The City of Bethlehem
Bethlehem
is thought to have been inhabited since the Stone Age, though its origins
have been lost in history. The first historical reference to it is in Al
Amarneh letters of the 14th century. It did not however gain the importance
it holds today until the Edict of Milan of AD 313 by which the Emperor
Constantine legalized Christianity. During the Byzantine period, Bethlehem
was a walled city with two towers: it figures in the famous map of Madeb,
a 6th century Byzantine map in mosaics representing the Holy Land, and
in the accounts of early pilgrims. By AD 600, many monasteries and churches
had been erected in the then flourishing town.During the Moslem period, the sites revered
by Jews and Christians were protected. In 683, Omar Ibn al Khattab prayed
in the southern apse of the Church of the Nativity: the mosque of Omar
with its fine minaret opposite the Church commemorates this gesture. With
the Crusader 
invasion
of 1099, Bethlehem was captured by Tancred. It became the site for the
crowning of Crusader kings and enjoyed royal favor. Salah al Din's forces
recaptured Bethlehem in 1187, but the Ayubid Sultan Al Kamil surrendered
Bethlehem to the Crusaders in 1229, and they held it until they were finally
ousted from the country in 1291.
invasion
of 1099, Bethlehem was captured by Tancred. It became the site for the
crowning of Crusader kings and enjoyed royal favor. Salah al Din's forces
recaptured Bethlehem in 1187, but the Ayubid Sultan Al Kamil surrendered
Bethlehem to the Crusaders in 1229, and they held it until they were finally
ousted from the country in 1291.The name of the city means house of meat in
Arabic, and the house of bread in Hebrew. In ancient Cananite the name
probably designated the god of war or of food, Lechmu. Bethlehem was also
called Ephrath, meaning fertile in Aramic.
Bethlehem is currently one of three designated
cities by the Pope for the official millenium celebrations. Together with
Nazareth and Rome, Bethlehem will be a focal point for the 17-month celebrations
starting November 28th 1999 until Easter 2001. The city is currently undergoing
major infrastructure work and renovation, hoping that by the end of this
year it will be ready to receive the influx of tourists for the last Christmas
of the second millenium.
Source: PACE tour of Bethlehem
Historical Hotel Monuments in Palestine
The New Imperial Hotel
One of the oldest hotels in Palestine the New Imperial Hotel is attractively located in front of the Cita- del as you enter the Old City of Jerusalem from its northern Jaffa Gate. This is one of the busiest en- trances to the Old City. The Arabic name for it is Bab el Khalil (Gate of the Friend) in reference to Abraham, forefather of both Jews and Moslems and "the Friend of God" (Isa. 41:8).
The
wall bears the following inscription in Arabic: "there is no God but Allah
and Abraham is the Friend of Allah." The Moslem Caliph Omar Ibn Al Khattab
entered Jerusalem from this gate after its capture in AD 638. Also, this
is the gate used by General Allenby, commander of the British forces which
cap- tured Jerusalem during World War One, to enter Jerusalem heading a
victory parade in December 1917.In the area where you now find the New Imperial
Hotel and beyond it there were fields where wheat grew in the winter. In
the summer, the empty fields became dumping grounds for carcasses of donkeys,
camels and horses. The Turkish authorities moved this "cemetery" outside
the wall and the Grand New Hotel was built in its place in 1884. Travelers
began to write of the new hotel with grand facilities inside Jaffa Gate
when it first opened. The walls are of a light red variation of the Jerusalem
Stone. The Greek Orthodox Church owns the build- ing.
When it was under construction, a pool known
as Bathsheba was discovered. Its name was given based on the assumption
that Uriah's wife was bathing here when seen by David. It is now a cistern
underneath the hotel. Roman tiles of the Tenth Legion and part of the shaft
of a column bearing a votive inscription in honor of the Augustan Legate,
Marcus Julius Maximus, erected by the Tenth Legion were also discovered.
The column now forms the pedestal of a street lamp; a bomb scalped it in
1948. In the late 1940s it became known as Morcos Hotel.
Kaiser Wilhelm II stayed here when he visited
Palestine in 1898. The wall between the gate and the Citadel was torn down
and the moat filled by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II in order to permit
the Kaiser and his suite to ride into the city. In the 1950s and 60s it
had an elegant ballroom in which many wed- dings were held. Sitting on
the hotel's balcony overlooking Omar Ibn Al Khattab Square one observes
below an ever-changing mosaic of people, images, colors, and sounds.
Its top offers an enchanting panoramic view
of Jerusalem. If you step onto the hotel's roof, you will see important
sites such as Mount Scopus, Mount of Olives, Mount Zion, Dome of the Rock,
dome of the Church of the holy Sepulchre, the Hebrew University, the bell
tower of the Church of the Redeemer, King David Hotel, and the garden of
King David Citadel.
Source: Dr. Mohammad Dajani, PECDAR