Reply #28: Because its a bit of a hole, in all honesty...

[shaayecanaan]

I still have the plastic crown of thorns that I bought off some street vendor, purely for the kitsch value. Its the only thing from Jerusalem that has stuck with me.

You get some mileage out of people watching, but otherwise the appearance of the place is a bit underwhelming. One of the ironies of Jerusalem is that the only iconic piece of architecture that exists is the Dome of the Rock. So you have Mr and Mrs John and Betty Sloan from Fort Little having their happy snaps taken with the Dome in the background, because there's not much else available.

In all fairness, Bethlehem is a bit of a damp squib as well. However the tourist trash in Bethlehem is much cheaper than the same crap for sale in Jerusalem.