Bethlehem and Jerusalem

We spent the day traveling from Ashdod to Jerusalem where we stayed overnight in a hotel. This special two day tour was a complimentary event for world cruisers. We first went to Bethlehem which is in Palestinian territory where no Israelis are allowed. We saw the wall that separates Israel from Palestine form the Palestinian side.

Entrance to Palestine

Wall from Palestine side

In Bethlehem we visited the Church of Nativity which is built on the spot where Jesus was born in a cave. Mary was living in this cave with animals because she was about to deliver and was turned away at the inn. The belief was that a woman is unclean for 40 days after giving birth so the inkeeper thought he would not be able to rent his room for 40 days -- so he made a financial decision to send her away. She gave birth in a nearby cave which also housed the animals of the shepherds.

Bending to enter church showing humility

Church of Nativity

Bethlehem

We had lunch in East Jerusalem. The guide told us "look East Jerusalem is not a war zone contrary to popular belief". We learned while we were here that Obama made a speech about giving up territory including where we had lunch today. His thoughts seem incomprehensible to us from our experience here.

In the afternoon we visited the Mount of Olives and Temple Mount, the place where Jesus was prepared for burial and buried in the holy sepulchre. We also went to the Wailing Wall which is in Temple Mount.