Posted on 12/02/2020 6:22:12 PM PST by marshmallow
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The coronavirus has cast a pall over Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, all but shutting down the biblical town revered as Jesus’s birthplace at the height of the normally cheery holiday season.
Missing are the thousands of international pilgrims who normally descend upon the town. Restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops are closed. The renowned Christmas tree lighting service will be limited to a small group of authorized people, as will church services on Christmas Eve.
“Bethlehem is dead,” said Maryana al-Arja, owner of the 120-room Angel Hotel on the outskirts of Bethlehem.
The hotel was the site of the West Bank’s first coronavirus outbreak — when a group of Greek tourists came down with the virus last March.
She kept her 25 workers on staff for several months but ultimately couldn’t continue to pay them. Al-Arja, who herself was infected with the virus, said she has been forced to close the hotel and lay off the entire staff because there is no sign of the pandemic ending or tourists visiting anytime soon.
“We had 351 tourist groups booked in our hotel this year, each one 150 people,” she said. “But they all canceled.”
(Excerpt) Read more at cruxnow.com ...
A damn shame. I’d love to have the opportunity to visit here, where it all started. Arguably the Ground Zero of Christianity.
So, plenty of room at the inn?
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