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Published: October 10th 2013
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ORIGINAL FLOOR TILE
FROM THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY ABOUT THE 4TH CENTURY BETHLEHEM AND THE ISRAEL MUSEUM - DAY 8
I went to Bethlehem this morning and was greeted by several surprises. First was going through the checkpoints between Israel and the West Bank which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority. It was smooth for us, but we had our passports in case they were needed. When we crossed into the West Bank we were joined by our new guide, Maher, who lives in Bethlehem and knows his subject well. We got into the Basilica and Grotto of the Nativity which also houses the Grotto of St. Jerome and the Church of St. Catherine. St. Jerome was responsible for the translation of the Bible to Latin. The grotto of the Nativity is the place where Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. I saw the place Jesus was born and where now the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches share access to the grotto and have daily masses in separate chapels. It is an amazing place and sharing of spaces in a common building by different denominations continues to surprise me. Essentially, allocation of space when there is conflict between the denominations is handled by the application of status quo agreements. When
HI FROM THE CHURCH
IN FRONT OF THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHAPEL common areas, like roofs and windows, are impacted, outside governmental forces need to intercede. The Basilica is now in the process of a much needed reconstruction of the roof.
After the Church of the Nativity, many of us went to the Milk Grotto, the site of the tradition where the Virgin Mary, while nursing Jesus, had a drop of her mother’s milk drop to a rock and the rock turned white. It is a well visited site and an attractive grotto. On the way to the Grotto and back, I passed several small gift shops and a few small factories making olive wood religious figures and symbols ranging from Christmas tree decoration and items such as nativity scenes and other articles, We met up at a coffee shop at the nearby plaza. We returned through the security check point and went back to the hotel for a brief stop before our afternoon trip to the Israel Museum.
The Israel Museum has two outstanding exhibits along with many other displays, but the first one we saw was the large model of Old Jerusalem just before the destruction by the Romans in 69. The detail of the model is well
researched and was well explained by our guide Shelly. I am thoroughly impressed by the high standards Tauck has used when guides are selected. They are VERY GOOD. The other display is the Dead Sea Scrolls. Just seeing them, I don’t have the skills to read them, has given me bragging rights over many, many million people. Just amazing!
I had the afternoon and evening free so I went to a shopping area to buy a few items and have a meal. I had seen an ad for a pub called Mike’s Place which advertises as an American Bar & Grill, Sports Bar and Blues Music Venue. It was early when I went, so there weren’t many customers. I had a great oatmeal stout beer brewed in Jerusalem by Shapiro Brewery and a wonderful fish and chips. The chef came out for a soda break and we talked for a while. He just come to Israel four months ago from Chicago. Nice person! Back to the hotel to pack up for tomorrow’s early start Masada, the Dead Sea and Jordan. ILYS
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