brianna kay: Bethlehem

On Monday we had our field trip to Bethlehem. I have been looking forward to this field trip for the past few weeks so I was really excited when Monday rolled around! Our first stop was at the Herodian. This is where Herod was buried. A lot of dirt and excavations were here. I didn’t take to many pictures here so sorry about that.

We then moved onto Bethlehem for the rest of the afternoon. The majority of our day was spent at the Church of the Nativity. Fun Fact—This church was almost destroyed when the Persians were on a destroying rampage but they didn’t destroy it because of the symbol of the Wise Men above the door because the Wise Men were Persian. So this church is the oldest continuously operating church in the world! The interior was really dark and kind of a gaudy looking with a lot of decorations hanging down everywhere, but the meaning was still very special. My favorite part was probably the chapel next door which I forgot the name of. It has probably been one of my favorite chapels I have seen yet. It was very well lit and had white walls with gold looking trim and a lot of stain glass windows. I wish I could go back just for that!!

We then went to Manger Square to shop around for a while. I bought three Christmas decorations (why three? Because I am too indecisive). After Manger Square we went to lunch and had delicious wheat pitas with some yummy hummus. I have been converted to hummus since I have been here and I know I will be disappointed with the quality of hummus when I come back home.

After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon at various Shepherds fields. We ended with spending some time at the Mormon Shepherds field and had a short devotional and some personal time to reflect on the birth of our Savior.

Sorry for the picture overload once again! I just have so many shots I want to share!