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Bethlehem gets ready for the millennium celebrations
Source: Manila Bulletin
Author: Maher Abukhater
Date: 1999-12-06
 
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (DPA) -- Bethlehem's Manger

Square resembles a bustling beehive these days.



Contractors are working around the clock to prepare the

square for the start of the millennium celebrations, which,

says Palestinian Minister Nabeel Kassis, in charge of the

Bethlehem 2000 project, was launched with a grand inaugural

event on December 4, and continue until April 2001.



Store owners and those who live in the vicinity of the square

and the Church of the Nativity are also preparing for the

millennium, fixing their homes and painting their shops in a

uniform color, bluish green.



They aim to make Bethlehem sparkle for the hundreds of

thousands of millennium pilgrims expected to visit the traditional birthplace of Christ.



The tourists have in fact already begun arriving, unfazed by construction buzz.



And although everyone is hampered by the dust from the construction work, Kassis is

optimistic.



"When the dust settles, things will look much better. And the dust will settle soon," he

says.



Miriam Shahin, a spokeswoman for the Bethlehem 2000 project, says work on about

75 percent of the 165-million-dollar project will be completed by the grand inaugural

day, and other projects, such as the new five-star Bethlehem Intercontinental Hotel,

will be completed a few months later.



"We are still raising funds for certain projects," she says, explaining that the

Bethlehem 2000 project has so far collected financial pledges for only two-thirds of

the projected budget.



Money, however, was only one of the problems faced by the Bethlehem 2000

organizers. Another was time.



But, says Shahin, relative to projects in other developing countries, Bethlehem 2000

has proceeded quite swiftly.



Work on the project officially began in April 1998, and the grand inaugural event on

December 4 will coincide with the Vatican's start of the millennium celebrations.



Celebrations will start at 12 noon in the presence of Palestinian President Yassir

Arafat. The large group of invited guests will include the patriarchs, archbishops and

bishops of the 13 churches of Jerusalem.



This will be the first, and most likely the only, time that all 13 churches in Jerusalem

will meet to pray together, says Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser.



At five in the afternoon, Arafat will light the Christmas tree and the monuments in and

around Manger Square and at the old homes renovated as part of the Bethlehem 2000

Project.



On the same day, the pioneers of the 10-day walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem -

following the footsteps of Mary and Joseph - will arrive in Bethlehem and participate in

lighting the tree.



However, the main event will take place twice; once on December 24, the Catholic

Christmas Eve, and the other on January 6, the Easter Orthodox Christmas Eve.



Kassis said world leaders are expected to attend both events, each according to his

denomination.



The Vatican has already announced that the Pope will visit Bethlehem and the Holy

Land in March 2000. The Pontiff is expected to stay at the new Intercontinental Hotel

in Bethlehem, which is an old Palestinian home known as Jacir Palace, renovated and

expanded to become one of the region's most exclusive hotels. Hotel officials expect

that work will be completed in mid-March.



In addition, 50,000 to 60,000 people are expected to flood Manger Square on both

Christmas Eves. A modern, state-of-the-art stage has been built especially for the

various theatrical, dance and music shows and stars from all over the world that will

come to Bethlehem during the 16 months of celebrations.



But are Kassis and the people behind Bethlehem 2000 panicking because of the large

number of world leaders and tourists who will come to Bethlehem?



"We are not panicking," says Kassis, a nuclear physicist. "We are putting things into

place and we know how to deal with it. We are mentally and physically prepared, and

the spirit is high."



Kassis says the Bethlehem 2000 Project, which will officially end with the conclusion

of the millennium celebrations in April 2001, the date set by the Vatican, has created

a legacy for sustainable tourism in the Palestinian areas.



As a side effect, the infrastructure in Bethlehem and its neighboring towns has been

rebuilt.

 

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