Church of the Nativity
The Church of the Nativity is one of the most important sacred sites for Christianity. It is constructed over the cave where Jesus Christ was born and is a very early Christian edifice. This is the oldest remaining Church in the region; although the Persians invaded in 614 AD they chose to show mercy and did not destroy the Church as, so it is told, they were so amazed by the depiction of the Magi (who were also believed to be Persians) which adorned the Church facade. You will not want to miss the Grotto of the Nativity, the location traditionally of Jesus’s place of birth, and has the highest religious and historical connotation. A white marble alter was constructed over the cave of Jesus’s birth with a fourteen-pointed silver star embedded into it to mark the spot. Fifteen silver lamps, symbolizing the fifteen diverse Christian communities, glow around the star.