People & Houses

People & Houses

Behind its often dilapidated facades, Bethlehem conceals a precious heritage. Apart from the many impressive religious buildings, churches, schools and convents, the town still retains a number of magnificent centuries-old houses, some architectural features of which may date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. Byzantine, Islamic, Crusader, Turkish and British remains and monuments intermingle with European architecture and blend with the local Palestinian style to form a unique and challenging heritage. Bethlehem's historic residential quarters developed through the ages represent part of the cultural heritage of Bethlehem. The quarters came together like a mosaic to form the corps around Manger Square.

Bethlehem today is more of a bustling tourist resort than the holy place one would expect. It is full of souvenir shops and restaurants which are part of the services that mark the city. Bethlehem and its satellite towns, Beit Sahour and Beit Jala have many churches, convents, schools, hospitals and charitable societies. There are also a number of mosques; the most prominant one is the Mosque of 'Umar across the square from the Church of Nativity. The visitor finds numerous foreign institutions in the town; some are of a religious nature. Among them are the Holy Family Hospital that belongs to the Knights of Malta, Efeta Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, The Children's Village S.O.S., Caritas Children's Hospital, SIRA (a Swedish Institute for the Handicapped), the Salisians' Technical School and many others.

The area of Bethlehem has a population of 61,000 half of whom are Moslems and half are Christians. The town of Bethlehem has 27,000 inhabitants, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, the two neighboring sister towns, have respectively 13,000 and 12,000 inhabitants. Christians constitute the majority only in the two towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour. Among Christians, the Orthodox denomination is the largest.

Bethlehem suffered a migration drain through the twentieth century. Owing to several cruel events that befell the region since the beginning of the century, many of its inhabitants emigrated. The first strong wave of migration took place after the First World War and many left to Latin America. The continuous economic difficulties forced this migration to continue until today where we find close to 60% of the local Christians residing in the Diaspora within prosperous communities