Church of the Nativity in Bethleham

We left Hebron and headed towards Bethleham.






I really only wanted to go to the Church of the Nativity, because it is actually a combination of two churches, the Church of St. Catherine, the Roman Catholic church, and the Basilica of the Nativity which is maintained by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. And beneath the church is a crypt called—the Grotto of the Nativity—where Jesus is said to have been born.


But first, Khalid wanted to take me to his family business, which is an olive wood carving business, the kind I see at almost every tourist place. It would have been a very nice gesture, considering he and his 'brother', come to find out was just a friend, served me a nice cup of coffee and then showed me their souvenir shop. Khalid tapped into his pushy and very needy sales pitch, basically pleading with me to buy something . . . "for the family, do it for my family!" Can you tell I was a bit annoyed with it, it's just their way, but it's very pushy. So I left on my own to visit the Church.




It's a beautiful church with numerous chapels that are found in the compound as well, including the Chapel of Saint Joseph, commemorating the angel's appearance to Joseph, commanding him to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13); the Chapel of the Innocents, commemorating the children killed by Herod (Matthew 2:16-18); and the Chapel of Saint Jerome, where traditionally he translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate).
Manger Square, a large paved courtyard in front of the Church, is the site where large crowds will gather on Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols in anticipation of the midnight services.





But I entered into this little construction zone, mainly because it was the closest entry way from Khalid's souvenir shop. I walked through this narrow door called the "Door of Humility" which led me to . . . .





this area, it is the Greek Orthodox section or the Basilica of the Nativity.