Bethlehem turned out to be more of an adventure than a tour stop. Because Bethlehem is under the control of the Palestinian Authorities our Jewish guide can not enter the city. He arranged for a Arab friend ( a taxi driver ) to take us to the Church of the Nativity where he would wait two hours and then bring us back to Jerusalem. While that sounded good, it didn’t quite happen that way.
We were driven to a olive wood store/factory, given time to shop and were handed off to a “guide” who started our tour. This was not what we were told would happen and it made us a little nervous. At some point we were told The Church of the Nativity didn’t open until eleven and there would be a two hour wait. We were now a little upset since we had planned on being back in Jerusalem by noon.
We get into the car with the guide and he wants to know where we want to go. We have no idea what to see since we only planned to see the Church of the Nativity. He starts driving down dirty, dusty narrow side streets, it feels like an episode of Homeland right before the Americans are taken prisoner, it was surreal. He tells us we are headed to the Chapel of the Shepherds Field.
The Chapel of the Shepherds Field (Catholic Church) was our next stop. The chapel was erected to commemorate and mark the area of the appearance of the Angel to the shepherds. There is also a grotto nearby that has the ruins of a Byzantine church erected for the same reason.
Our next stop was the Bethlehem YMCA, that’s right the YMCA. There have been some ancient stones and pottery found on the YMCA property and now they take you to a cave/grotto where the relics were found.
The difference between how the sites in Jerusalem are administrated and the sites in Bethlehem are administrated are day and night different. The Israeli sites are clean, uncluttered and orderly. The sites in Bethlehem are dirty, cluttered and mass chaos.
The Milk Grotto was the next stop. This site is said to be where Mary was feeding Jesus and some milk spilled onto the floor transforming the whole chamber white. Our guide told us that women from all over come to the cave to get dirt and rock fragments to grind up into a beverage they drink to make their milk more abundant.
Our next stop, The Lutheran Church, aka The Christmas Church, was interesting. Initially we could not get in, the guide called somebody and we started walking around the building on narrow streets until we get to a small metal reinforced side door which would not open, again this made us a little uneasy.
Another phone call and we were taken back to the main doors and were let in. We had to wait a little while for access to the church so we had some refreshments while wondering what was really going on.
The church was nice, small, with very nice stained glass windows ( which were all made in Germany and with German wording). The dome was nice with a scripture written in Arabic. It turned out to be a good experience, just different than what we expected.
When we approached the Church of the Nativity our guide was asked to provide proof he was a guide and after a lot of discussion he was allowed to take us into the church. Because of the long lines he had us enter from the exit and somehow he got us about half way up the line where we waited about 30 minutes to get into the grotto.
There was an incredible amount of pushing and shoving to gain better position, it was like a rugby scrum. One 80 year old lady was the pushiest, she was driven to get into the grotto. It was like a rugby scrim but worse.
The picture on the right is claimed to be the spot where Mary gave birth to Jesus. It is floor level and most of the visitors want to get on their knees and touch this place, with people getting down, saying a prayer and then getting back up it is a very busy area.
Our goal achieved, we go back to the olive wood factory and wait for a taxi to Jerusalem. And we wait and wait, an hour passes, we keep being told 5 minutes, the owner starts talking to other taxi drivers and after many harsh words between various drivers and the store owner a driver says "follow me" and we were off to Jerusalem.
While I never felt my life was in danger it was an uncomfortable experience and from the look on Elizabeth's face she was more than uncomfortable. In the end, we accomplished our goal of seeing the Church of the Nativity so I must say the Bethlehem excursion was a success, a nerve racking success but a success.
TJ & EA in
Bethlehem
We get into the car with the guide and he wants to know where we want to go. We have no idea what to see since we only planned to see the Church of the Nativity. He starts driving down dirty, dusty narrow side streets, it feels like an episode of Homeland right before the Americans are taken prisoner, it was surreal. He tells us we are headed to the Chapel of the Shepherds Field.
The Chapel of the Shepherds Field (Catholic Church) was our next stop. The chapel was erected to commemorate and mark the area of the appearance of the Angel to the shepherds. There is also a grotto nearby that has the ruins of a Byzantine church erected for the same reason.
Our next stop was the Bethlehem YMCA, that’s right the YMCA. There have been some ancient stones and pottery found on the YMCA property and now they take you to a cave/grotto where the relics were found.
The difference between how the sites in Jerusalem are administrated and the sites in Bethlehem are administrated are day and night different. The Israeli sites are clean, uncluttered and orderly. The sites in Bethlehem are dirty, cluttered and mass chaos.
The Milk Grotto was the next stop. This site is said to be where Mary was feeding Jesus and some milk spilled onto the floor transforming the whole chamber white. Our guide told us that women from all over come to the cave to get dirt and rock fragments to grind up into a beverage they drink to make their milk more abundant.
Our next stop, The Lutheran Church, aka The Christmas Church, was interesting. Initially we could not get in, the guide called somebody and we started walking around the building on narrow streets until we get to a small metal reinforced side door which would not open, again this made us a little uneasy.
Another phone call and we were taken back to the main doors and were let in. We had to wait a little while for access to the church so we had some refreshments while wondering what was really going on.
The church was nice, small, with very nice stained glass windows ( which were all made in Germany and with German wording). The dome was nice with a scripture written in Arabic. It turned out to be a good experience, just different than what we expected.
When we approached the Church of the Nativity our guide was asked to provide proof he was a guide and after a lot of discussion he was allowed to take us into the church. Because of the long lines he had us enter from the exit and somehow he got us about half way up the line where we waited about 30 minutes to get into the grotto.
There was an incredible amount of pushing and shoving to gain better position, it was like a rugby scrum. One 80 year old lady was the pushiest, she was driven to get into the grotto. It was like a rugby scrim but worse.
The picture on the right is claimed to be the spot where Mary gave birth to Jesus. It is floor level and most of the visitors want to get on their knees and touch this place, with people getting down, saying a prayer and then getting back up it is a very busy area.
Our goal achieved, we go back to the olive wood factory and wait for a taxi to Jerusalem. And we wait and wait, an hour passes, we keep being told 5 minutes, the owner starts talking to other taxi drivers and after many harsh words between various drivers and the store owner a driver says "follow me" and we were off to Jerusalem.
While I never felt my life was in danger it was an uncomfortable experience and from the look on Elizabeth's face she was more than uncomfortable. In the end, we accomplished our goal of seeing the Church of the Nativity so I must say the Bethlehem excursion was a success, a nerve racking success but a success.
TJ & EA in
Bethlehem
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