When people think of Palestine, they normally assume that this territory is primarily ruled and inhabited by our brothers and sisters who practice the Muslim faith. The truth however is that majority of Christians who live in the Holy Land do so from Palestinian territory.  In fact, Bethlehem, the place of birth of the Lord and Savior of Christians everywhere, falls entirely in the West Bank which is under the administrative control of the Palestinian Authority. Making Bethlehem a major site for Christian pilgrimage. A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic tale.

In this series of the travelogue, I want to map out the Holy Land according to their entry in Christian scripture and tradition specific to the life of Jesus.  For today's entry, let's explore the different scenes relevant to the foundation of Christ's birth. The Annunciation is the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and bear Jesus, the Son of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit. This event, described in the Gospel of Luke, marks the Incarnation, when God became human flesh as well as commemorates Mary's faithful acceptance of God's will. There are two different (but within the same area) locations believed by the faithful (Orthodox and Catholics) where this holy event was supposed to have taken place. Annunciation Location 1: The Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth (above) A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic, pre-Gaza War, and pre-Iran War tale from the Middle East.