O Little Town of Bethlehem
We know a number of people back home who are playing Christmas music already. Today that familiar carol was our first stop on our next to last day of touring. We left early again (7:15) and made our way through the check point into the political West Bank under the control of the Palestinian authority. Nir could not go with us, so Rami drove us and once inside our Christian Arab guide was Issa. He did a wonderful job of showing us Beit Sahour, the Shepherd’s Fields. He took us into the Barluzzi chapel where we admired the mosaics and sang Joy to the World. We then walked into one of the many caves in the area to see where the shepherds kept their sheep.
We then went to the Church of the Nativity and waited in line to see the traditional cave where Jesus was born. While our wait lasted an hour, it was interesting. We were immediately behind an African American group who sang a few songs while waiting and immediately in front of an Indonesian group. The pastor, a very short statured man stood between Tom Mall and Phil Vosseler for a picture. His grin could fill a room. We interacted for a while. It was a blessing.
Following the remainder of our tour of the Church, we went shopping at one of the Christian shops in town. And then we ended our half day in Bethlehem by having lunch at a local restaurant near the Shepherd’s fields. It was a very nice visit to the not so little city (over 200,000 inhabitants now).
Upon returning to Jerusalem, Nir rejoined us and we made our way across town for a very sobering visit to Yad Vashem, the holocaust memorial. Yad means hand and Vashem a name. Together they mean establishing a memorial so as to never forget. Many were touched, especially going through the Children’s part, where the names of the one and a half million children killed in the holocaust are continually read. Part of the memorial is a garden called the Trees of the Righteous. It includes names of those who stepped up and helped save Jews during that time. There is a doctor’s family from Buffalo who are listed as among the righteous.
We returned to the hotel to rest a little before supper and then we headed to the Tower of David just inside the Jaffa Gate to watch the nightly laser light show. This particular show as a tribute to the life of David. It was spectacular. But it was also a little cool. We commented that it was preparing us to return home to the snow.
Here is a view of our day. Many thanks to Tom Kishlar who loaned me an SD card when I forgot to place mine back in the camera after downloading pictures last night.
We then went to the Church of the Nativity and waited in line to see the traditional cave where Jesus was born. While our wait lasted an hour, it was interesting. We were immediately behind an African American group who sang a few songs while waiting and immediately in front of an Indonesian group. The pastor, a very short statured man stood between Tom Mall and Phil Vosseler for a picture. His grin could fill a room. We interacted for a while. It was a blessing.
Following the remainder of our tour of the Church, we went shopping at one of the Christian shops in town. And then we ended our half day in Bethlehem by having lunch at a local restaurant near the Shepherd’s fields. It was a very nice visit to the not so little city (over 200,000 inhabitants now).
Upon returning to Jerusalem, Nir rejoined us and we made our way across town for a very sobering visit to Yad Vashem, the holocaust memorial. Yad means hand and Vashem a name. Together they mean establishing a memorial so as to never forget. Many were touched, especially going through the Children’s part, where the names of the one and a half million children killed in the holocaust are continually read. Part of the memorial is a garden called the Trees of the Righteous. It includes names of those who stepped up and helped save Jews during that time. There is a doctor’s family from Buffalo who are listed as among the righteous.
We returned to the hotel to rest a little before supper and then we headed to the Tower of David just inside the Jaffa Gate to watch the nightly laser light show. This particular show as a tribute to the life of David. It was spectacular. But it was also a little cool. We commented that it was preparing us to return home to the snow.
Here is a view of our day. Many thanks to Tom Kishlar who loaned me an SD card when I forgot to place mine back in the camera after downloading pictures last night.
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