Bethlehem

Bethlehem for most westerners regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof is associated with one thing: the birth of Jesus. In fact the place was so associated with that story that despite knowing a place with that name existed I got a slight shock actually seeing the town marked on maps and in guide books. Visiting this place of importance to so many people cannot be anything but a thrilling experience. Most tourists enter the West Bank via Jerusalem involving the crossing of the infamous and illegal wall being built within the Palestinian territories. The wall has become almost a tourist attraction, if an unusual one, in its own right and although ...  Read the complete review

Where do you begin when trying to give a flavour of Bethlehem? It’s difficult to know where to start with a place that most of us were told about from an early age. My first visit was almost 15 years ago. It was my first visit to Israel and I wanted to see the main Christian sights that I had heard so much about. I knew very little of the political situation and did not want to get involved with any of that side of things and wasn’t even sure of the distinction between the occupied territories. Bethlehem is quite a large town situated about 4 or 5 miles from Jerusalem so can easily be visited in a day. On my first visit it was a ...  Read the complete review