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Masjid Jenin al
With its unmissable green roof, Masjid Jenin al-Kabir (Jenin Great Mosque), was built in 1566 on the orders of Fatima Khatun, then wife of the Governor of Damascus. Cross the street and enter a dense network of alleys that form the Old City , today largely occupied by furniture mak
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Mosque of Said Hashim
Situated in Gazas Daraj quarter, the popular Mosque of Said Hashim was built in 1850 under orders from Ottoman Sultan Abdul Majeed, using masonry from mosques and older buildings destroyed by Napoleons troops. Its name refers to the Prophet Mohammeds great-grandfather, Hashim, a pr
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Mosque of Omar
Opposite the Church of the Nativity, is this mosque, named after the 2nd Muslim caliph, Omar Ibn al-Khattab. It is the sole mosque in Bethlehem’s Old City. It was built in 1860 on land granted by the Greek Orthodox Church in honour of Omar, the Prophet Mohammed’s father-in-law, who
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Gold Market
The narrow covered Gold Market passage, running alongside the southern edge of the Great Mosque, was built in AD 1476 by prominent Gazan judge, Sheikh Shams al-Din-al-Himsi, and originally formed part of a much bigger covered market. The rest of the market was destroyed during WWI,
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Greek Orthodox Church of St George
Located in Burqi’in village, this church was built upon the site where Jesus healed 10 lepers (Luke 17: 11–19). It’s said to be one of the world’s oldest surviving churches (dating to the 4th or 5th century CE) and contains the cave that sheltered the lepers. Service taxis (3NIS) g
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Old City
The Old City’s stunning, often crumbling, Mamluk-styled Ottoman architecture includes a souq , but merchants have been moved to an outdoor area due to friction with Jewish settlers. Look out for the nets hung over the narrow streets to catch trash thrown from the upstairs windows (
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Sebastiya
Located uphill from a village of the same name, Sebastiya is a collection of ruins that includes an amphitheatre (which once held 7000, making it the largest in Palestine) and a Byzantine church, built upon a site considered to be the grave of John the Baptist. In the mid-4th centu
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Ibrahimi Mosque
The Cave of Machpelah in Hebron is the presumed burial place of Abraham. The Ibrahimi Mosque overlays it. For Jews its a highly revered site and to Muslims, its importance in the region is second only to that of Jerusalems Dome of the Rock. The cave was purchased by Abraham when, a
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Metzukei Dragot
Perched on a cliff 600m above the Dead Sea – the views are truly spectacular – this no-frills, hippyish holiday village is like a quick trip back to the 1970s, with bare-bones infrastructure, nicked furnishings and very basic bathrooms. There are 50 basic rooms and hundreds of slee
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Muqata’a
Those interested in modern history might want to stop at the now-rebuilt Muqata’a, Yasser Arafat’s large presidential compound, where he was based during the last days of the Second Intifada. He was evacuated from his base in 2004 while under Israeli siege and later died in a Paris
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Al
Just outside Bethlehem, on the road to Hebron, Al-Khader Church is dedicated to St George, famous enemy to dragons and patron saint of travellers and the sick. St George is also known as the patron saint of Palestine, or St George the Green; his feast day is celebrated annually on
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St Georges Monastery
Looking like something out of an Indiana Jones film, St Georges monastery is a magnificent edifice perched halfway up the cliff in Wadi Qelt. The monastery is named after St George of Koziba and was first built in the late fifth century. Numerous cave-dwelling hermits lived here an
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Rachel’s Tomb
In a desolate corridor created by Israel’s separation wall, near the main checkpoint into town on the Israeli side of the wall, stands Rachel’s Tomb. Another Bethlehem sojourner during labour, Rachel is said to have died here in childbirth, on the way south to Hebron, after which h
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Hisham’s Palace
A short drive north of Tel al-Sultan, this is a spot not to be missed. The sprawling winter hunting retreat of Caliph Hisham Ibn Abd al-Malik must have been magnificent on its creation in the 8th century, with its baths, mosaic floors and pillars – so much so that archaelogists hav
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Mount of Temptation & Monastery of the Qurantul
It was on the Mount of Temptation where, so we’re told, Jesus resisted Satan after his 40-day fast in the desert. The Monastery of the Qurantul marks the spot where the Devil urged Jesus to make a loaf of bread out of a stone (Matthew 4:1–11). Its an incredible feat of engineering,
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Mar Saba Monastery
A must-see on any journey through the Holy Land is Mar Saba Monastery, a bleak and beautiful 20km drive east of Bethlehem (beyond Beit Sahour). This phenomenal cliff-clinging copper-domed hermitage, founded in 439 CE, is best seen from the opposite slope, but men can exercise their
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Jacob’s Well
Near the entrance to Balata (population 20,000), the largest United Nations Relief and Works Agency refugee camp in the West Bank, you’ll find the spot where Christians believe a Samaritan woman offered Jesus a drink of water, and that he then revealed to her that he was the Messia
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Manger Square & Old City
The narrow limestone streets and exotic storefronts are a scene from another age, particularly Pope Paul VI St, Star St and the narrow alleys connecting the two. Visit on a Sunday to experience some church services. Most in attendance will be Palestinians and resident monks and nun
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Qasr al
At an isolated spot on the Jordan River, on the border between Jordan and the West Bank, stands the reputed spot of Jesus’s baptism by John (Matthew 3), which began his ministry. John was based here because it was an important crossroads for passing traders, businesspeople and sold
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Inn of the Good Samaritan
Located just off the main road between Jerusalem and Jericho, this site is associated with the popular parable told in Luke 10: 25-37. In the story, Jesus describes a man who is robbed, beaten and left for dead on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. A priest passes by and then
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