O Little Town of Bethlehem

On Christmas Eve two friends and I decided to take a last minute trip to Bethlehem to check out the festivities. Pictured here is a card that was given to each of us, along with a package of candy, as we crossed the military checkpoint going into the West Bank. Among other things, the trip was a reminder of how close I live to so many historic and religiously significant places; total drive time was less than an hour and a half and could have been less without traffic.

Though definitely a learning experience, the trip proved to be a little bit underwhelming. Apparently one must have an admission ticket to see the Christmas services inside the Church of the Nativity. And these tickets, although free, must be procured in advance from one of various Christian tourist agencies.

Getting close to the Church of the Nativity was also difficult because of tight security. I was told that in addition to the large crowds, security was heightened because there were usually several Palestinian dignitaries who attended the church's services.

Outside of the church there is a small square called Manger Square. The square is lined with souvenir shops for tourists, and opposite from the Church of the Nativity sits the town's only mosque. For Christmas there was a stage set up in the square where various musical and dance acts from Europe and Africa performed for an audience made up mostly of roaming gaggles of Arab men smoking cigarettes and gawking at the scattered groups of tourists who were not attending the closed services in the Church.

(That's the Church of the Nativity on the other side of the firetruck.)

(Mosque of Omar)

The most interesting part of the trip was actually crossing into the West Bank and seeing the Israeli Palestinian Barrier Wall which lies just north of Bethlehem. Driving along the wall at night was a little spooky and sobering. My friend Tania took some really good pictures. I posted a few below. For some general information on the barrier click here for the Wikipedia page, or click here for an interesting BBC guide.

Even though I wasn't able to focus much on little tiny Baby Jesus this trip, I know better how to plan my trip and what to expect next year. Keep the date open if you'd like to travel along.