Our Hotel from the front. Are the skies really that clear? Yep.

Traveling (through a tunnel) to the Palestine checkpoint. We're going to Bethlehem today!

Arriving at the checkpoint.

Thanks to Palestinian terrorists, Israel had to build this wall. It was either build the wall, or continue to get randomly blown up in restaurants and buses. As out guide put it, "When our wives left home to go the grocery store, we never really knew if we would see them again. This had to stop." There have been no suicide bombings in Israel at all since the wall was completed.

This is the checkpoint for all Palestinians who want to come into Israel by foot.

All Palestinians may come to Israel at any time they want. The gate is open 24 hours a day. The Palestinians, by the way, will not allow any Israeli to travel into the Palestine territory. Ever. For any reason. Pray for peace.

Since our guide couldn't take us into Bethlehem, the touring company contracts with a company in Bethlehem.
This is their van, coming to pick us up.

This is "Sam," our Palestinian tour guide. He's an Armenian Christian.

This is what it looks like on the Palestinian side of the gate.

Welcome to Bethlehem!

We're going to the Church of the Nativity. The actual site of the Incarnation. The actual site of the Babe, lying in a manger. Wow!

How's this for a tourist trap?

 

We're here!

While our tour guide explained what we would be seeing when we got inside, two busloads of tourists arrived. It's getting busy, and it's not even 9:30 in the morning yet. Popular place!

The door is only four feet tall. They walled it up like this in the crusader days, to keep the Moslems from riding into the church on their horses and carrying off everything inside.

This is what the door looks like from the inside, looking out.

Oh, just look at what you see when you get inside the door! Mercy!

I don't know what I was expecting, but all this just blew me away!

    

 

These steps lead down to the actual site of the manger.
We couldn't enter, because morning Mass was being said by the priests (Russian Orthodox, not Roman Catholic).

While we waited, Syl got one of our group to take a shot of us.
Is it just me, or do we actually look about 10 years younger in this picture?

I caught a glimpse of the priest doing the chanting:

All of a sudden we got the nod from one of the participants in the Liturgy, and we were allowed to come down into the room, two at a time. This is what we saw: It's called the Chapel of the manger.
This is the exact spot where Mary laid the Baby Jesus in the manger and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths.

While we gazed, the priests kept up their worship.   This was a Holy Moment.    

After the visit downstairs we saw more of the building upstairs. In the nave, a trapdoor in the floor revealed the floor from the Byzantine period:
        

The ceiling was last repaired and updated in the 1100's. No, that is not a typo.
       

The Church of the Nativity is shared by the Orthodox and the Armenian Christians.

This is the Armenian's altar.

Next door to The Nativity is the beautiful Roman Catholic Church of St. Catherine.
Midnight Mass is said here every Christmas Eve and broadcast all over the world.

It's also the home of St. Jerome.
It was right on this very spot that he translated the Bible from hebrew and Greek into Latin - the Vulgate translation which is still the standard for all translations today.

 

Beautiful stained glass!

This one looks like the window by the pulpit at Holy Cross, SI.

 

And just in case you forgot what all this is all about, here's a reminder:

St. George, the dragon slayer and patron saint of England.
Lady Sylvia, the fair and beautiful.

 

Next, we stopped at a Souvenir Shop reputed to be the finest in all of Bethlehem.

The owner welcomed us.

 

Take a look at these gigantic creches and the cross - all 100% hand-carved from Olive Wood:
   

Wow!

After we left the shop, it was time to leave Bethlehem.

As we waited to cross the border, a shepherd brought his sheep down our road.

 

Made it back safely! Ahead (12:00) is the football (soccer) stadium.

 

This is Jerusalem's largest shopping mall. It looked like any mall anywhere in the world.

 

From Bethlehem we headed to the Holocaust Museum.

As you can see, It's a bit of a hike to the museum from the parking lot. The area you see between the man in the foreground and the security police car in the middle is not for parking, as you can see from the concrete barriers. I'm not sure why the space is there.

The white building in the very background is the welcome center. We were not allowed to take any pictures past the welcome center.

The exhibits in the museum were incredible. I wish you could see them. Six million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis. This museum makes certain that they will not be forgotten.

When you leave the horror and sorrow inside the museum, you are greeted with this beautiful view:
There is also a very lovely Children's garden, in memory of the children killed in the Holocaust.

From the museum, we headed to En Kerem, to the Church of the Visitation.

We had a l-o-n-g hike up hundreds of stairs to get there, but the view on the way up was stunning!

This is where the Virgin Mary visited John the baptist's mother, Elizabeth. John the Baptist was born here.
 This is one beautiful building!

 

The courtyard features scores of copies of the Magnificent in scores of languages.            The English version:

 

Mary and Elizabeth Based on my reading of Scripture, I'd venture to say Elizabeth is on the right.

Inside the church there is a veritable feast for the eyes! Everywhere you look there is beauty and awe!

Front:   Back:  

The ceiling: The floor:

Back on the road again...

We pass by a tent where the parents and relatives of a young Israeli solder keep watch until he is returned home. His car was hijacked and he's been in a Hamas Prison for 1,328 days so far. Pray for his release.

And that did it for the day. Our guide dropped us off at the hotel.
Syl and I ate supper and turned in very early!

So, for now, goodnight from Jerusalem!