Bethlehem Beyond Christmas: A Guide to the Town

For most people in Britain, Bethlehem is a word from carols and school nativity plays. The real town sits on a limestone ridge about 10 kilometres south of Jerusalem, and it is a busy Palestinian town with markets, schools, workshops and around 30,000 residents, many of whose families have lived there for centuries.

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The Church of the Nativity

The town grew around the Church of the Nativity, first built in the 4th century over the grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born, and rebuilt under the emperor Justinian in the 6th century. Visitors still stoop through the low Door of Humility to enter. In 2012 the church and the old pilgrimage route became Palestine's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Manger Square and Star Street

Opposite the church, across Manger Square, stands the Mosque of Omar, built in the 19th century, so the call to prayer and church bells share the same square. From there, Star Street winds through the old town along the route pilgrims have walked for centuries, past stone houses, arched doorways and small family shops.

Olive wood and mother-of-pearl

Bethlehem's best-known crafts are olive wood carving and mother-of-pearl work. Carvers use wood from pruned olive trees to make nativity sets, crosses, bowls and prayer beads, and mother-of-pearl has been shaped into boxes and jewellery here since at least the 17th century. Many workshops are still run by the same families across several generations.

Bethlehem embroidery

The town also gave its name to one of the finest styles of Palestinian embroidery. Bethlehem work uses couching, where silk and gold or silver cord are laid on the fabric and stitched down in flowing patterns. Brides from nearby villages once wore these richly decorated dresses and the tall shatweh headdress on their wedding day.

Beit Sahour, Beit Jala and Solomon's Pools

Bethlehem shares its hills with two neighbouring towns: Beit Sahour, home of the Shepherds' Field, and Beit Jala, known for its apricots and olive groves. A few kilometres south lie Solomon's Pools, three large stone reservoirs that once helped carry water towards Jerusalem.

Bethlehem in November

By mid-November the olive harvest is finishing, evenings turn cold and the town begins to prepare for Christmas, with the tree in Manger Square usually lit in early December. It is a quieter, local time of year, when the town feels most like itself.

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