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News Brief No. 4; August 24, 1998
Exploring the treasures of Bethlehem
Bethlehem walking tours ready for implementation Smell, taste and feel the flavour of the town, meet Palestinians living their daily lives today in the historic structures of days gone by. The Bethlehem 2000 Project currently prepares a programme of walking tours within and between the historic town cores of Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour.
Why does Bethlehem need walking tours? The reason is fairly simple. Nowadays a tourist, arriving by bus close to Manger Square, walks only a couple of meters along the main road to the Church of Nativity. He or she neither gets an idea of Bethlehem as a town nor does s/he get a personal impression of its friendly and hospitable people. And last but not least, s/he neither has a chance to eat a sandwich along the way nor buy something to drink or acquire a piece of typical Palestinian handicraft. The reason is fairly simple. Nowadays a tourist, arriving by bus close to Manger Square, walks only a couple of meters along the main road to the Church of Nativity. He or she neither gets an idea of Bethlehem as a town nor does s/he get a personal impression of its friendly and hospitable people. And last but not least, s/he neither has a chance to eat a sandwich along the way nor buy something to drink or acquire a piece of typical Palestinian handicraft.
How do the Bethlehem historic tours work? The group or the individual tourist will start at various entrance points of the old city. At the starting point of each circuit s/he will find a board explaining the various possibilities. A flyer will be available showing a map, which indicates the circuit and the places of interest, be it historic houses with special architectural features, old arches, romantic alleyways and staircases and of course some of the numerous churches along the way. Clear and simple signs indicate the name and path of the circuits such as 'Harat Beit Lahem The quarters of Bethlehem' or 'The route of the pilgrims to Shepherds field'. The last one for example follows the historic track of the first pilgrims, which walked from the Church of the Nativity to Shepherds' Fields to worship the place where the star of Bethlehem was first spotted. The group or the individual tourist will start at various entrance points of the old city. At the starting point of each circuit s/he will find a board explaining the various possibilities. A flyer will be available showing a map, which indicates the circuit and the places of interest, be it historic houses with special architectural features, old arches, romantic alleyways and staircases and of course some of the numerous churches along the way. Clear and simple signs indicate the name and path of the circuits such as 'Harat Beit Lahem The quarters of Bethlehem' or 'The route of the pilgrims to Shepherds field'. The last one for example follows the historic track of the first pilgrims, which walked from the Church of the Nativity to Shepherds' Fields to worship the place where the star of Bethlehem was first spotted. After nine month of preparations, everything is now ready for implementation: Proper sign-posting, printing of maps and the marketing of the circuits to the tour operators will be completed by spring of 1999. NEWS
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