architecture
Church of the Nativity — western entrance
A very low doorway opens through the weathered stone frontage of a historic basilica.
The story behind the place
Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity stands at a place associated in Christian tradition with the birth of Jesus. UNESCO describes a church first completed in 339, followed by the sixth-century building that replaced it after a fire. Its western entrance is strikingly modest: a small low doorway set within layers of older masonry. The surrounding basilica and convents preserve a long history of pilgrimage, rebuilding and shared care by several Christian communities.
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