Joan and Usama walking down Star Street

By Mary Laird

After coffee at Christmas Lutheran Church, we made our way to Manger Square via steep, narrow, winding streets. We were accosted from a balcony by a cheerful girl who demanded to know the age of one of our youngest members, my daughter Rachel. “Twenty-two.” “How old are YOU?” she asked each of us. “54”, “68”, “56”… well you get the idea. She ultimately told us she was eleven.

Star Street, the path that tradition says Mary and Joseph walked into Bethlehem, had high-walled buildings on either side. Our guide Usama told us that this once-thriving business and tourist district no longer receives many tourists, and most are out of business.

A tasty lunch at Afteem in Bethlehem

We lunched at Afteem (“Since 1948… welcoming guests from Palestine and all over the world”), started by a Palestinian refugee. Falafel, hummus, lemonade with fresh mint WERE the BEST, as advertised.

In Church of the Nativity: did you know the barn we traditionally associate with Jesus’ birth was actually a cave? Me neither! Joan’s and/or Usama’s connections earned us direct entry into the cave rather than standing in line for a couple of hours. We touched the holy site of the birth, Joan read the Christmas story, and we sang “Away in a Manger” in THE CAVE under the church.

Ancient plumbing in the ruins of the Herodian… rebar is of later origin.

The Herodian seemed a bit of a megalomaniac’s self-trubute. Byzantine ruins, from the 6th or 7th century perhaps, were interesting for remnants of plumbing including ceramic pipes and an olive oil press, and for the fact they’ve not been explored or preserved — disappearing treasure. Here and at Shepherd’s Field were mean brambles, rocks, and a mustard plant, which Jane later noted being described clearly in the Bible.

In our group debrief, Joan suggested we discuss something that surprised, concerned, or interested us. We were surprised the partition wall was not higher and disturbed at its presence at all (Bill), pleased with the Church worship that was not mostly in our own language (Sophia and all), and interested that people from all over the world share something in coming to Bethlehem (expressed by Dan). We were brief film stars for Elias, a tour guide who is expecting a group from Colorado; some of us talked on video about safety concerns that are being aired prominently in US media, our own feelings of safety, and how happy we are to have come to Palestine and Israel. Great meal and conversation followed in the basement of our temporary home, The Holy Land Hotel.