Return to Bethlehem (oops, forgot to post yesterday)

This morning, through the hospitality of another tour group, I caught a ride back to Bethlehem. The primary purpose here was to meet with one of the many, many Palestinian Christian woodcarvers trying to make a living here. Through new friends at the Bethlehem Bible College, I met Bassam. He has his own small factory where he and three of four others work carving mostly religious and souvenir objects for sale both in local shops and abroad.

In appreciation for his hospitality, I gave him a gift of some American hardwoods commonly used for carving--cherry, walnut and maple. I also gave him a set of chisels that I picked up over at Woodcraft. Here he is with his twin sons, who are right around Jason's age.


He showed me his factory workshop--a small building behind his house. Here is a bandsaw he uses for roughing out his designs. I don't think it is OSHA approved.

He showed me how he carves, using homemade tools. He grinds a serrated edge on an old file, and uses it as a rasp to shape the piece, holding it against a kind of wooden anvil in a vise. It's amazing how quickly he works.

Bassam also took me on a tour to the traditional site of the Shepherds' Field of Luke 2. I was surprised to find that the chapel there was paid for by a Canadian group back in 1954. for this reason, the locals call this the Canadian chapel.

I returned home using the local bus service. We all had to get out at the checkpoint when passing through the separation wall as the bus was serarched. All the Palestinians had to show i.d., but they pretty mcuh ignored me. It must have been my "I AM CANADIAN" t-shirt.

Here's another shot from the rooftop terrace. You can see how King David could have easily spotted Bathsheba while she was out on her rooftop. And that minaret I mentioned yesterday? It's connected to the mosque on the former temple mount. I was wrong too. It didn't wake us at 6:00 AM. It woke us at 3:20 AM.