The Church of Nativity is a once in a lifetime travel destination.
Regardless of your religious beliefs, I’m sure you know who Jesus Christ is. Being raised as a Catholic, the story of Jesus Christ being born in Bethlehem is something that has been ingrained in me. Nowadays, I am agnostic in my beliefs. I still believe in a higher power but I no longer believe organized religion. From my experience, I’ve seen way too many hypocritical religious people preach about doing the world good only to practice the opposite on their everyday life.
Despite my current viewpoint on organized religion, visiting the birthplace of Jesus Christ is exciting. Honestly, if I can travel back in time to meet just one person, it would definitely be Jesus. I don’t know if he really has super powers but it would certainly be an amazing experience to meet and talk to him.
Outside the Church of Nativity
The moment I stepped in the Church of Nativity, a sudden rush of happiness and excitement possessed me. For the first time in my life, I was excited to go to church!
The Church of Nativity is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is simply amazing stepping foot in the exact place Jesus was born.
Ancient altar in the church
As I explore the church, I see tons of tourist pour inside the church and snap pictures of everything they see.
A part of me felt sad to see such a beautiful historical site become whored out to a huge bus full of tourist from China. I felt like they were desecrating this place. Especially when they all rushed in the exact spot Jesus was born as if they were hungry vultures that haven’t been fed for days. Picture this: a tiny little fireplace looking chamber filled with 20+ China tourist squeezing themselves through that tiny spot while pushing and shoving everyone around them. It was quite a disgusting sight to see and makes me feel ashamed of my fellow Chinese people.
The very spot Jesus was born
On the bright side, since I clearly look Chinese, they accidentally let me through the front of the line thinking I was part of the China tour group. As a result, I didn’t have to lineup and was able to take a picture and touch the very spot Jesus was born without having to wait hours.
Visiting the Church of Nativity felt surreal. I highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Israel.
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