Five minutes walk south-east of manger square, along the milk Grotto street, you can find this small church. One version of the story behind this site is that the Holy Family hid here during the Slaughter of the innocents. Alternatively, they made a hurried stop here during the flight to Egypt, and in the rush Mary let a drop of her milk fall to the ground while she was nursing, turning the rock from red to white. Christians and Moslems alike have since believed that the rock increases nursing mothers' milk and fertility.

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Churches in the Old City

Jerusalem has dozens of churches within its walls, the most important one being the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is the most venerated shrine for Christians. It is the traditionally accepted site of Christ's crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. It was originally much bigger than today's church, which did not take its present form until 1959. The marble room of the tomb of Jesus is very small and therefore cannot hold more than four people at a time. Visiting hours are from 16:30 - 19:00. Another interesting church is the Church of St. Anne, just inside Lions Gate. It is one of many churches built by the Crusaders between 1099 and 1187, and is the best preserved of this period. This Romanesque style church was built over a crypt, which was venerated as the birthplace of Mary, by the wife of Baldwin in AD 1100.

The Convent of the Sisters of Zion is built on what is said to be the site where Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to death saying: "Behold the man." The trial took place in what was then called the Antonia Fortress, built by Herod the Great. The convent also has within it part of a Roman arch known today as the Ecce Homo "Behold the man" which is incorporated in the convent's church.