Shopping is a major draw, especially during the Christmas season. The city's
main streets and old markets are lined with shops selling Palestinian
handicrafts, Middle Eastern spices, jewelry and oriental sweets such as baklawa.
Olive wood carvings are the item most
purchased by tourists visiting Bethlehem. Religious handicrafts include
ornaments handmade from mother-of-pearl, as well as olive wood statues, boxes,
and crosses. Other industries are stone and marble-cutting, textiles, furniture
and furnishings. Bethlehem factories also produce paints, plastics, synthetic
