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Still No Room at Bethlehem's Inns

Yesterday's holiday filled up more than just hotels in big cities like New York and Paris, but also guaranteed a sea of tourists to religious destinations like Bethlehem, the hub of Christmas. Since a tense peace exists in the area, Bethlehem has taken in record numbers of both pilgrims (some 1.3 million) and their cash this past week.

As a result, hotels in the town have been overflowing, forcing even those under renovation to open specifically for the holidays. While Bethlehem businesses hope that the peace holds in the name of more than just souvenir dollars, it seems like they'll be getting that wish no matter what. According to the Christian Science Monitor, hotel chains Mövenpick and Days Inn will be moving in while "in the Beit Sahour suburb of Bethlehem, hammers can be heard from hotel construction just up the road from Shepherds' Field, the hillside believed to be the site from where the biblical Star of Bethlehem was sighted."

While it's always weird to hear that your average, run-of-the-mill chain hotels are being built at exotic locations, it is an altogether different matter when you're able to Twitter about checking into the Days Inn Bethlehem. The era of sleeping in a manger is now officially over.

[Photo: oneworld.net]