Israeli Adventure: Part 3.2

Saturday, January 7, 2012 - Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus

First of all, my apologies for the delay between posts! I am in the process of moving to St. Louis and starting a new job, and life just hasn't slowed down since the new year began! Now - back to Israel!

After our delightful lunch on the Sea of Galilee, we ventured back toward Nazareth. On the way, we drove through Cana, which is where Jesus performed his first miracle: turning water into wine at the wedding feast. There is a church commemorating that miracle, but we didn't take the time to stop there.

Back in Nazareth, we had hopes of returning to Nazareth Village for a tour, but it wasn't meant to be. As our guidebook had warned, Saturday traffic in Nazareth is terrible, and we determined there would be no way to make it to the other side of town in time for the last tour. Driving through town, I got a kick out of all the Santa Claus paraphernalia scattered throughout the shops and plastered on billboards around town. 

Merry Christmas from Arabia!

 After the prior day's debacle, we now knew exactly how to find the Basilica of the Annunciation, so we headed straight there instead -- this time to actually go inside!

As you can probably tell, this is a very new church. While churches have been built on this site since the 4th century, the current church was actually built in the 1960's.

The Basilica of the Annunciation is built over the home of Mary -- the cave where she lived and where the angel Gabriel appeared to her to announce that she would bear a son and call Him JESUS! The huge church is really beautiful and quite unique. The first floor houses the "lower church," and its altar sits in front of the ruins of Mary's home.

Altar of the lower church. Behind the altar is Mary's grotto. Looking above, you can peek up into the upper church.

 
When we first arrived, there was a service going on in the lower church, but once they cleared out, I was able to go down to the altar and peer through the Crusader-era gates into the home of Mary.   

Think about this:
This is the home where Luke tells us the angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her God had greatly blessed her. Where he proceeded to scare the heck out of Mary by telling her she would become pregnant.. That she would bear the Son of God.. That God would make this son a king.. And where Mary obediently agreed, "I am the Lord's servant. May it happen to me as you have said."

This altar stands in the ruins of Mary's home. To the right of the altar stands an ancient column, likely from the 4th century, marking the spot where the angel Gabriel appeared. Behind the altar to the right are stairs leading up to what is known as "Mary's kitchen," the ruins of which can be viewed from the courtyard of the upper church. 

Above all this is built the upper church, the active Roman Catholic parish of Nazareth. The walls of the upper church are lined with images of Mary contributed by countries around the world, as in the courtyard below. This was the United States' interesting contribution...

In the center of the church, you can look down onto the altar of the lower church and Mary's grotto, or up into the stunning 170-ft. cupola through which natural sunlight pours down. The cupola's unique form represents an upside-down lily, rooted in Heaven - a symbol of Mary's purity. The edges are shaped in repeating letter M's, obviously standing for Mary. 

The cupola as viewed from the upper church. The circular opening in the middle of the upper church also allows this to be viewed from the altar of the lower church. No matter the viewpoint, this is absolutely stunning.

Outside the upper church is a gorgeous courtyard, which is built over the ruins of ancient villages. Mary's Kitchen can be viewed underneath the little covering seen in the picture below.

Not far away from the Basilica of the Annunciation stands the Church of St. Joseph. 

View from the lower courtyard of Basilica of the Annunciation, with the steeple of the Church of St. Joseph in the background.

 This small church is built over ruins of caves, granaries and wells that were used by the early cave dwellers of Nazareth. Tradition tells that these ruins include the house of St. Joseph and/or the carpentry workshop of St. Joseph - so this is potentially the place where Jesus learned some carpentry skills growing up!

From there, we ventured into the Arab shuk (market), which was - of course - closing just as we got there because the sun was beginning to set. We quickly browsed through, seeing everything from fresh olives and spices to electronics, toys and more Santa gear. Esther and I stopped to buy a bag of fresh dates - yum!

Entering the shuk in Nazareth

Fresh olives!

I don't know what the obsession with Santa is all about?

By then, it was dusk and we decided it was time to leave hit the road. On the way to the car, we stopped for a cup of fresh-squeezed pomegranate and orange juices, and said our farewells to Nazareth.

Ignore the griminess of his hands...

Ignore the bluriness of this picture...

The next stop on our roadtrip: Haifa! A port city located on the Mediterranean Sea, Haifa is the third largest city in Israel. When we arrived, it was too dark to take in the full beauty of the city, but we still saw some pretty incredible sights.

Our first task was to check into our hostel - The Port Inn - where Joanne and I had reserved a room for the night. Being the dumb Americans we are, we of course got lost once again, but thankfully the lady at the front desk was able to help us navigate by giving us instructions over the phone - even when we described buildings as "the one that looks like a rocket."

From the Port Inn, we headed to the German Colony, an adorable neighborhood lined with restaurants, bars and shops. The two things I loved most about the German Colony: 

1) The streets were decked. out. for Christmas. And we all know I am a sucker for Christmas decorations.

Christmas trees, angels and reindeer galore!!

  2) The g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s. view of the Baha'i Gardens.

The Baha'i Gardens - pictures can't do it justice

Educational Moment:  Per Wikipedia - The Baha'i Faith is a monotheistic religion founded in 19th-century Persia which emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind. The Baha'i Faith teaches that religious history has unfolded through a series of divine messengers, each of whom established a religion that was suited to the needs of the time and the capacity of the people. These messengers have included Abraham, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and others - most recently the Bab.    

The Baha'i Gardens consist of 18 circular terraces, each immaculately landscaped and groomed, with the very center terrace housing the Shrine of the Bab. Even without being able to see the actual landscaping of the gardens, the well-lit terraces climbing Mount Carmel make a beautiful landmark.

After grabbing frozen yogurt and enjoying the view, it was time to take Esther to the bus station to catch a ride back to Jerusalem. What should have been a 15-minute max trip turned into 20.. 30.. 45+ minutes of us frantically driving around, stressing that Esther would miss her bus. We pulled into the station at the last possible second, sent Esther on her way, and headed back toward the hostel to grab dinner at a nearby pub. By then, it was bedtime! Saturday was quite the amazing day.. :)

Up Next: and I promise it will be soon!! Akko. Crusader ruins. More Mediterranean Sea!