Fodor's Expert Review Church of St. John the Baptist

The village of Ein Kerem is not mentioned by name in the New Testament, but its identification as the birthplace of John the Baptist is a tradition that apparently goes back to the Byzantine period (5th century AD). The grotto associated with that event is enshrined in the large, late-17th-century Franciscan church that bears his name, its orange tile roof a prominent landmark in the heart of Ein Kerem. The walls of the sanctuary are covered in age-darkened paintings and glazed tiles.