Star Street

Running from the north entrance of the old town down towards Manger Square, Star Street (Tariq an-Najma) is the main artery of Bethlehem's historic centre. The street is lined with Ottoman-era stone houses, churches, and small workshops — it gives a better sense of what the old town actually looks like day-to-day than the tourist-heavy square around the Nativity Church.

The Al-Badd Museum of Olive Oil Production on the street occupies a restored 14th-century building with the original olive press still in place. Several traditional craft workshops sell carved olive wood — the main local product and the souvenir most worth buying here.

things to do sight neighbourhood
A story
Star Street follows the traditional route by which Christian pilgrims entered Bethlehem from Jerusalem, and its name refers to the star said to have led the Magi. The street was a working commercial thoroughfare for centuries; a major restoration project in the 2000s cleaned the stonework and converted several historic houses into cultural venues, though it remains an active residential neighbourhood rather than a tourist corridor.