At times of stress, like the present, Israel restricts travel between the tiny islands of Palestinian control; someone in Ramallah cannot visit Bethlehem.

A church was erected in 326, when Helena, the mother of the first Byzantine emperor, Constantine, visited Bethlehem.

Olive wood carvings are the item most purchased by tourists visiting Bethlehem.

The industry was noted by Richard Pococke, who visited Bethlehem in 1727.

In 1770 he visited Bethlehem, where he was consecrated to the episcopacy on 18 Oct.

Rauch visited Bethlehem and returned in early 1743 with his new wife.

But Gus, it seemed, had no desire to visit Bethlehem.

He visited Bethlehem, Hebron and the Israeli settlement of Tekoa.

She visited Bethlehem for the first time as a teenager.

The Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat, has invited the Pope to visit Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus.