Outside and Inside the Shrine of the Nativity and the Adjacent Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria

In November 2005 when we travelled to Bethlehem, the town was under Palestinian control. This is probably the place to mention that Israeli tour organizers don't guarantee any spot on a planned itinerary. They have cell phones, and keep in touch with their contacts, and only take tourists to sites if the situation is stable on that day. There was some uncertainty about whether we could go to Bethlehem. On the day we went, the tour guides decided it would be safe. When we got to the border, we left our Israeli-owned buses in a parking garage and walked up a sidewalk and into another building that served as a checkpoint. Soldiers walked above us with rifles on catwalks. We were told to put our belongings on an airport-style conveyor belt for screening. On the other side, we boarded a Palestinian-owned bus and drove to the center of the town. We left the bus in a paved outdoor parking lot and walked up a hill in a drizzle. The tour guides guided us into one of the shops, which was run by Christian Arabs. As usual, we were forced to spend more time in the shop than at the holy site itself.