Our tour to Bethlehem started with crossing into the West Bank. I had only promised my dad I would not go near the Gaza Strip. I made no such promises about Palestine or the West Bank.
Bethlehem is an easy 20 minute drive from Jerusalem (about 5 miles), but felt worlds apart. My first impression of Bethlehem was it reminded me of visiting East Berlin over 30 years ago. It felt desolate and full of despair. The buildings were empty. The streets were empty. It was devoid of life. The area is surrounded by a giant wall separating it from Jerusalem.
I did not catch our guide's name, but his dry presentation was perfect for the bleak setting.
We walked from Star Street to Manager Square --very fitting names. We went down an alley to see the eastern side of Bethlehem. We could see the mountains of Jordan in the background.
For the first time on my journey I was struck by how close the Biblical stories are in real life. Reading the Christmas narrative, Bethlehem sounds like it is on a different planet from the City of David -- after all, they needed a place to stay. They are FIVE MILES apart. Granted roads were not what they are today, and traveling by foot and on donkey is harder than traveling than in a car (even with a check point), but places are much closer than I imagined. I especially felt this traveling past the Stations of the Cross on the via Dolorosa.
In our sights are some mountains, that is the wilderness Jesus went to in Judea where he was tempted, and where John the Baptist lived. See, really close.
There are buildings in the area where the shepherds lived. Up until 30-40 years ago that area was a wasteland. Shepherds field is about two miles from Bethlehem.
Though tourist sites will encourage you to believe differently, the guide makes a point of reminding us we don't know exactly where things took place.
On Star Street I saw a 14-point star of Bethlehem. Later on the tour when I went into a gift shop I wanted to buy a 14-point star, alas they do not carry them.
Star Street is the street Mary and Joseph would have taken. It is the street the wise men and shepherds followed the star. At the time, it was the only street in town.
King Herod (remember him from my day at Masada) was feared because he was evil. He killed his own sons. Herod wasn't a Jew, he was an Arab. Herod sent for biblical scholars -- plural because he didn't trust any one interpretation. They told him about the coming of the Messiah. Star Street was a road, but not part of the "little town of Bethlehem" we sing about at Christmas.
Since 2012 Bethlehem is a World Heritage Site. It had been on the endangered list, but the nearly completed renovations of Church of the Nativity.
We arrived early, so our guide started talking.
The buildings we were looking at were only 300-500 years old (yes, old by American standards). There are 30,000 people in Bethlehem. Christians make up 19% of the population of Bethlehem.
Other stats:
2018: Christianity 0.9% in all of Israel
2006: 25%
2000: 49%
1990: 67%
He blames the decline in Christianity to the decline in tourists from 2000-2008. Star Street was closed. Shops were closed. The wall was built. Israelis are not allowed into the West Bank. Though we saw nothing, the area is deemed to be dangerous.
Following more mass shootings, as countries are starting to warn their citizens not to visit the United States due to gun violence, is it any safer to be here?
Now tour operators are only allowed to bring people into the city for a couple of hours at a time, not even time to eat at a cafe, certainly not enough time to spend a night in a hotel.
We entered through a short, nondescript door into an extremely ornate place to worship. More about the door later.
We queued up for way too long to see the cave where Jesus was born. Our guide did a great job of getting us near the front of the line, but you have to wait until the Armenians are done worshiping in the cave. That time varies on a daily basis. This was their third worship service of the day (it was only 9 AM). After they are finished they clean the cave.
As we waited, a few of us splintered off from the group to take pictures. Church of the Nativity is stunning! A massive renovation was started in 2013 -- the first renovation in about 550 years. It was long overdue.
The Church of the Nativity is another place Saint Helene (Constantine's mother) identified as a holy place in the 4th century. Her family deserves a cut in the royalties for all the money her efforts brought to Israel.
In 326 AD a church was built. Two hundred years later that church was destroyed by the Samaritans. It was rebuilt in 580 AD. It is the oldest church in the country and in the world.
They began the restoration from the top down -- with the cedar wood ceiling, and finishing with the floor. A cover was added to the ceiling 800 years ago because water leaks were damaging the mosaics, and oil lamp smoke was damaging the walls. Today it is all glistening.
As we enter the cave we are in the Greek Orthodox section of the church, as we exit we are in the Armenian section, the cave itself belongs to the Roman Catholics. Reminded me of the Church of the Holy Selpuchre. Everyone wants to claim a part.
In the cave there is a 14-point silver star on the
floor marking the place where Jesus was born. You can touch the place. The 14-points represent the 14 generations of Jesus's lineage. Abraham to David: 14 generations; David to Exile: 14 generations; Exile to Jesus: 14 generations. The cover was built in the 1st century to protect where Jesus was born.
The manger area belongs to the Roman Catholics. Only 6-8 people can fit in there at one time. The space was filled with people holding a small worship service.
In 1891 a church was built next door. This is where the Christmas Eve worship service that is televised around the globe is held. In front of that church is a statue of Volgate, the person responsible for translating the bible from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek into Latin.
After seeing where Jesus was born, this felt less impressive. A worship service was happening so we tiptoed our way around the sanctuary and back outside again.
Back to the tiny door at the entrance of the Church of the Nativity. There used to be three doors, including a rather large door on the right. You can see the framing in the stone. The door was shrunk as a way to stop people from bringing horses and camels into the sanctuary. Today it is called the Door of Humility -- everyone has to bend in order to enter, making everyone even in the eyes of God.
We had a quick stop at a gift shop with items made by locals. Many items made with wood from olive trees. We were told because this area does not have their own currency, they accept both US dollars and shekels. Try to negotiate down 25-30% off. Since I did not see a 14-point star, and nothing caught my eye, I left without making a purchase.
The grotto has images of Mary breastfeeding Jesus. Have you ever seen that before? I never did. It makes complete sense that a mother would nurse her child since there would not have been many other options, especially for a poor young woman.
Since the 1st century woman have visited this sight for help conceiving. They drink a concoction with milk and many become pregnant. People of all faiths come here to try. Later some bring their medical records to prove before they could not conceive, but somehow did afterwards. I am not testing it out.
Along the walk there were a lot of people trying to sell things to us. I followed the example of our guide, and ignored them.
Our guide led us down a hill to the bus. Thankfully we did not have to walk back UP the hill.
Our driver took a quick detour to show us a famous piece of a dove by Banksy, an artist I first heard about last year on a Left Bank tour of Paris. A couple of years ago he opened a pop-up hotel, a risky move in a town not at all tourist-friendly.
After a 20-minute wait at the border we were back into the safety of Jerusalem., deposited at our hotel. Here I grabbed my camera charger because I ran out of battery power and there was still a lot of sightseeing left to do.
Of note, my legs were VERY tired from the trip to Masada.
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