23/12/08
In the afternoon we went on to Bethleham, some 8 km. south of Jerusalem. The word Bethleham in Hebrew means "House of Bread". This was the birth place of Jesus and His ancestor ..King David. We reached the Basilica of the Nativity and had to literally bow low to enter the church grounds. Notice that the entrance of the church was made low and narrow in order to protect it from the Moslem invaders and to prevent them from entering on horseback.
Today the front of the church is shared by the Greek Orthodox, the Latins and the Armenians.
Anything in front of the altar area is considered no man's land.
In the afternoon we went on to Bethleham, some 8 km. south of Jerusalem. The word Bethleham in Hebrew means "House of Bread". This was the birth place of Jesus and His ancestor ..King David. We reached the Basilica of the Nativity and had to literally bow low to enter the church grounds. Notice that the entrance of the church was made low and narrow in order to protect it from the Moslem invaders and to prevent them from entering on horseback.
Today the front of the church is shared by the Greek Orthodox, the Latins and the Armenians.
Anything in front of the altar area is considered no man's land.
We entered the Grotto of the Nativity and the silver star denotes the spot where Jesus was born (Luke 2:1-7). The holy manger lies to the right of it.
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