Private Tour: Old City of Bethlehem and Herodium

Meet your private guide driver at Bethlehem 300 Checkpoint and depart to the Old city of Bethlehem. Walk the narrow streets of the old city and enjoy the old architects of the buildings from the Otoman period. Stop by Bethlehem Icon Center, which used to be a local house and today it’s a center teaching Byzantine Iconography. Walk the Star Street— the way that Joseph and Mary took when they came to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. Walk onward through the old city and stop the main old entrance of the city then to Hosh Al Syrian quarter, see the building from inside and stop for a cup of tea or Arabic coffee. Visit an old Olive Press museum and learn about olive harvest and olive oil production, the building which houses the museum dates back as far as the 19th century. It houses many ethnographic and archaeological artifacts featuring the entire process of oil production. Furthermore, the exhibit also shows the many uses for oil such as lamps, medicine, food, soap and even cosmetics.

You will have a nice lunch break at Afteem Restaurant for Falafel, Hummus and typical Salad lunch. (own expense). After you purchase lunch, continue to Manger Square and visit the Nativity Church, the birthplace of Jesus and the oldest church in the world.

Drive to the Shepherd’s Field where the angel Gabriel appeared to the shepherds, see the ruins that goes back to the Byzantine time and the current church. Take a short drive to Mount Herodium, the palace of Herod the Great from the roman period 1st century BC. From the top of the mountain, enjoy a panorama view of the landscape of the area and from there you can see Jordan mountains and the Dead Sea.

Finally, visit Banksy Graffiti arts in Bethlehem, The Walled Off Hotel of Banksy and the separation wall.

After exploring all the sites, drive back to Bethlehem 300 Checkpoint to return to your hotel.