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<\/a><\/p>\nRafi Rozanes, our Israeli tour guide, was there early to help us board a new bus and get us going on another adventure. \u00a0Thank you Rafi! \u00a0We drove from Tel Aviv to the town of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem in the West Bank. \u00a0On the side of a dusty road, we switched buses and met our Palestinian tour guide, Hisham Ikhmayes.<\/p>\n
Very soon, we were introduced to one of the contentious issues between the Palestinians and Israelis. \u00a0This was the “Israeli West Bank Barrier” aka “The Wall” aka “Security Fence” aka “Apartheid Wall.” \u00a0The wall was begun in September 2000 by the Israeli government as a temporary security measure at a time of heightened tensions. \u00a0It is now seen as a future political border between Israel and Palestine.<\/p>\n 75% of the population of Beit Jala is Christian, mostly Greek Orthodox, and about 25% of the people are Muslim.<\/p>\n The photo below shows the landscape around Beit Jala – the city of Jerusalem is in the distance. \u00a0We were only 10 kms (6 miles) away from the “Holy City”.<\/p>\n Our bus stopped in front of the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. Theodosius. \u00a0Hisham had noticed traffic in front of the building and told us that the monastery was rarely open for tourists. \u00a0He said we were lucky as we walked through the gates and entered the grounds of the monastery with a group of Greek pilgrims.<\/p>\n The Monastery of St. Theodosius was founded in 476 by Theodosius the Cenobiarch<\/em> and contains his tomb. \u00a0A cave on the monastery grounds is supposed to be the place where the three Magi took shelter during the night after delivering gifts to the newborn baby Jesus. \u00a0Access to the cave is inside the small building pictured below.<\/p>\n We watched as an old woman dressed in black passed keys to an elderly monk in front of the building. \u00a0He opened the bronze doors and allowed the Greek tourists to enter and climb down the stairs.<\/p>\n We followed them down and entered the cave. \u00a0The walls were covered with stucco and filled with icons and paintings of saints. \u00a0There was a small altar on one side. \u00a0The pilgrims lined up and took turns to touch, kiss the icons, and pray. \u00a0We were indeed lucky to witness this amazing sight.<\/p>\n We left quietly and continued along the road through the desert to Mar Saba Monastery in the Kidron Valley.<\/p>\n The monastery of Saint Sabba was founded in 483 AD and is an Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery. \u00a0Today the complex houses less than 20 monks and is considered to be one of the oldest inhabited monasteries in the world.<\/p>\n The facility still maintains many of its ancient traditions including the restriction of women from entering the compound. \u00a0The only building women can enter is the Women’s Tower, high on a hill away from the monastery. \u00a0It’s the building on the left in the photo above.<\/p>\n It is believed that this monastery will host the last Divine Liturgy on earth before the second coming of Christ.<\/p>\n We walked to the Women’s Tower and climbed up the stairs to have a better view of the monastery.<\/p>\n We drove back toward Bethlehem and stopped at Shepherd’s Field. \u00a0This is the place where the angels first announced the birth of Christ. \u00a0There are two sites near each other, which are claimed by different Christian denominations to be the actual “Shepherds’ Field.” \u00a0One belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church and the other to the Catholic Franciscan Order.<\/p>\n We went to the Catholic Chapel of the Shepherd’s Field whose history dates back to the 5th century. \u00a0The present chapel was built near the ruins of an ancient monastery in 1953. Under the chapel there was a large cave which we also explored.<\/p>\n Adjacent to this site were the excavations of a 4th – 6th century Byzantine church and monastery. \u00a0We walked past and snapped a few photos. \u00a0It seems that everyone wants a piece of the “tourist pie.”<\/p>\n Afterwards, we had a delicious shawarma-in-pita-bread lunch at a restaurant nearby and then continued on to the city of Bethlehem.<\/p>\n As luck would have it, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of The Church of the Nativity was under major reconstruction and completely covered (inside and outside) with scaffolding and canvas.<\/p>\n Of course, this did not deter the huge crowds of tourists who traveled thousands of miles and waited in long lines in the sanctuary to finally gain entry into the very small cave under the church and crawl under the altar to touch or kiss the silver star that marks the birth site. Two million visitors go to Bethlehem every year!<\/p>\n It was single file down a stairway and through a short narrow portal in order to gain entry into the Grotto of the Nativity.<\/em> \u00a0Underneath an altar there was a 14-point silver star mounted in marble which supposedly marked the birthplace. Across the “cave” was another small area which is the “Grotto of the Manger.”<\/em><\/p>\n The Church of the Nativity is a complex of churches and chapels administered jointly by several Christian denominations: Armenian Apostolic, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Syriac Orthodox.<\/p>\n The Church of Saint Catherine is adjacent to the Church of the Nativity and they were holding a mass when we looked in. \u00a0We left the churches and crossed the plaza and entered 21st century Bethlehem! \u00a0That’s The Mosque of Omar in the photo below. \u00a0It is the oldest and only mosque in the old city of Bethlehem.<\/p>\n We walked into a narrow alleyway and I felt immediately comfortable in the medieval middle-eastern city. \u00a0It reminded me of the back streets in Turkey.<\/p>\n We were on our way back to the Manger Square Hotel and we passed an interesting building on a steep hill.<\/p>\n This was the Church of the Mother of God, Syrian Orthodox Church. \u00a0Many Syriac Orthodox families had migrated to Palestine and settled in Bethlehem as a result of the genocide in 1915 by the Ottoman Turks. \u00a0The Syrian Christian community built the church between 1922-1928.<\/p>\n We were lucky again because the caretaker of the church was standing outside. \u00a0Hisham spoke to him and he opened the door and led us into the beautiful sanctuary. \u00a0The caretaker very proudly showed us the ancient illuminated bible in front of the altar. \u00a0The Syrian Orthodox Church traces its roots to one of the oldest communities of Antioch and was established as a congregation by the Apostle Peter in 37 AD.<\/p>\n The Manger Square Hotel was a short walk away. \u00a0We checked in and found our assigned rooms. \u00a0Dinner was in a large dining room with many tables set up and reserved for groups with religious affiliations: “Mother Fatima’s Group,” “Evangelical Pilgrims Group,” “Faith Ministry Group,” etc. etc. \u00a0We ate an interesting self-serve dinner of bright-green soup, lamb stew, rice with peas and beans. \u00a0The soup was a Middle-Eastern favorite \u00a0and comfort-food and made from a plant called molokhia<\/em> or mulukhiyah,<\/em> also called Jew’s mallow <\/em>or jute. \u00a0<\/em>It was delicious.<\/p>\n Below are two views of Bethlehem from my room window. \u00a0It had been another incredible day!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n