Beit Sahour at Bethlehem

Also referred to as Bayt Sahur

Originally a small village made up of farmers and stone masons, today Beit Sahour has a population of 12,000 and is situated southeast of Bethlehem. The majority of its inhabitants have had a university education and some say it has the highest percentage of graduates in the entire Arab world. It has the largest Christian population in the West Bank with over three-quarters of its people belonging to one Christian denomination or another.

Beit Sahour has recently benefitted from a major restoration of its centre and can be seen as a beautiful example of Palestinian village architecture. It is also traditionally the site of the fields where the shepherds were looking after their sheep at the time of Christ’s birth, a small church marking the fields.