Bethlehem: The city where Jesus meets Street art: One of the important trips organised by the EC is the visit of Bethlehem: a holy city in its own right, it is believed to be where Jesus was born. For some, the ultimate spiritual pilgrimage whereas for others the Mecca of Political street art where the anonymous graffiti artist Banksy (UK) has set up his “second home” the Walled-Off hotel. We´re told by our guide Abou Mohammed that this is a city that relies on tourism for its economy.

Only a short 30 minutes bus trip from the EC and on the way to Jerusalem, we get to Bethlehem through beautiful landscape. First stop is the now famous wall often compared to the Berlin Wall. It has been erected by Israel after the 2^nd intifada of 2000. It is considered a security barrier by some and an Apartheid wall by others. In 2005, the anonymous and world-famous street artist Banksy chose the wall to perform around 10 artworks (graffitis). Ever since that, Bethlehem and its wall have also attracted another kind of visitors & artists from all over the world wanting to witness unique street arts and perhaps add their own.

These days, due to the fact that anyone can leave their “mark” on the wall, it is hard to find the original Banksy pieces but it is believed these were the ones: “Girl frisking soldier” “Armored dove” “Man Throwing flowers” “Window on the West-Bank” “Unwelcome intervention” “Escapism” “Balloon debate” “ Cut it out” “Art attack” “Stable Conditions”. At the time of writing this article (11/2018), I was not able to find any of them.

On the wall are also stories from the Palestinian population about their experiences, hopes and dreams. It is a unique sight full of contrast and messages.

In front of the wall is the “Walled-off Hotel”, set-up and financed by Banksy it opened in 2017. Banksy describes it as “The hotel is an independent local business. The aim is to break even and put any profits back into local projects.”

Traditionally though, Bethlehem attracts a more religious type of tourism made of Christian pilgrims. That´s what we found out when we headed to the Nativity church in the center of the city. 2,000 million visitors a year come to this Holy city to witness the birthplace of Jesus. The Nativity church is beautiful and very ornate. They seem to be preparing for the Christmas festivities, the busiest time of the year for the city. Although no service was being held, most of the seats inside the church were occupied by people from all over the world, groups or families, reflecting and taking in the spirituality of this historic place.

Next on the list of our visit, the Palestinian Heritage Center: home to traditional art & craft, it has the objective to preserve and promote Palestinian art, embroidery and folklore. On display, was an authentic Bedouin tent.

Last but not least, we go through the lovely old town whose architecture reminds one of its Roman, Byzantine and Islamic past. The streets are lined up with all sorts of shops selling souvenirs, local food & produce and much more.

Bethlehem is one of this enchanting place that one knows it has to come back to and perhaps stay the night to really take it all in…