Glimpses of Bethlehem between 1850 and 1950", under the patronage of Dr. Kholoud Daibes, Minister of MOTA.  The event was attended by Mayor of Bethlehem Dr. Victor Batarseh, and Mr. Fayez Ja'ara from the Directorate of Education, Bethlehem, and Dr. Bishara Awad, Director of the Bethlehem Bible College, and Mr. Fouad Salem, Director of the Bethlehem Governorate, and Eng. George Bassos Director of the Convention Palace, Ms. Maha Sakka, Director of the Palestinian Heritage Center and representatives of a number of local and foreign organizations.

The exhibition sheds light at the social and cultural life of the city between the mid-nineteenth century and the mid-twentieth century, and the disparity between the composition of the city and how visitors and pilgrims saw it, and the reality of life through the fifty old pictures, which are owned by Mr. George Al-Ama.

In her speech, Dr. Daibes stressed on the importance of documenting the remarkable history of Bethlehem, and the need to develop a mechanism to display these photos, and bringing them out to public.  As well, she emphasized the role and achievements of CCHP and the importance of the rehabilitation projects undertaken in the region, and invited all local and national institutions to come together and support the CCHP and its work.

Arch. Issam Juha, Director of the Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation said that the center has been seeking to preserve the cultural and architectural heritage in the region through the implementation of many vital projects and programs to raise awareness. Moreover, he pointed out that the center is coordinating for permanent photo exhibition in the hall of the Convention Palace. Finally, he thanked everyone who contributed to the success of the exhibition particularly, the researcher Khalil Shokeh, and Mr. Firas Eid, the New Vision Media Centre, and the staff of CCHP, in particular George Al-Ama for his collection of the outstanding photos, Arch. Nada Al-Atrash coordinator of the celebration.

The event included displaying short film about CCHP, and a lecture about the beginnings of photography in Bethlehem presented by researcher Khalil Shokeh. After which, the audience had a tour of the exhibition and learned about the distinctive and historic photos of the Bethlehem area.  It is worth mentioning that the exhibition opens until 29th, February from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.