Over the years it has been my desire to visit the Holy Land. In reading books on iconography, I have frequently seen icons found in the Holy Land such as Our Lady of Jerusalem, Our Lady of Bethlehem and others. And seeing the photos of the altar at the place of Christ’s birth, and the icon over that altar rekindled that desire.
I recently watched a YouTube video of the creation of an icon based on that same icon produced by Monastery Icons. I found this fascinating. Choosing a wide array of elements of icons in the same iconographic style, the painter created a harmonious depiction of the events of the Nativity in a wide format icon which is both traditional and unique. And the central figures of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph in adoration in the cave of the nativity matches closely with the original. (See the video below from Monastery Icons for a time-lapsed video of the conceptualization and painting of the icon.)
Seeing this video clinched it. I recently made the long-desired pilgrimage to the sites of Our Lord’s life, death and resurrection in Israel. And I visited the ancient church of the 
Nativity in Bethlehem, venerated the icon of Our Lady of Bethlehem to the right of the sanctuary in the main church, then descended into the cave of the Nativity and bowed below the altar in the cave and touched the ornate star in the marble floor at the spot where the Lord was born.
To my surprise, the icon over the altar was different than the one I had seen in previous photos. I was to discover that the icons placed over the altar were not permanent, but were changed from time to time.
The Liturgy in the Nativity cave was an experience not to be forgotten. The small cave could hold only several dozen people, creating an intimacy of worshippers and pilgrims who had travelled the world to visit this holy site.
I visited many other places during my pilgrimage, including the Monastery of Saint George in the Valley of the Shadow of Death (!) over an hour into the desert from Jerusalem, the Monastery of Mar Saba, the Monastery of Saint Gerasimos, and of course the churches in Jerusalem, including the all-holy Church of the Resurrection, where the site of Golgatha and the Tomb of our Lord are located. But that is another story.
I highly recommend the icon of the Nativity by Monastery Icons shown in their video. And I highly recommend visiting the Holy Land and experiencing first-hand the wonders to be found there.
Monastery Icons 