O Little Town of Bethlehem

Morning in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is going through major construction- getting ready for the Millenium when they expect 6 million tourists to come to the city where Jesus was born. We found a great guide to show us the major sites. It was embarrassing to have a Moslem guide who knew more about our Bible than any of us.

The is supposedly built over the cave where it’s believed that Jesus was born.

The original church was commissioned by the wife of Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century and today is run by various Christian groups (Armenian, Greek Orthodox). The classic comment of the day was when Steph said to the guide, “I thought Jesus was born in a hotel”. He kindly reminded her that “there was no room in the inn”. The site of the manger and the site of his birth are down the stairs and filled with very serious Christians, singing, crying and kissing the sites.

From there, we headed to the Milk Grotto Chapel. Tradition has it that on their way to Egypt, the Holy Family took refuge at this Franciscan chapel. While Mary was breast-feeding, some of her milk dripped to the floor and turned the rock of the cavern to chalky white. Even today, women come here to pray in the belief that the white stone helps their lactation.

Then it was off in the car to Shepherd’s Fields. Here, the Shepherd reportedly saw the Star of Bethlehem while watching their flocks. In the two chapels, there were dueling groups singing Christmas carols (one of them Japanese). This, of course, was the site claimed by the Catholics to be the spot. Further down the road, the Greek Orthodox have their own Shepherds’ Field.

Another Temple of Herod and another walk in the mid day heat up a mountain.

The site was most interesting for the view of the scenes around Bethlehem. The guide showed us the recent site of a Palestinian village cleared by the Israelis to set up yet another settlement. They simply come and clear off the houses and move the people, set up barbed wire fencing and temporary trailers before starting to build the new settlement. These settlements are taking over on every hilltop for miles. The Palestinians can’t drive on specific Israeli roads. The 5-km distance between Bethlehem and Jerusalem takes the Palestinians 30 km on back roads.