Last updated:
In the West Bank, Bethlehem is around 10 km to the south of Jerusalem. Seven historic quarters make up its Old City, arranged around Manger Square.
Manger Square has the Church of the Nativity on its eastern side. Emperor Constantine and Empress Helena were responsible for the original church, built during the fourth century. Work on that first church at the Nativity site reached completion in AD 339. This building was probably destroyed during the Samaritan revolt of 529. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I rebuilt the church in the sixth century.
The entrance used by visitors is the Door of Humility, a doorway of very low height. Inside, patterned floor mosaics survive from the original building. The church contains about 50 columns. In the twelfth century, Crusaders decorated 32 of its columns with frescoes depicting saints and prophets. A mosaic wall within the church belongs to the Crusader period, dating to the years between 1165 and 1169. Much of the medieval gold mosaic decoration that covered the side walls has been lost.
Set into the marble flooring of the Grotto is a silver star with 14 points. Its Latin text reads Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est. The Armenian door was presented to the church by the Armenian King Hethum I in 1227. Care of the church is shared by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic Churches. In 2012 the church was inscribed as a World Heritage Site and placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger because of water leaks; after restoration it was removed from that list in 2019.
Beside the Nativity basilica stands the Church of Saint Catherine, where the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrates the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass. The Milk Grotto in Bethlehem has been widely known since the fourth century. By the sixth century, relics associated with this grotto were known both in Europe and in the East.
A private guided tour of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Mount of Olives lasts 11 hours. It includes a private English-speaking driver and a local guide, a private vehicle with air conditioning, an itinerary that can be adapted during the day, and local knowledge with historical commentary.
Beit Sahour is a town just east of Bethlehem, at about 650 metres above sea level. At Shepherds' Field, the Franciscans purchased land and undertook archaeological research between 1889 and 1906. Father Virgilio Corbo conducted systematic excavations at the sites in 1951 and 1952. The Catholic chapel there dates to 1953 and was built under the direction of architect Antonio Barluzzi, with a form resembling a nomadic shepherds' tent.
Within the Bethlehem Governorate, Mar Saba monastery looks out over the Kidron Valley at a point halfway between Bethlehem and the Dead Sea. Herodium, in the Judean Desert about 5 km southeast of Bethlehem (12 km south of Jerusalem), was constructed by King Herod the Great during the first century BCE. Near the village of Artas, Solomon's Pools comprise three substantial reservoirs made of stone. Together, the reservoirs hold roughly 250,000 to 290,000 cubic metres.
Where is Bethlehem?
Bethlehem is in the West Bank, roughly 10 km south of Jerusalem.
Where is the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem?
The church stands on the eastern side of Manger Square.
What survives from the original Church of the Nativity?
Floor mosaics from the original building remain inside the church.
What shape is the Catholic chapel at Shepherds' Field?
The chapel has the form of a nomadic shepherds' tent.
What are Solomon's Pools?
They are three large stone reservoirs near Artas.
