When I first entered Bethlehem it was nothing like I had expected. You are surrounded by huge grey walls (covered in graffiti) and it felt like I was in a giant prison courtyard. As you walk through the border from Israel into Palestine you see straight away the change of cultures. Before even walking out of the security building I was being hassled by around 40 taxi drivers, all trying to convince me to use them to get to the notable sites, but I insisted on walking to them all and carried on. Now if I had to turn back time I would not have done this. I would have got the cheapest one straight to the church of Nativity. The roads were filthy, people were emptying bins onto the streets outside of their homes/shops and the cars did not seem at all roadworthy. I got funny looks by many people in the street and felt completely uncomfortable the entire walk (which took quite some time as it was a rather long distance). 

But once I arrived at my destination everything changed! Entree was free, the buildings clean and the experience seemed much better than I’d ever have imagined. It truly felt as if I had stepped back in time 2000 years! I would say that everybody should visit Bethlehem atleast once in their life to see its Nativity church. I am not religious, I do not believe in God, but the aura of being in such a holy building truly was an amazing feeling.

Be warned though, the cab back was 4X more than the ones there would’ve cost, so be sure to ask around to multiple drivers as I managed to get the price down a lot in only a few minutes!