Bethlehem is a city in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank under Palestinian Authority considered a central hub of Palestinian cultural and tourism industries. It is inhabited by one of the oldest Christian communities but now has a Muslim majority.
The city has great significance for all Christians as it was the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. The traditional site of Rachel's tomb, which is an important holy site in Judaism, lies at the city's outskirts.
The Church of the Nativity, built by Constantine the Great (330 AD), stands in the centre of Bethlehem over a grotto or cave called the Holy Crypt, which according to Christian tradition is the place where Jesus was born. This is perhaps the oldest existing Christian church in the world. Close to it is another grotto, where Jerome the Latin father spent thirty years of his life in translating the Scriptures into Latin.