Unfortunately I am not going to be able to post pictures and commentary this morning. With it being our final day, we are frantically trying to get all of our bags packed and ready to go. We were out late last night shopping in Tiberius (visiting Ken and Margie Crowell's Galilee Experience store) so I actually haven't even looked at my pictures from yesterday!
Here's a brief rundown of what we experienced yesterday:
We drove to Nazareth which is now a huge city spread throughout the hills. In Jesus' time, experts estimate that the town of Nazareth had between 500 and 5000 residents. Now Nazareth has around 500,000 residents! We visited the Nazareth Village which has reconstructed some buildings using only materials and methods used in Jesus' time. They have people in period dress with the flocks and and working as a carpenter and weaver. You can actually buy the stuff they make. It was a really neat experience to see how things would have looked 2000 years ago.
After Nazareth Village we took a quick tour of the Church (or Basilica) of Annunciation, a Catholic Church that celebrates the announcement from the angel Gabriel to Mary.
We then ate lunch in an Arab restaurant in Nazareth. I had something similar to a falafel but with lamb and hummus instead of falafel balls. It was pretty good but a bit of lamb goes a long way - I think I'm good until my next trip to Israel.
We traveled up to the Mount of Precipice which looks down on the Jezreel Valley. The views were amazing and I'm sure we all got some great pictures. I am anxious to try stitching together some panoramas of the greater than 180 degree views.
We stopped in the ancient Jewish town of Zippori which would have been the closest big city in the time of Jesus. Zippori is known for having the best mosaics from ancient times. The mosaics date back to the 3rd century but still look amazing. They had a ton of them and they have managed to stay preserved over the many years. They were truly spectacular.
Overall it was another great day. Today we hit Ceasarea, somewhere else I can't think of, and then head back for Tel Aviv with a short stop in Jaffa. We fly out of Tel Aviv at midnight Israeli time and arrive back in Newark around 5:30 AM Thursday morning. After a 3 hour trek back to the church, I have a 5 hour drive back to Richmond. It will be another long day! I'll catch up with the blog when I get back home.
1 comment:
I'm so sad my vacation is coming to an end. Oh!, wait a minute!, this was your vacation, Josh, not mine!!. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy days to share your travels with us!! I've enjoyed the pictures and the commentary and feel like I've been on vacation myself. When you get back, we can exchange vacation photos... you on a camel and me on a HOG!! ( Bike Week - Myrtle Beach ) See you soon. Ride safe!! That goes for camels, too!!
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