Rols slept well in our german "Colony Hotel" last night. Me? Not so much. I don't know why. I kept waking up. And when I did sleep, it was restless. Oh well. 7am arrived bright and sunny, and the day began.
Again, the breakfast was different and delicious. Mutti met us a few minutes late, as he suffered a flat tire on the way to our hotel in Haifa. We drove up to the top of the hill above the B'Hai Temple, from which we saw the incredible port and view all the way to Lebanon to the north and the Galilee to the east.
Then it was off to Nazareth. I was bummed that Nazareth Village, a living museum, was closed today, since it's Sunday. Our first stop was the "hill of the precipice," where tradition holds that the people of Nazareth tried to throw Jesus off a precipice. It was a beautiful spot, and one spot is pretty steep. But it's quite a ways from the ancient town. The Lord Jesus, as well as the villagers, must have really been expert cross-country runners if they made it to this place from the village down to the bottom of this hill, and then up this big hill to this spot. Mmmm. Still, it was kind-of cool to walk around a beautiful, undeveloped hill that Jesus might have have explored and walked during his childhood and young adulthood.
The white, limestone rocks were dressed with wild, blooming cyclamen. Pine and oak trees covered the hill. A "pilgrim trail" begins here and apparently runs through the center of Nazareth, and then off to Cana, Sephorra, and sites along the Sea of Galilee. That would be a pretty cool trail to hike.
We got back in Mutti's car and drove down to the bustling, growing city of Nazareth to the Church of the Annunciation and St. Joseph's Church. Apparently there's an age old controversy between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Church as to whether the annunciation happened in the underground grotto (beneath the Church of the Annunciation) and "Mary's well" (the Orthodox church). We didn't make it to the Orthodox site, but the Church of the Annunciation site was cool because the modern church sits on top of the Crusader ruins on top of the Byzantine ruins, covering an underground grotto. The underground grotto was open (Mutti had never seen it open before), and we could see ancient stone steps descending to the open area of the grotto. A simple altar stood in the front of the stairs. While we watched, Franciscans made their way done several layers of stairs to that grotto to start a mass.
The ancient village of Nazareth of Jesus' day was small, and the farmers and tradespeople lived in simple homes. Under those homes were cisterns and underground grottos for storing grain and other dry products, separate from grottos holding olive oil, wine, and other liquid products. Outside the big Church of the Annunciation were excavations of the 1st Century buildings of Nazareth, with more grottos and cisterns below those excavations. We could also see excavated "miqvots" -- public ritual bathing places for spiritual cleansing. We could feel the reality of 1st Century Nazareth.
We made sure to visit the Church of St. Joseph, where there are several statues and pictures of the patron saint of carpenters and engineers. I lit a candle for my engineer father and brothers.
After buying some souvenirs, we bought the makings for a picnic lunch in the town of Cana, and drove to Sepphora, a town near Nazareth. Apparently built by King Herod the Great, Sepphora was destroyed by an eathquake in 4 BC. For many years, carpenters and tradesmen were hired from the surrounding area to work on this city, an important Roman/Jewish town of the Galilee area. I had read speculations that Joseph and Jesus may well have walked the three miles from Nazareth to Sepphora for the rich employment opportunities. We walked all around the wealthy Roman and Jewish quarters at the top of the hill, including a Roman villa which had the most amazing floor mosaic and the remains of a Jewish synagogue. The lower town was much larger, and is still being excavated.
From Sepphora we made it to the highway, across the valley, and then down, down, down to the Sea of Galilee. That's where we're spending the night. Dinner apparently comes with our room tonight, but I just want to crash. I'm overwhelmed.
I'm overwhelmed not just by the places we've seen and experienced but also by all the teaching Mutti is giving us about ancient and modern Judaism, and the history of Biblical and modern Israel. He knows the Old Testament backwards and forwards. He also knows most of the New Testament. Sometimes his explanation of ancient Judaic customs really adds texture to a story. For example, his lessons on ancient wedding customs really added context to the story of Jesus turning the water into wine at the wedding at Cana.
I need to soak it all in. Hope I can sleep tonight. Thank you, God, for this opportunity. I can't get over how rich this is.
Blessings to all who read this. Blessings and joy. --Mary
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