“Travel teaches toleration.” – Benjamin Disraeli
Our final stop, before moving east towards the coast, was Bethlehem, the childhood home of David and the birthplace of Jesus.
To visit Bethlehem, you have to cross into Palestinian territory at the Rachel's Crossing checkpoint. We are used to checkpoints, since we cross them constantly in Russia. Tamar, our Jewish guide, could not join us on this part of the tour since Jews aren't aloud to enter Palestinian areas. So a guy named Johnny met us after we crossed the border.
Johnny was a very nice guy. A Christian, he's lived in Bethlehem all of his life. His brother lives is Texas. Small world.
Johnny took our picture. The church at the upper right is the Church of the Nativity, which is what we (and everyone else) comes to see in Bethlehem.
Next are pictures of the Church of the Nativity. It was originally commissioned in 327 A.D. by Constantine during the Ottoman empire, then burnt down and was rebuilt in 565 A.D. during the Byzantine empire. It's had numerous additions since those times.
The site is traditionally considered to be located over the cave that marks the birthplace of Jesus. It's an UNESCO World Heritage site, and also on their list of sites considered to be "in danger"
Today, the church is jointly administered by three Christian denominations: Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, and Armenian Apostolic. They say that there are often fights, even "brawls", within the church over matters such as prayer times, noise, responsibilities for cleaning, etc.... And more importantly, agreeing on a plan to repair the church.
Hmm........ missing the point
See the small door below? It's the "Door of Humility" and it's the only entrance to the church. The original door is from the 6th Century A.D, but it was made smaller by the Crusaders to horses and camels from entering & to deter looting. Interestingly, you have to bow to enter the church
A Jerusalem Cross, or Crusaders Cross, with four small Greek crosses surrounding a larger cross. Meant to signify ........... well, there are several possibilities: The five wounds of Christ, Christ and the four evangelists, Christ and the four quarters of the world
There are two churches as part of the site - the older Basilica of the Nativity, which is maintained by the Greek Orthodox church, and the newer Church of St. Catherine, which is a Roman Catholic church. Underneath is the Grotto of the Nativity.
First, we visited the Basilica of the Nativity. The church is not what I expected, and unlike many "historic" churches. But still fascinating. A mishmash of all of the different eras and rulers throughout the years. Lots of disrepair. Terrible lighting. No chairs or pews. Packed with people (lots of Russians) looking to be blessed.
The line to go down to the Grotto of the Nativity. Yes, these are mostly my current countrymen.
The original Roman floor (4th Century A.D) in the church was covered over at some point, but there was a trap door which has been opened up to show the original mosaic floor. Unbelievably intricate details in the floor design.
A closer view
Mosaics from the Crusaders period (12th Century) on the walls. This portion is depicting the seven General Councils of the Church (Latin) at that time, according to St. Matthew. It's not complete due to looting by the Ottoman Turks of both the mosaics and the white marble on the walls
Because out tour guide "Johnny" knew the guard, we were able to bypass the line to the grotto.
So below I show the upper part of the Alter of the Nativity. Beneath (and behind a curtain) is the 14 point silver star that marks the spot where tradition says the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus. The 14 points of the star are said to represent the fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian Exile, and fourteen from the Exile to the birth of Christ.
So why didn't I get a picture? Because there were at least 30-40 people jammed into this tiny cave, mostly Indians and Russians, fighting & pushing & clawing their way to the spot where the star is located, so they can touch it. Knocking over old ladies. Crying & sobbing. It wasn't pleasant. Pat escaped quickly
Again, hmm........ I think some people are misguided
In the grottoes below, there are also a number of other chapels and tombs.
The Chapel of St. Joseph, dedicated to the husband of Mary and when the angel appeared to him, instructing him to flee to Egypt with his family.
The Chapel of the Innocents, named in honor of the children who were killed by Herod after the holy family fled for Egypt and he was tricked by the Magi (Matthew 2:16)
The Chapel of St. Jerome. Tradition says that this is where Jerome spent 30 years during the 4th Century A.D., translating the Scriptures from Hebrew to Latin.
The Tomb of St. Jerome
Next we visited the Church of St. Catherine. The church is said to be built on the site of Christ's appearance to St. Catherine of Alexandria, where he predicted her martyrdom in 310 A.D (at the age of 18, Catherine reportedly challenged the emperor Maxentius for persecuting Christians and worshipping false gods).
The church is relatively new - first recorded in the 15th century as a small chapel within a Franciscan convent. St. Catherine's Church was enlarged in 1881 with funds from the Emperor of Austria, and restored again in 1948
Statue of St. Jerome, outside St. Catherine's Church and near the Catholic monastery. While living, Jerome apparently kept a skull on his desk - some say it represents "the seat of thought", or that death (symbolized by the skull) enables one to be reborn at a higher level at which the spirit could rule. So many pieces of art depicting his image also include a skull (here, at his feet)
The cloisters
Here is Manger Square, which is where the Christmas Eve gathering takes place.
It's us again, this time overlooking a newer part of the city.
Our final stop was to the Milk Grotto. This is the Franciscan Chapel that was built over it in the 19th Century, on top of the remains of a 5th Century A.D. church
Tradition says that the Holy family took refuge here during the Massacre of the Innocents (which I mentioned earlier), before their escape to Egypt. While Mary was feeding the baby Jesus, a drop of milk fell to the ground, turning the ground & surroundings white.
Both Christians and Muslims pilgrims believe that scrapings from the stones can help boost a mother's milk production and also enhance fertility.
Next, we go East into the desert.......................................
Amazing....and thanks again for the history lesson ! I'd have been with Pat trying to escape the hoards of people.
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