Exploring Greece, Israel, and Jordan– Part Sixty

Bethlehem is sadly today a city surrounded by a wall erected by the Israelis. One of my favorite places to go in the city is to the Three Arches olive wood shop, run by Palestinian Christians (with another shop in San Diego, of all places). They give a nice demonstration of how the nativity scenes are made and the carvings done… The finished products are works of art. Here we have a recreation of first century Jerusalem in olive wood!

Here is the last supper…..

I especially like this recreation of the procession of the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem….

All kinds of interesting things can be found near the Church of the Nativity, besides olive wood shops, for example, the Pope mobile, which he road when he visited Bethlehem.. which not surprisingly is parked right next to a gelato shop!
And then there is the store selling King Herod’s wine….. One wonders if this was the wine that got Herod Antipas to make rash promises, and led to the beheading of John the Baptizer!