cave, which, of course, has been shaped, but this wall is artificial. next door is called the cave of st. jerome, the cave of the holy innocents. father murphy-o connor took us there for a look. so, there s very little evidence of the original cave left here. what evidence there is of the original cave is found below us here. so, tradition has it that christ would have been born over there, on the other side of this cave, but this is part of the same cave system. it s all part of the cave system. you can see that that s an entirely artificial wall. it goes up to the roof of the cave. you can see the bedrock all above us. and this is the area that has been excavated. the excavation in the early 1960s turned up evidence that this cave was occupied during the time of king david right up through the time of jesus. there were traces of dung and broken pottery and coins, so it was used for stabling and for storage.
holiest site. rachel was the beloved wife of jacob, the third patriarch. she died in childbirth. muslims also revere bethlehem. the believe the prophet muhammad stopped here, escorted by the angel gabriel, on his midnight ride to jerusalem to visit the birthplace of jesus. and, of course, for christians, bethlehem, the city of king david, is the birthplace of jesus christ. you can see how it attracts people from all over the world, cause this is the birth of the savior, not just of an important historical figure. father jerome murphy-o connor has served in israel for 40 years. armed with great knowledge of this place, he took us on a tour of the church of the nativity alongside manger square. he has seen many changes in this town. where have all the christians gone?
jews come here to pray at rachel s tomb judaism s third holiest site. rachel was the beloved wife of jacob the third patriarch she died in child birth. muslims also reveer bethlehem. they believe the prophet mohammed stopped here escorted by gabriel on a midnight ride to visit the birth place of jesus. of course for christians bethlehem the city of king david is the birth place of jesus christ. you can see how it attracts people from all over the world because this is the birth of the savior not just of an important historical figure. father jerome murphy o connor served in israel for 40 years he took us on the tour of the church of nativity along side major square. he has seen many changes.
grot el of the nativity. father o connor took us there. there are two altars this is the brothel of the nativity scene. if you put your hand through the whole you can touch. on this side this is the altar of the manger. even in this paceful place there are long running disputes. the altar of the manger belongs to the monks the other alter in greek orthodox. the other christian groups is the arameanian orthodox. there is splits every where. exactly. that is give to go the holy man. the belief is that this is where jesus was born? yes. and then he was carried over here to the manger.
exactly. then you see this is the cave which of course has been shaped but this wall is artificial. next door is the holy tirn face. father murphy o connor took us there for a look. there is very little evidence of the original cave left here. whatever is original is down below us here. tradition has it christ would have been born on the other side of the cave but this is part of the same cave system. it is all part of the cave system. that is an entirely artificial wall it goes taupe the roof of the cave. you can see the bedrock all above it. this is the area that has been excavated. the excavation early 1960s turned up evidence that it was occupied during the time of david right up to the time of jesus. there was traces of guns and broken pottery and coins it was used for stabling and storage.