Cancelled tours, empty hotels: Israeli, Palestinian tourism reels as conflict escalates
Bethlehem/JerusalemReuters Early this month, the main square and streets around Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity were bustling with tourists. Now they are empty after a devastating attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas in Israel on 7th October. “Business is at a standstill since the war started,” said Essa Abu Dawoud, a tour guide in the […]
Postcards: Bethlehem welcomes Christmas tourists after pandemic lull
SAM MCNEIL, of Associated Press, reports from the birthplace of Christ…
Postcards: Christmas in Bethlehem – Gilded treasures, but few tourists
ILAN BEN ZION, of Associated Press, reports from the West Bank…
Born among the animals
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is built on the stone cave where they think Jesus was born. Stained glass windows depicting the birth of Christ in St Malachy’s Church, Main Street, Castlewellan, Northern Ireland, UK. PICTURE: K Mitch Hodge/Unsplash Stables in ancient Palestine were stone not wood – and often attached to houses. The […]
Postcards: Coronavirus robs Biblical Bethlehem of Christmas cheer
JELAL HASSAN, of The Associated Press, reports from the West Bank…
Bethlehem Nativity Church reopens after coronavirus closure
Bethlehem, West BankAP Bethlehem’s storied Church of the Nativity reopened to visitors on Tuesday, after a nearly three-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. The church, built over the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born, was closed on 5th March as the first cases of the virus were reported in the West Bank. The […]
Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity removed from World Heritage in Danger list
Extensive restoration work undertaken on the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem – built on what is reputed to be the site of the birth of Jesus Christ, has been credited as the reason behind a decision to remove the church from UNESCO’s list of endangered world heritage sites. The World Heritage Commission, which made […]
ESSAY: SPARE A THOUGHT FOR BETHLEHEM THIS CHRISTMAS AS POLITICS AND TOURISM COLLIDE
In an article first published on The Conversation, FREYA HIGGINS-DEBIOLLES, senior lecturer in tourism management at the University of South Australia, reflects on the impact of US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus…
CONSERVATION: HOW AN INTERNATIONAL PROJECT IS RESTORING BETHLEHEM’S CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY
JOSEPHINE MCKENNA, of Religion News Service, reports…