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Aida (also spelled
'Ayda) is a Palestinian refugee camp situated 2 kilometers North of
BethlehemBethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
and 1 kilometer North of
Beit JalaBeit Jala is an Arab Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. Beit Jala is located 10 km south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Hebron road, opposite Bethlehem, at altitude...
in the central
West BankThe West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. Named after a famous coffeehouse (
maqhah) located on the site in the early 1940s, Aida camp was established in 1950 and covered an area of 66
dunamA dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s.
According to the
Palestinian Central Bureau of StatisticsThe Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....
, the camp had a population of approximately 3,260 refugees in mid-year 2006. It is the location of the Al Rowwad Cultural and Theatre Training Center. The Aida Refugee camp is adjacent to a new 4-star hotel, thus juxtaposing
Third WorldThe term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
and
First WorldThe concept of the First World first originated during the Cold War, where it was used to describe countries that were aligned with the United States. These countries were democratic and capitalistic. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the term "First World" took on a...
lifestyles in close physical proximity.
Pope Benedict XVI visited the refugee camp during his Middle East pilgrimage visit to Jordan, Israel & the Palestinian Territories in May 2009.
See also