Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VISITORS' CHECKLIST
Road map
B3.
.
*
40,000
@
Hebron Road.
n
Manger
Square, (02) 274 1581.
(
daily.
_
Almond Blossom Festival
(Feb), Olive Harvest (Oct),
Midnight Mass (24 Dec).
oven. Examples of traditional
handstitched embroidery are
usually available to buy.
u
Rachel's Tomb
Hebron Road.
On the road to Jerusalem, just
before the border checkpoint
between Israel and Palestinian
territory, is the tomb of
Rachel, wife of Jacob and the
mother of two of his twelve
sons. It is the third most holy
site in Judaism, and is also
sacred to Muslims. The actual
“tomb” consists of a rock
covered by a velvet drape
with eleven stones on it, one
for each of the eleven sons
of Jacob who were alive
when Rachel died in
childbirth. The structure
around the tomb was built
around 1620 by the Ottomans
and restructured in 1860 by
Moses Montefiore
(see p51)
.
The site is visited by Jewish
women who come to pray
that they will conceive.
The Virgin Mary and Child, a relationship celebrated at the Milk Grotto
R
The Milk Grotto
Milk Grotto Street.
Tel
(02) 274
l
Franciscans in 1872 on the
site of a 4th-century church.
2425.
#
daily.
This grotto, only a few
minutes' walk from Manger
Square, is considered sacred
because tradition has it that the
Holy Family took refuge here
during the Massacre of the
Innocents, before their flight
into Egypt. While Mary was
suckling Jesus, so the story
goes, a drop of milk fell to
the ground, turning it white.
Both Christians and Muslims
believe scrapings from the
stones in the grotto boost the
quantity of a mother's milk
and enhance fertility.
The present, rather gaudy,
building was put up by the
E
Old Bethlehem Folklore
Museum
Paul VI Street.
#
Mon-Sat (Thu: am
only).
&
In an old Palestinian house
on the town's main street,
the Arab Women's Union has
created this small but inter-
esting museum. One room is
given over to the embroidery
typical of Palestinian women's
dress and to silver jewellery,
which normally represented a
family's fortune. The
diwan
(living room) is furnished with
rugs, musical instruments and
oil lamps. The kitchen contains
old copper utensils and an
-&.
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Church of the Nativity
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Old Bethlehem
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3
The Milk Grotto
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Rachel's Tomb
4
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