After Massada we continued travelling north and at Ein Gedi
we encountered where the road had been flooded.
We were unable to tour Ein Gedi because of the flooding at the site as
well. Ein Gedi is the location of the
caves used by David when he hid from Saul and his army.
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| a picture of the West Bank Wall |
We continued north and then turned east taking highway number 1 into Jerusalem. As we came to Jerusalem because we were leaving the West Bank, we had to go through a checkpoint. We went around Jerusalem and south into Bethlehem and again as we entered the West Bank; there was another checkpoint. Checkpoints were like border crossings with soldiers and barricades.
The West Bank wall or barrier began construction in 2000 and when completed will be about 700 km long. It separates some 23,000 Palestinians. Here in Bethlehem the Israeli’s cannot go into Bethlehem and the Palestinians cannot leave without permission.
In Bethlehem we had lunch and our next stop was at a factory
and store specializing in olive wood carvings.
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| me with a beautiful large olive wood carving of the Nativity, I priced just one of the individual carvings at $800 USD! I cannot imagine what the entire Nativity set would cost! I didn't dare ask. |
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| notice the resemblance to Starbucks with logo and name! |
Our guide Shimon being an Israeli stayed at the store and
our new guide Sana who was a Christian Palestinian took over.
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We then travelled to the Church of the
Nativity. This is the place where a
church had been built over the place that is believed to have been the
birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. The
church is shared between the Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic and Orthodox
authorities.
The church was originally commissioned by Helena the mother
of Constantine in 327 AD. The original church
burned in 339 and was rebuilt in 556 with several additions since that time.
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| The church was undergoing massive renovations during our visit |
.
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| Entrance - "Door of Humility" - is so low and with a step you have to bow to enter! |
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| visiting the "Shepherds Field" |
This is believed to have been the place where the angels appeared to the shepherds announcing the birth of Jesus. It is also the place where the account of Boaz and Ruth takes place.
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| Entrance to the Church at the Shepherd's Field |
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| one of the wall paintings inside the church |
