Day 8: October 19, Jerusalem & Bethlehem

Bethlehem coffee vendor

Bethlehem market

We started the day by paying the bill ($180 each  for three nights including 3 breakfasts and 3 dinners), an amazingly good deal for room and board right on the Via Dolorosa in the heart of the Old City. We had to settle up today as the convent office is closed tomorrow (Sunday). Then it was off to catch the bus to Bethlehem.

Bethlehem market

We took the local bus (the bus stop is just outside the Damascus gate, minutes way). There were Palestinians who go back and forth and a few other tourists on the bus. In Bethlehem we found our way from the bus stop through the market streets to Manger square. The outdoor markets, just like the Old City of Jerusalem, are bustling, busy places and we rub shoulders, in the most literal sense possible, with people from all over the world.

We felt the Bethlehem market was slightly more colorful perhaps because there is slightly more space. Today we saw live chicken, pigeons, ducks and rabbits plus every kind of fruit and vegetables, clothes and toys, household goods, and more than one shoemaker. The scents from the sacks and piles of spices are amazing. And the market food vendors were unique, from hot lentils and beans to corn on the cob, hot nuts, and a coffee vender with his silver coffee urn on his shoulder decorated with plastic flowers.


When we got to the Church of the Nativity, the line to the crypt was over an hour long. By the time we left it was outside of the church. We had a nice lunch at the Franciscan coffee shop and browsed at the Palestinian Peace Center. We found Bethlehem to be consistent with the other Arab communities we have visited and, based on stories we have heard, our bus crossing through the exit checkpoint was quick and painless for all.

Tomb with rolling stone

Returning to Jerusalem, we followed a tip from a fellow traveler and went hunting for a tomb with a rolling stone. It was once thought to be the tomb of Harod's family. The tomb dates from that time period but is not on many tourist's radar. It is found behind one of the most luxurious hotels in the city in a small park. There are no signs or directions, we simply walked through the area until we found it. The rolling stone that covers the entrance to the tomb is shaped like a large stone mill wheel and rests in a stone channel. Certainly makes you re-think what is meant by a stone covering the entrance to a tomb. In search of this site we also managed to cover some new territory in the Old City including seeing the Jaffa Gate. We have maybe seen a third of the Old City. Tomorrow, after a few more stops, we are off to Masada