Sights in Bethlehem
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Crib Museum
The nativity-scene spectacle at the Crib Museum is a short walk off Manger Sq.
reviewed
-
B
Old Bethlehem Museum
Old Bethlehem Museum will transport you through time to a typical Palestinian home of the 19th century. See native costumes; purchase embroidery produced by the Arab Women's Union.
reviewed
-
Manger Sq
The city's centerpiece, Manger Sq is also the hub of services - both religious and logistical. It has a post office, ATM and Open Bethlehem (x277 7993; www.openbethlehem.org; Manger Sq) - for its services.
reviewed
-
C
Cave
In the International Center of Bethlehem (natives know the centre as Dar Annadwa) is housed the Cave which has extended hours for exhibits. Watch artisans at work through large windows, then go into the gallery/gift shop and bookstore. Don't miss how it gets its name - an ancient cave-dwelling on the lower level.
reviewed
-
D
Milk Grotto Chapel
A lesser-known house of worship, a short walk off Manger Sq, is the Milk Grotto Chapel . The white rock inside this stony chapel is said to bring milk to a mother's bosom and enhance fertility in women swallowing a morsel of the chalky substance. Legend has it that Mary and Joseph stopped here with the baby Jesus for a feeding, and some milk dripped onto the red rock turning it white.
reviewed
-
E
St Catherine's Church
Midnight Mass at the newer, pink-toned St Catherine's Church is broadcast around the world on Christmas Eve. Accessed through the Church of the Nativity or from its front, you should first wander through the Crusader-era Franciscan cloister with a statue of St Jerome. Yasser Arafat and an entourage of notables, including his Christian wife, attended midnight Mass each year until the second intifada broke out.
reviewed
-
F
Mosque of Omar
On Manger Sq, opposite the church, is the Mosque of Omar , named after the 2nd caliph, Omar Ibn al-Khattab. It was built in 1860 on land granted by the Greek Orthodox Church in honour of the Prophet Muhammad's father-in-law, who in 637 took Jerusalem from the flagging Byzantines and then prayed in the Church of the Nativity. Having declared the region sacred in compliance with the Quran, al-Khattab realised his followers would want to enshrine that spot as a Muslim holy site.
In order to keep the Christian site intact, he instituted the Pact of Omar preventing Muslim prayer assemblies at the church. Only individuals were allowed to pray there.
reviewed
-
Manger Square & the Old City
The energy on Manger Sq and in the Old City on Christmas Eve is positively electric. But the narrow limestone streets and exotic storefronts are a year-round draw. Even if you're not a churchgoer, on a Sunday morning sneak a peek at an array of Christian denominations celebrating in the place where so much started. Most in attendance are Palestinians, but respectful visitors are welcome to attend or stop in for a few moments of contemplation.
Set out at 09:00 at the Lutheran Christmas Church on Pope Paul VI St. Then head toward Manger Sq to St Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church where services are said in a dialect of Aramaic. Descend the stairs to Manger Sq and enter the…
reviewed
-
Rachel's Tomb
In a desolate corridor near the entrance to town is Rachel's Tomb . Another Bethlehem sojourner in labour, Rachel is said to have died here in childbirth, on the way south to Hebron. Her husband Jacob 'set a pillar upon her grave' (Genesis 35:20). Revered by followers of all three Abrahamic religions (Jews and Muslims in particular), the place has been enshrined and guarded for centuries, from the Byzantine and Islamic eras to the Crusaders, Ottomans and Israelis.
Located near the former checkpoint to Bethlehem from Jerusalem, the tomb complex was flanked by businesses that now stand defunct due to the construction of the 8m-high wall effectively annexing the…
reviewed
-
G
Church of the Nativity
Even without conjuring anything resembling the manger scene, the Church of the Nativity is an imposing marker for the birthplace of Jesus. Also called the Basilica of the Nativity, it's the oldest continuously operating church. It was commissioned in 326 by Constantine, with his mother Helena Augusta as head contractor and the bishop of Jerusalem in charge, forever ending the use of the site for the pagan worship of Adonis.
Renovations throughout the centuries included a new floor, beneath which lies the 4th-century mosaic floor discovered in 1934. After bowing through the Ottoman-era Door of Humility (most likely built so short to prevent soldiers on horses from…
reviewed
Advertisement