BETHLEHEM
Day 2: December 23, 20122000 years ago, “Joseph and Mary went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. And Mary brought forth her firstborn son, Jesus.” (Luke 2: 4 &7)
Bethlehem is located in the Palestine Territory and it confuses many tourists and pilgrims because if you want to go to Bethlehem, searching for flights using “Palestine” will not give you any match. The only options are flight to Amman, Jordan and Tel Aviv, Israel.
During my
entire travel, Palestine and Israel are currently on a truce situation. Upon
arrival in Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, all visitors are
subject to quite invasive and interfering Israeli control.
My cousin
and her 3 friends met me at the airport. From there, we went directly to
Bethlehem to visit the Church of Nativity. One of her friends is an Israeli
national and he is not permitted to enter the territory. And so, we just
alighted at one of the check point gates of West Bank, near Jerusalem. We
passed through a path provided by the Israeli police and at the end of this
path, there were taxis waiting. We bargained the fare to 30 NIS for each
passenger going to and from the church. Dealing with Palestinians is quite
hard. They insist to tourists to pay for
the fare that they want, so be alert in dealing with them. They always give
suggestions on where to go then they tend to overcharge.
I found Palestine a very quiet place. It is so quiet and
peaceful, almost like a ghost town. If Joseph and Mary experienced difficulty
to find a place to stay, now tourists and pilgrims willnot experience the
same. There many hotels and hostels in Bethlehem.
Going back
to Jerusalem, we passed again the path with high walls and barred wire. We need to scan our belongings and showed our
passport to Israeli police before they allow us to enter Israel again. My
cousin and her friends were a bit scared. They are OFWs and never experienced
this before, because they always joined a whole day tour.
Other option
to go to Bethlehem is to take an Arab bus from Jerusalem. The terminal is
located in front of Damascus Gate or you can join in a daily pilgrimage tour. Ask
your hotel or book online.
I am not a professional photographer. I am not a good writer, I am just a traveler.
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| Christmas Tree set at the Manger Square |
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| Manger Square |
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| The Mosque of Omar, the only mosque in Bethlehem |
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| The church of Nativity - originally commissioned in 327 AD by Constantine and his Mother Helena |
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| Inside the Nativity Church |
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| Inside the Nativity Church |
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| The Altar - Nativity Church |
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