Bethlehem Filled With Christmas Tourists for First Time Since 2019
2022-12-16
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1Visitors are returning to the West Bank city of Bethlehem this Christmas season, after a two-year absence because of COVID-19.
2At this time last year, most stores and tourist places in the Middle Eastern city of Bethlehem were closed.
3The town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is holy to Christians.
4Most believe Jesus was born there about two thousand years ago on December 25.
5Christmas season visitors last filled the streets of Bethlehem in 2019.
6They stayed away in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
7But this year, visitors are coming back.
8The city's hotels are fully booked.
9Days ago, visitors from almost every continent posed for photos in front of the Church of the Nativity.
10The 1, 500-year-old church stands on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.
11Elias Arja is a hotel owner and head of the local hotel owner's business group.
12He said he thinks business will continue to be good into 2023 because "Christian religious tourists especially, they all want to return to the Holy Land."
13Next to the Church of the Nativity is an area called Manger Square.
14There, a large Christmas is tree is shining brightly with hundreds of colored lights.
15Visitors went into stores to buy religious objects, such as crosses made from olive wood.
16Saliba Nissan makes the crosses in the wood factory he owns with his brother.
17Because of the pandemic, he said, "the city became a city of ghosts."
18The Israeli Tourism Ministry said it expects 120,000 Christians to come during the Christmas week.
19A record-setting 150,000 tourists visited in 2019.
20Bethlehem's mayor is Hanna Hanania.
21"God willing," he said, "we will go back this year to where things were before coronavirus."
22He said about 150,000 people came to the recent Christmas tree-lighting. "Recovery has begun," he added.
23Visitors are coming back to Bethlehem at the end of a violent year in the larger area.
24Fighting between Israelis and Palestinians left a reported 150 Palestinians and 31 Israelis dead in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
25That makes 2022 the deadliest year in the conflict since 2006.
26However, the year's violence does not concern business owners as much as the pandemic does.
27They note that the fighting has continued since Israel took over the area during a war in 1967.
28Sometimes the fighting increases, they say, sometimes it slows down.
29Bassem Giacamen's family has owned the Blessing Gift Shop since 1925.
30He said none of the fighting was as bad as the pandemic.
31He once had 10 people working for him, now it is five, and sometimes fewer.
32"The political situation," he said, "does affect, but nothing major. We've had it for 60, 70 years, and it goes on for a month, then it stops, and tourists come back again."
33I'm Dan Friedell.
1Visitors are returning to the West Bank city of Bethlehem this Christmas season, after a two-year absence because of COVID-19. 2At this time last year, most stores and tourist places in the Middle Eastern city of Bethlehem were closed. The town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is holy to Christians. Most believe Jesus was born there about two thousand years ago on December 25. 3Christmas season visitors last filled the streets of Bethlehem in 2019. They stayed away in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 4But this year, visitors are coming back. The city's hotels are fully booked. 5Days ago, visitors from almost every continent posed for photos in front of the Church of the Nativity. The 1, 500-year-old church stands on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born. 6Elias Arja is a hotel owner and head of the local hotel owner's business group. He said he thinks business will continue to be good into 2023 because "Christian religious tourists especially, they all want to return to the Holy Land." 7Next to the Church of the Nativity is an area called Manger Square. There, a large Christmas is tree is shining brightly with hundreds of colored lights. Visitors went into stores to buy religious objects, such as crosses made from olive wood. 8Saliba Nissan makes the crosses in the wood factory he owns with his brother. Because of the pandemic, he said, "the city became a city of ghosts." 9The Israeli Tourism Ministry said it expects 120,000 Christians to come during the Christmas week. A record-setting 150,000 tourists visited in 2019. 10Bethlehem's mayor is Hanna Hanania. "God willing," he said, "we will go back this year to where things were before coronavirus." 11He said about 150,000 people came to the recent Christmas tree-lighting. "Recovery has begun," he added. 12Visitors are coming back to Bethlehem at the end of a violent year in the larger area. Fighting between Israelis and Palestinians left a reported 150 Palestinians and 31 Israelis dead in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. That makes 2022 the deadliest year in the conflict since 2006. 13However, the year's violence does not concern business owners as much as the pandemic does. 14They note that the fighting has continued since Israel took over the area during a war in 1967. Sometimes the fighting increases, they say, sometimes it slows down. 15Bassem Giacamen's family has owned the Blessing Gift Shop since 1925. He said none of the fighting was as bad as the pandemic. He once had 10 people working for him, now it is five, and sometimes fewer. 16"The political situation," he said, "does affect, but nothing major. We've had it for 60, 70 years, and it goes on for a month, then it stops, and tourists come back again." 17I'm Dan Friedell. 18Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 19______________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21absence -n. the state where something that is expected does not exist 22tourist -n. a visitor who comes to see a place from another country 23book -v. to ask for a room or reservation at hotel or restaurant 24pose -v. to present yourself for a photo 25ghost -n. something that is thought to be the soul of a dead person in the world of the living; a way of saying something is no longer busy or active 26_____________________________________________________________ 27We want to hear from you. Have you ever been to Bethlehem during this time of year? 28We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.