tourists from all over the world are expected to flock to Jesus' birthplace this month. Photograph: Abed Al Hashlamoun/EPA

Dawn Lawrence pulls her wheeled suitcase up and down the narrow, cobbled streets of Bethlehem. Shouts of "welcome, welcome" ring out as she passes shopkeepers standing in the doors of their stores selling carved wooden biblical figures. Lawrence pays no attention to them. She has a mission: finding a place to spend the night in this Palestinian town, amid an unprecedented tourist boom.

"I believe in God, and he told me to come to see the place where Jesus was born," says Lawrence, 49, now in the reception of a third hotel.

This is the first visit to Bethlehem for the British pilgrim, who recently worked as a missionary in the Philippines. Unlike most of her fellow tourists, Lawrence has decided to stay for several nights. Also, unlike others, she is not scared of travelling by herself in the Middle East conflict zone. "I am trusting God," she says.

Opposite the cemetery that sits behind the Church of the Nativity, Lawrence finds a haven. A hotel receptionist offers her a single bed for

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