Since returning the U.S. and the interruptions of the office, I have gotten even farther behind in my posting. This morning I sat down with the idea that I was going to finish the blog and completely forgot that I hadn't yet told you about our visit to Bethlehem.
On Friday we had a very full day of sightseeing but we wanted to make sure we got to visit Bethlehem. Since Bethlehem is now governed by the Palestinian Authority visits to Bethlehem are much like visiting a foreign country. While only 3 miles, or so, from Jerusalem it is necessary to go through a security check-point and transfer to a different bus and driver. Because of this, many groups no longer choose to visit Bethlehem but we wanted to include it.
Nir, our driver, dropped us off at the Palestinian border and we transferred to a different bus. All visits to Bethlehem require you to visit a restaurant for lunch, and then a souvenir shop. Seventy percent of Bethlehem's income comes from tourism and they want to do everything possible to encourage you to spend a bit. After a typical lunch buffet in a restaurant that was much like a reception hall, we met our guide for the tour to the Church of the Nativity, the oldest Christian church in the world.
The Church of the Nativity was built on the purported site of Jesus birth. I know that when we think of a stable we think of a barn, but in this area there are many caves. At night the shepards would gather their flocks into the caves that dot the hillside; inside the caves they would stay warm and safe for the night.
In the third century a.d., King Constantine sent his mother to survey Christian sites in the area. After being shown this site by local Christians she built a basilica in 327 a.d. Although the basilica was destroyed in the 6th century, parts of the original mosaic floors still remain and depict the 3 wise man coming to visit the baby Jesus.
The church is currently jointly administered by the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches. Each one claims part of the church and getting agreement to do maintenance is a problem. The last time the roof was repaired was in the 1500's! Today they finally have an agreement to start on a restoration plan so much of the interior of the church was occupied with scaffolding and covered with tarps.
The line to go down into the Greek Orthodox part of the church was several hours long. Our group decided to visit the Catholic portion of the church where we could go down into the same cave, but without the line. The Catholic portion of the cave has been walled off so that the Catholics could worship without the interuption of the other denominations. Since no one really knows if Jesus was born on the Greek Orthodox side or the Catholic side, we were all content just to see the Church of the Nativity and be in the general proximity, without having to wait for hours in line.
Before entering the church we had a group photo taken. In less than an hour we exited the church to find that our photos had been printed and we had a nice momento of our visit to the church. From here we returned to our obligatory stop at the souvenir shop.
Our guide for the church visit made mention several times about how tough life was in Bethlehem and how much they depended on tourists. While I am a bit cynical and think he was building us up for a generous tip, it was obvious that life in Bethlehem was much different that in Jerusalem, even though they were only a few miles apart. In Bethlehem the streets were dirty and littered, windows on buildings were caked with dirt, or non-existent in some cases. Much of Bethlehem is now surrounded by a big security wall, or ringed with barb-wire fences. You get the feeling that you are inside a maximum security prision. Just visiting Bethlehem helped open our eyes a bit to the plight of the Palestinians.
After leaving the souvenir shop we had to go back to the border and proceed through the security check point. We had been advised that the people selling souvenirs on the street could be a bit pushy and as we exited the bus, there they were. All anxious to make a sale, they did anything to get your attention. If you show any bit of interest, they are on you like flies and it is almost impossible to get away.
One member of our group was approached by a young boy, maybe 10-12 years old selling flutes for two dollars. As he became more desparate to make a sale, the price dropped to 3 for $5. Our group member counter offered 4 for $5 and the young man took 4 flutes and shoved them into the buyer's plastic bag. When the buyer took out a $10 bill, the young man claimed he didn't have change and started shoving more flutes into the bag so he would have to give change.
I finally stepped in and demanded that he return the $10 and we would return the flutes. Afterall, how many cheap wooden flutes does a person need. The vendor became very indignant and didn't want to lose the sale, so he finally "found" that he had $5 in change. He then followed us for a couple of blocks until we got through the security check point, all the time trying to sell us some more flutes.
While this is just a quick anecdote, it provided us a bit of insight into the desparation of the Palestinians. In talking afterwards with the group member, this encounter was a memorable experience that he will never forget.
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