Our Trip to The Holy Land: Pictures of Bethlehem

With the pyramids receding in the distance, we set sail for the Holy Land with our first stop there in Ashdod, a port about an hour away from Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  Security is especially tight for this leg of the cruise with Israeli customs officers actually embarking with us in Alexandria so that they will have lots of time to spend one-on-one with everyone's passports before we even arrive there.  And one-on-one with US as well.  This is because not only did we surrender our passports to the Israelis even before we got on the ship, everyone planning on going ashore had to be interviewed face-to-face by the customs officers while we were still at sea.  

Beyond that, there are many interesting things about going on a tour into Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  To begin with, most guides are indeed Israeli citizens.  However, when you go into areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, you MUST have a Palestinian guide with you.  Since our first stop is Bethlehem and that lies within Palestinian territory, we have to stop the bus and let a second, Palestinian guide board with us.  Both guides go to great lengths to assure the passengers that the differences between their two peoples is not personal, but rather the result of political turmoil among their respective politicians.  There is no way I am going into that whole issue on a simple travel blog, however, I will say its apparent that both groups REALLY want to make sure the tourist dollars are able to keep coming in, as evidenced by the fact that tour buses are allowed to pass checkpoints (of which there were several and they looked pretty threatening) completely unmolested.

Crucifix above the altar in a secret church underneath the Manger

The Church of the Nativity built around the Manger where Jesus was born

Agnes about to go through the tiny entrance into the Church of the Nativity.  You can see how the larger, original entrance was bricked up to keep early Crusaders from riding their horses directly up to the altar!

Inside the Church of the Nativity.  There is a 2 hour waiting line to touch the floor where the manger itself lay.

Despite the crowd, silence and reverence is strictly enforced.  As is the dress code: women's knees and shoulders MUST be covered.

The Altar of the Church of the Nativity

Catholic Church immediately adjacent to the Manger.  This was built many years after Christianity became accepted.

The original church is actually hidden away in tunnels and chambers underneath the manger, safe from Roman soldiers that would have closed it down and rounded up practitioners of this forbidden cult.

My Latin is not that great, but the best I can make it out its something like: "Paul's brothers, Jerome and Eusebius  burn  to ashes  and overcome the priest".  I could, of course, be totally wrong though I do know that it was Jerome who translated Christ's teachings into Latin and thus set the stage for the new religion to spread throughout the Roman Empire.

Agnes stands outside the Church of the Nativity looking out from the "suburb" of Bethlehem to Jerusalem not far away in the distance.

Sadly, we miss a chance to get a cup of coffee at the internationally renowned Stars & Bucks because they were closed...We did NOT however, miss a chance to go to a nearby gift shop since spending a minimum of a half hour for shopping is actually mandated by the Palestinian Authority for visiting tour groups.  Interestingly enough, that gift shop is owned by Christians.

I just had to get a shot of my namesake hotel (Betlejewski means "of  Bethlehem" in Polish).  Would have loved to spend the night, but we had to get moving along to our next stop: Jerusalem

So we must pass back through this security wall and checkpoint that separates the West Bank from Jerusalem

By local law and custom, all buildings in Jerusalem MUST feature facades made of this stone and in this color.  All residential structures have strict height limitations as well and I didn't see anything that was more than a couple stories tall.

We stop at this monastery to have lunch

We sit on plastic chairs inside this 2000 year old monastery taking advantage of its All You Can Eat  buffet...the mind reels.

Jerusalem, and at least the area right around it, is quite a bit  more lush with vegetation than I ever expected it to be.  Its plenty dusty, don't get me wrong, but its hardly desert-like.  More to come as we journey inside the original walls of Old Jerusalem and walk down the Via Dolorossa as Jesus did on his way to be crucified...