After the whirlwind trip through Ashdod, Jerusalem and the surrounding areas yesterday, our guide met the ship in Haifa today to do it all over again. I still can’t believe how much we managed to see in the span of one day.
Further down the road, we arrived in Nazareth where the Church of the Annunciation sits. Of all the religious sites we’ve visited thus far, this church is my favorite for many reasons. One being that it’s much less touristy than Jerusalem and has only a few visitors around. Another reason is that it is the most REAL. Everything in Jerusalem has been built upon for years by other generations. The guides say “this was where the last supper took place. BUT, the Romans built on top of it and then there was a mosque built on top of that.” It lost a lot of its authenticity with me. The Church of the Annunciation is very different – after you walk in, you have to go down the stairs and there is the cave where the Virgin Mary lived and where she was told that she would be giving birth to a baby boy (hence, the Annunciation). The church just had a feeling about it and it was genuine and REAL. I could see the cave and put it together with the story – it was palpable. We walked through both the area where the cave was and then upstairs and the Church itself, before exiting into the area that connects the Church of the Annunciation with St. Joseph’s church, which is much smaller but still loaded with history.
The choir was rehearsing in St. Joseph’s church, so we quietly made our way below the church where some of the Jewish baths are as well as an area that they are still uncovering, and they believe are some of the carpenter’s workshops. Avi (our guide) told us the history of the baths and the workshops, and it was such a quiet and holy place- it allowed you to actually connect with the surroundings and the stories that go along with them, instead of just “seeing” them. After looking around, we exited the church and visited the ruins that run underneath and along the exterior of the Church of the Annunciation, before piling back into the minivan to get to Yardenit (the baptismal site/River Jordan).
After Capernaum, we stopped at Tabgha, which is where Jesus did the multiplication of bread and fish for the feeding of the five thousand, as well as the fourth resurrection appearance of Jesus. Tabgha was the most unassuming and quiet place, I never would have imagine that it was such a holy site - one of the many reasons why Nazareth is my favorite (over Jerusalem).
The last stop of the day was the most beautiful and the most holy of all the places we went throughout the two days in Israel. The Mount of Beatitudes is the location of the Sermon on the Mount. Now, it is home to a beautiful church that has a gorgeous view and is surrounded by pristine gardens. I don’t even know how to put into words how incredible it was – between the view and the sense of peace that you feel – it’s a perfect spot for an afternoon stroll or a place to think and clear your head.
The Baha’i Gardens were the closest spot to the ship, so we stopped there first. You can’t go down into the gardens at this time of year, but there are beautiful photos to be taken of the grounds. My favorite thing about the gardens? Getting the chance to see how they mow the lawn! Since the gardens are built on a slope, it takes two guys to do the job. One guy is pushing the mower while the other is pulling a rope attached to the mower to keep it up. So cool!
Further down the road, we arrived in Nazareth where the Church of the Annunciation sits. Of all the religious sites we’ve visited thus far, this church is my favorite for many reasons. One being that it’s much less touristy than Jerusalem and has only a few visitors around. Another reason is that it is the most REAL. Everything in Jerusalem has been built upon for years by other generations. The guides say “this was where the last supper took place. BUT, the Romans built on top of it and then there was a mosque built on top of that.” It lost a lot of its authenticity with me. The Church of the Annunciation is very different – after you walk in, you have to go down the stairs and there is the cave where the Virgin Mary lived and where she was told that she would be giving birth to a baby boy (hence, the Annunciation). The church just had a feeling about it and it was genuine and REAL. I could see the cave and put it together with the story – it was palpable. We walked through both the area where the cave was and then upstairs and the Church itself, before exiting into the area that connects the Church of the Annunciation with St. Joseph’s church, which is much smaller but still loaded with history.
The choir was rehearsing in St. Joseph’s church, so we quietly made our way below the church where some of the Jewish baths are as well as an area that they are still uncovering, and they believe are some of the carpenter’s workshops. Avi (our guide) told us the history of the baths and the workshops, and it was such a quiet and holy place- it allowed you to actually connect with the surroundings and the stories that go along with them, instead of just “seeing” them. After looking around, we exited the church and visited the ruins that run underneath and along the exterior of the Church of the Annunciation, before piling back into the minivan to get to Yardenit (the baptismal site/River Jordan).
At Yardenit, they have built an onsite “tourist” type center, where folks can come in and pay to be baptized (they even give you the white robes) in the River Jordan. It is a stunning spot surrounded by nature and I was shocked at how peaceful it was considering all the people that were there. Along the water, there is the main point of entry into the water where people can enter the river and be baptized, plus other staircases leading down into the water where you can go in on your own. Unfortunately, we didn’t know we were coming to the site, so we didn’t dress appropriately, but we went into the water anyway and soon TONS of little guppy fish (and one huge catfish!) came up to our feet and started nibbling (tickling!) our feet. Maja and I couldn’t help but laugh like crazy because it was so ticklish. Natallia was scared to death of the fish, so she didn’t get into the water with us. Maja and I spent a good 15 minutes just staring at the fish as they came up to us and nibbled away – luckily one of the other girls grabbed my camera and took several shots of us. When Avi finally pulled us out of the water, we took a glance at the gift shop (selling bottles of Holy Water and empty bottles that you can fill on your own) and headed out.
Capernaum was a small fishing village and was the hometown of the apostles Simon, Peter, Andrew, James and John. Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum as well and “healed a man who had the spirit of an unclean devil”. The town of Capernaum was very small with only one church still standing and they actually started a service in there about 10 minutes after we arrived. The church is round and built with windows all the way around right in the middle of the ruins of the old town. This was probably my least favorite spots of all that we saw.
The last stop of the day was the most beautiful and the most holy of all the places we went throughout the two days in Israel. The Mount of Beatitudes is the location of the Sermon on the Mount. Now, it is home to a beautiful church that has a gorgeous view and is surrounded by pristine gardens. I don’t even know how to put into words how incredible it was – between the view and the sense of peace that you feel – it’s a perfect spot for an afternoon stroll or a place to think and clear your head.
Overall, Israel is soaked in religious and historical value and I’ve enjoyed all of my time (so far) here. The only thing left to do on my “Israel Bucket List”? The Dead Sea!
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