Must see attractions in Bethlehem

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A must-see on any journey through the Holy Land is Mar Saba Monastery, a bleak and beautiful 20km drive east of Bethlehem (beyond Beit Sahour).

For the millions of pilgrims who descend on the Holy Land every year, the Church of the Nativity is the main reason for visiting Bethlehem. The church,…

This impressive museum in the new complex of buildings opposite Soloman's Pools is the personal collection of one man, Ishaq al Hroub, who gathered this…

Al Rowwad is buried in the narrow streets of Aida refugee camp and is best visited as part of an organised tour. The centre is a wealth of information on…

King Herod’s spectacular fortress-palace, Herodium, built between 23 and 15 BCE, was known through the centuries to Arab inhabitants as the Mountain of…

In a desolate corridor created by Israel’s separation wall and near the main checkpoint into town on the Israeli side, stands Rachel’s Tomb. Rachel is…

Has a range of fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, junk, shoes and some mighty tasty snacks. Known to locals as the Green Market, the souq was…

During Roman times, a series of natural springs filled three mammoth rectangular reservoirs supplying water via aqueducts to Jerusalem and Herodium. King…

Opposite the Church of the Nativity and named after the second Muslim caliph, Omar Ibn Al Khattab, this is the only mosque in Bethlehem’s Old City. It was…

Built in the 19th-century church, the Lutheran Christmas Church is linked to the International Center of Bethlehem and was inaugurated by Kaiser Wilhelm…

Midnight Mass at this pink-toned church, next door to the Church of the Nativity, is broadcast across the world on Christmas Eve, but there’s nothing like…

If you’ve always wondered where exactly ‘shepherds watched their flocks by night’, drop into Shepherds’ Field, a parklike area just outside Beit Sahour…

The museum, housed in a typical 19th-century Palestinian home, is made up of three rooms recreated as a traditional Bethlehem family abode, with many…

This Lutheran-run centre puts on concerts, plays, films, English-language documentaries, workshops and lectures. There’s also a coffee shop, guesthouse,…

A short walk from Manger Sq is the lesser-known Milk Grotto Chapel. Legend has it that Mary and Joseph stopped here to feed the baby during their flight…