Are the Borders holy too?

Since I spent most of winter break in Israel, I cannot help but think of all the visual borders I felt during my journey. I remember with precision this one moment on a walk through Jerusalem. We paused on top of a mosque on the way to the Western Wall, and I noticed all around me religious and geographical symbols that for me manifest hatred of the State of Israel. In the context of this location, the people that belong to mosque itself, the Christian quarter to the right, and Jordan mountains to the left would rather that a Jewish state not exist here. There is no need for words or violent acts; these otherwise peaceful visuals are message enough. I wonder then what visual symbols, aside from written signs and gates, exist on the Mexican border.

The architecture surrounding the ancient gates of the city varies by the quarters. In this picture, the Jewish quarter is to the left and the Arabic quarter is to the right.

This is the Arabic quarter:

And the Jewish quarter:

The architecture in a small town Sfat (Safed) also speaks to the border once created between the Jewish and Arab communities. During the British rule of Palestine, in order to stop the fighting between these two groups, a certain stairway that runs through the town was set as the divide of where these two groups could reside. Today these stairs no longer mark any break in the city as Sfat has become one of the most peaceful cities in Israel.


One last example is the Syrian bunker I visited. During the 1973 Israel-Syrian War, Israelis hid in a bunker system that connected the two countries underground. Today it is used as a museum (the bunker is sealed off before you can get close to the border) with militaristic artwork outside it and this sign showing the directions of other cities around the world: (My camera died as we went inside the bunkers, but I can find a picture from a friend if anyone is interested.)
(It was cold)