I was surprised to learn Bethlehem is located in the West Bank, 5 miles south of Jerusalem and of approximately 25,000 residents. Bethlehem has a Muslim majority, but still home to a significant Palestinian Christian community and it's chief economic driver is tourism which peaks during the Christmas season when Christians visit the Church of the Nativity. We learned Bethlehem has over thirty hotels and three hundred handicraft workshops.
It was an overcast day as we entered the West Bank. We had to go through a check point and past the wall Israel has built dividing the West Bank from Israel. We went shopping in Bethlehem and found great treasures in olive wood items as well as silver and gold jewelry.
It was an overcast day as we entered the West Bank. We had to go through a check point and past the wall Israel has built dividing the West Bank from Israel. We went shopping in Bethlehem and found great treasures in olive wood items as well as silver and gold jewelry.