Shepherd's Field

The Shepherd's Field is called in Arabic Haql ar-Ru'ah located in the middle of a large fertile valley within the town of Beit Sahour,6 km east of Bethlehem city.A big garden protected by a wall surrounds the Church of the Shepherds (Kanisat al-Ru'ah).Underneath the church there is a splendid cave with an altar.

The Field is in Christian tradition the place where the Lord's angels announced the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds.The earliest remains are from the 4^th century AD There are fragments of mosaic from one of the earliest Chrisitian colored floors in a natural cave.It is decorated with geometric motifs and black crosses.This type of decorated mosaic existed before 427 AD,but was forbidden later on.In the 5^th century,the cave was enlarged.A small chapel was erected as a memorial.

Thereafter a large basilica was erected in the 6th century.The church was rebuilt again in the 7th century AD,as the center for a monastic community,which survived until the 10th century AD.The church was again revived in the 14th century and serves the Greek Orthodox community in Beit Sahour until today.

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Souq al-Qattaneen
Cotton Merchants' Market

This market in the Old City can be reached through the Qattaneen Gate in the western wall of the Haram ash-Sharif.It was one of several new markets added to Jerusalem during the Mamluk period that originally had all kinds of cloth.Built in 1336-7,the souq was meant to be a commercial center for Sultan al-Nasir Mohammed and Emir Seif Uldeen Tankiz al-Nasiri,the Mamluk governor of Damascus at the time (1312- 1340).With monumental entrances with an inscription covered with bronze plaques stating the name of the founder and the date,shops and living quarters, the market contains two public bathhouses,Hammam al-'Ein and Hammam al-Shifa,and Khan Tankiz (inn).

By the nineteenth century,the market fell into decay. It was partly restored by the Islamic Waqf (Trust)and reopened in 1974.Currently,the inn and the two hammams are undergoing renovations.