In Bethlehem of Judea, where King David and our Lord were born, Palestine

Underwood & Underwood · (c) 1900

You are in an open square on the hill in the old town, looking nearly west from before the Church of the Nativity. Off at your right, between you and this nearest building, the road comes up from the lower town, and by that road Mary and Joseph must have come up the hill to find rest for the winter night. The Khan - what the Evangelist calls an "inn" - stood behind you, on the site of the present church. These buildings are, of course, comparatively modern. The tall tower was once a Mohammedan minaret, but at present the town was populated almost entirely by Christians - the Moslem faith is not actively represented here. The buildings at the right are Christian monasteries. See The Holy Land through the Stereoscope by Jesse L. Hurlbut, D.D., with special "keyed" maps locating 100 desirable standpoints, and identifying all the landmarks; published by Underwood & Underwood.