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Photo: Berthold Werner, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Undoubtedly the top attraction in Bethlehem, a veritable citadel built fortress-like on top of the cave where Jesus was born to Mary. It is one of the oldest churches in the world, and has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The first incarnation of the building was erected on the orders of the Roman Emperor Constantine I (the Great) in 330 CE. While the layout largely corresponds to Emperor Justinian's plans from 540 CE (the first building having been destroyed in a 536 riot), the church was first heavily fortified by the Crusaders and then degraded (mostly through neglect) under Mamluk rule. An earthquake in 1834 and a fire in 1869 didn't help. Today, the structure is mostly sound but somewhat dark and gloomy in appearance, only the adjoining Franciscan Church of St Catherine (dated 1881 and the site of the yearly December 24 midnight mass broadcast around the world) being in excellent shape. The alleged site of Jesus' birth is actually in a cave in the church (the original Manger where Jesus was born was a cave, not a shed, as popularly depicted). There is a star marking the exact location of Jesus' birth in the cave. The original Manger with the star marking Jesus' birth site is called the Grotto of the Nativity, and is accessible from inside the church. (The tomb of famed theologian and Bethlehem resident St. Jerome, who spent his life translating the Bible, is also in the cave with the Grotto.) Entrance to the entire complex is free, but in the high season (and especially on Jan 6th) be prepared for massive crowds and hour-long waits for entry into the Grotto. There are usually accredited but dodgy tour-guides waiting at the entrance or inside of the church who offer to give tours to groups/individuals, sometimes allowing you to skip the crowds. Make sure to agree on a price before taking the tour, and if the promise was to skip the crowds and get into the grotto directly but not possible sometimes, lower the price by at least half. Otherwise do not support them, as it is unfair to the other visitors waiting.
The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christians of various denominations as the birthplace of Jesus. The grotto is the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity, and the basilica is the oldest major church in the Holy Land.
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Where Mary supposedly spilled a few drops of breast milk while feeding Jesus as she hid before the Holy Family's escape to Egypt, turning the cavern milky white. It is open all day. The white powder scrapped from the cave is also sold as a fertility medicine inside the chapel.
Historic Lutheran, built in 1893.
Biyar Daoud
King David's Wells in King David street, off Manger Square, are three Great Cisterns excavated in the rock in Ras Eftais, an eastern sector of Bethlehem, marking the site where David's army broke through a Philistine garrison to bring him water; "Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem" (2 Sam. 23:15). It is believed by some that under the adjacent Church of St. David is where the King is buried (as opposed to the traditional tomb in Jerusalem). The cisterns were discovered in 1895. The church rested on a vast Necropolis composed of 18 Arcosolia with two to six tombs each. The cemetery was Christian as proved by the inscription. The Catholic Action Club lies on the site of one of the cisterns.
Gives the visitors to get in contact with the Palestinian students to get an insight of the life on the campus and in Bethlehem. There are tours in German and probably English available.