Church of the Nativity - Restoration is underway

The first Church of the Nativity was finished in 339 AD.  This Byzantine church was damaged during the Samaritan uprising in 529 and the Emperor Justinian ordered it torn down and rebuilt.  It was restored by the Crusaders in1165.  After Saladin's re-conquest of the Holy Land the building fell into disrepair.   The Ottoman Turks plundered the building for materials used in the Dome of the Rock.  An earthquake (1834) and a fire In 1869 took their toll.  In continuous use throughout all this -- the building desperately needed restoration.  Finally the communities have agreed to repairs to this sacred space.  My video shows the mosaic work in the clearestory of the nave (upper walls in the main body of the church.)  My sound quality is not all that good but you get the idea.  People who visit Bethlehem now see far more of the beauty of this beautiful church than at any time since the 17th C.