Church renovation lifts Christmas spirit in Bethlehem ++REPLAY++
244 views · Published 15 December 2018 · 4:44 · Indexed 31 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(10 Dec 2018) WEST BANK CHURCH SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS RESTRICTIONS: AP CLIENTS ONLY LENGTH: 4:43 ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY Bethlehem, West Bank - 6 December 2018 1. Wide of people inside Church of the Nativity 2. Wide of crowd looking at restored mural on wall 3. Various of restored mural 4. Wide of people entering church 5. Wide of two men removing cover from mosaic floor 6. Various of restoration team working on mosaic floor 7. Wide of people inside church 8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ziad al-Bandak, Head of Palestinian Committee in charge of the Church restoration: "A presidential decree was issued in early 2009 to begin the restoration of the Church of the Nativity and a presidential committee was formed to renovate the church. In 2010, a million dollars were transferred from the Palestinian Authority account to the committee account. The studies, the analysis and international tenders were then launched in order to analyse the condition of the church." 9. Mid of columns inside church 10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ziad al-Bandak, Head of Palestinian Committee in charge of the Church restoration: "We started with the mosaic restoration because part of it was falling on the ground because of the rain and the weather. From 2000 square metres of mosaic that decorated the walls of the church a thousand years ago, only 125 square metres are left now." 11. Mid of people inside church taking pictures with mobile phones 12. Various of team carrying out restoration on columns 13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Emad Nassar, Engineer: "All mosaic restoration work was done by an Italian company that have expert workers in restoration. Because the mosaic restoration is an accurate and complex process with a lot of details that only the experts can carry out." 14. Mid of tops of renovated columns and wooden roof 15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Emad Nassar, Engineer: "We are in the final stage of restorations inside the church, we are working on the restoration of the church columns now. And as you know there are 50 columns in the church, 33 of them with drawings from the 12th century. Until now we finished 42 columns and I think we will be done with the rest by spring of next year." 16. Various of people and scaffolding inside church 17. Wide of cross at church 18. Various exteriors of church LEADIN A historic renovation of the Church of the Nativity is lifting spirits in the biblical town of Bethlehem ahead of Christmas. Holy land visitors are offered a look at ancient mosaics and columns that have been restored to their original glory for the first time in 600 years. STORYLINE Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, one of Christianity's most sacred shrines. According to Christian tradition, Jesus was born here. Decades of neglect left the historic church in a bad state, until it was finally declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2013. A restoration project to remove the grime of its mosaics, repair the walls and columns, replace the windows and restore the leaking roof has been underway for the past 5 years. The restoration process is meticulous and painstaking. So far, 120 square metres (1,292 square feet) of this badly damaged 2,000 square metre (21,500 square foot) wall mosaic, depicting images of Christ and Christian saints, have been restored. Italian workers are also cleaning a floor mosaic with tiny brushes and covering it with protective material. It is the first time in 600 years that the ancient mosaics and columns that have been restored to their original glory. Al-Bandak said the committee has collected 14 million US dollars out of 17 million needed. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0a1bfc2001c63ec5f3697cbbadef7124
