylish in-house cantina whose affordable daily menus include produce from the foundation's allotment in its tranquil rear garden. "We've welcomed academics from Shanghai's Tongji University and MIT, but also a few people every day visiting the exhibition or stopping by the canteen," Casa RIA's director, Inés Piñeiro Ozores, tells me. Interestingly, she adds, very few of their visitors are pilgrims. Back at the city's main square, the vast Praza do Obradoiro, I watch the melee of faithful mill around the cathedral. Suddenly, the sound of Galician bagpipes draws me around a corner to discover a piper named Fernando Hernandez playing alone in an ancient archway as a flow of people go by without pausing. He happily tells me about the link between Galician pipes and those of Scotland, Ireland and Brittany before lamenting Santiago's pilgrim hordes. "The Camino has just become a walk for too many people – companies now even carry their bags each day!" he says, before returning to his pipes. More like this:• St James Way: The return of the UK's medieval highway• The Lighthouse Way: Walking Spain's 'other' camino• A 77km hike that could inspire miracles As a record-number of pilgrims have descended on Santiago three years in a row, the city has started pushing back against the negative aspects of overtourism that have prompted fierce protests in other Spanish destinations like Barcelona and the Canary Islands. In Santiago, these include a surge in short-term rentals that push out locals, an influx of souvenir shops selling cheaply manufactured wares and bad tourist behaviour such as pitching tents near the cathedral. In addition to local campaigns such as Compostela Resists, in 2024 the city launched a "Fragile Santiago" campaign to encourage visitors to engage differently. The hope is that visitors seek out handmade local crafts, savour traditional Galician cuisine and take time to discover the city's cultural – and not just religious – heritage. "Every month, Santiago has some sort of arts festival," says Flavia Ramil, director of the city's tourist office, adding a note on their affordability, with tickets starting at just a few euros. "Now, we are seeing more tourists from places like Japan, the US and UK who are very interested in the culture of the city," she says happily. Amen to that. -- For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
More Bradford to London train services expected
More trains between Bradford and London are expected to be included in the next national railway timetable, according to a Bradford Interchange to London King's Cross route could get an additional two services a day when the next timetable change is announced in Central currently operates four services a day with stops at Halifax, Mirfield, Wakefield, Pontefract and report to West Yorkshire's Combined Authority's transport committee also states there is likely to be an increase in services from Bradford Forster Square to London in the new timetable. The report stated: "Grand Central are hoping to introduce up to two additional trains each way per day on their Bradford Interchange - London King's Cross route, as against the current four per day – with the potential to introduce one of the two extra train-pairs sooner than December."However, it is not yet known whether their application for the relevant network access has been approved."If network access is approved, the services will follow an increase in London services to Bradford Forster Square that was introduced in May, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. 'Improved service' Platform 0 opened at Bradford Forster Square Station on 19 May, and has seen LNER increase the number of direct trains from Bradford to King's Cross from two a day to seven a followed a £35m investment from government, and was expected to add £4m a year to Bradford's report said more Forster Square to London services are likely in the December timetable change."LNER's Sunday services on the Bradford Forster Square – London King's Cross route are expected to increase, bringing them in line with the significantly improved weekday service."The December changes will also see train times on the Skipton and Ilkley lines "adjusted slightly" to accommodate the extra London to Bradford Foster Square LNER changes to West Yorkshire rail services in the December timetable include:- The introduction of long-awaited hourly fast train from Leeds to Sheffield via Wakefield Westgate, roughly 30 minutes apart from the existing Cross-Country fast service, throughout the day and every day.- An additional 21:34 Sheffield to Huddersfield service on the Penistone line on weekdays.- The restoration of the two daily York to Sheffield via Pontefract trains on committee will also be told later that there has been a shift back towards office working in recent Rail said this shift has led to a 9% year-on-year increase in commuter travel. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
