One of the first things we saw was this street festival but it seemed rather crowded and we didn't feel like going through their security checkpoint to get in...
Then we found the real Starbucks...
There are also many little shops and stalls...
narrow streets and stairways...
and churches...
The Lutheran Christmas Church is the oldest Lutheran church
in Palestine. It was started by German missionaries in 1854.
We stumbled onto another church while wandering in town that appeared to be open. So we peeked our heads in the doorway and saw 3 or 4 men sitting at a table chatting. We ducked back out only to be chased down by one of the men inviting us to come in and take a look.
The church was the Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Mary.
The gentleman spoke very good English and was so excited to show us around. It was by far the most beautiful Orthodox church we saw while in the Holy Land.
He showed us their book of worship and showed us how they use the key in the front to decipher what the Scripture reading for the day is. He wasn't sure how old it was exactly, but said it was very old indeed.
the cover was very ornate
it reminded me of books made during the Middle Ages
he really wanted us to take our picture with it :)
He also opened the curtain in front of the altar so we could see it...
The entire church was full of beautiful artwork, icons and mosaics...
It was such a joy and my favorite part of Bethlehem.
No comments:
Post a Comment