Bethlehem

“There in the church of the Nativity, I took worn stone stairways to descend to levels of dark rooms, chapels, and dungeonlike corridors where hushed people passed.  The floors were black stone or cracked marble.  Dense brocades hung down old stone walls.  Oil lamps hung in layers.  Each polished silver or brass lamp seemed to absorb more light than its orange flame emitted, so the more the lamps shone, the darker the space.” 

Annie Dillard, For the Time Being, 78