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Bethlehem, Israel

Perched on a hill at the edge of the Judean desert just 5 miles south of Jerusalem, Bethlehem is the childhood home of the biblical King David also the birthplace of Jesus Christ

Has been a major site of Christian pilgrimage since the construction of the Church of the Nativity in the 4th century AD.The town has been a monastic center for almost as long. In the 5th century AD, St. Jerome built a monastery here and with the aid of local rabbis translated the Old Testament into Latin from the original Hebrew for the Vulgate, the standard Latin translation of the Bible used by the Roman Catholic Church.

Bethlehem flourished until Crusader times, but the following centuries witnessed a great reduction in population, reversed only after the 1948 war with the arrival of thousands of Palestinian refugees.

Since 1995, Bethlehem has been under the control of the Palestinian National Authority, which has initiated a program of economic recovery and tourism. Despite the huge number of pilgrims and chaotic urban growth, Bethlehem retains an authentic atmosphere, especially in the central area around Manger Square and in the souk just to the west.

The souvenir shops are filled with kitsch religious objects but also carved olive-wood crib scenes that local craftsmen have produced for centuries. No visitor should miss the ancient Church of the Nativity on Manger Square, and the town’s other main sights also deserve a visit.

Visit Israel. Epic Israel Adventure route © Monika & Simon Newbound. All rights reserved 2017

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