Holy Long Day

It seems that every morning is an early morning here in Jerusalem! Today was a lot of driving! We left at 7:30 and drove to Nazareth.

First was the Basilica of the Annunciation, this is where God told Mary that she would become pregnant with Jesus. Inside the Basilica was the cave where Mary lived. What I found really interesting was large art pieces both outside and around the Basilica. One from each country (although some counties got more than one i.e. Spain had three!) Canada's was actually inside with a few other counties. It is not my taste... I thought it stuck out as a brown and green clay ugly contemporary piece. Most of the others where beautiful mosaics or at least colourful. I think some of the most interesting ones were from Thailand, Korea, Japan, and so many others where Mary reflected different races other than the traditional white Mary. We also visited the St. Joseph's Church which was very nice and we learned that due to a poor translation from Greek to Latin, Joseph went from being a builder to a carpenter. Apparently it's very widely accepted that Joseph (and then of course Jesus) was a builder.

We then took a quick walk to the Synagogue where Jesus preached and where they attempted to kill him for the first time. It was neat to see but I'm pretty sure it's not a real synagogue anymore. Another short walk and then we were at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. The Greeks believe the annunciation happened not at the cave (where the Roman Catholics believe) but at a spring where Mary would have gone for water. They have built a church on top of this spring that you can see from inside the church. I have to admit the Orthodox churches are beautiful. Lots of gold and imagery.

On the way to the van we stopped for freshly-pressed pomegranate juice. I had two glasses! One of pure pomegranate and then one with pomegranate and grapefruit juice. So deliciously tasty! I can't wait for another opportunity to have some more!

Back in the van we headed to the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. They had a great mosaic with two fishes and four loaves (the fifth was being cut by Jesus.) This church also had a rock under the alter where Jesus cut the fishes and bread.

I should also mention that our guide has been continually saying to us that "this" is where it is but no one is sure. As he says "If it wasn't here it was very close to here."

We then headed to the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter this is the spot where Jesus is said to have laid out a breakfast of bread and fish for the Apostles. While we were there, there was entire bus load of people singing in the church it was beautiful. But there was no room for us in the church so we went to dip our feet into the Sea of Galilee and we were listening to beautiful singing by the water taking photos when we start to hear other music off in the distance, on the Sea, as it closer we realize the boat is blasting Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean."

I think it really added a layer to the day. I was discussing with some of the others on the tour that we feel like tourists on others' pilgrimages. We are sure some of these people save their whole lives to come to the holy land. To see all these amazing moments in their faith in person and we are stepping in (usually not literally) to snap a photo. It just seems odd and the added layer is that while we are crashing their pilgrimage there is someone out on their boat having a good time making our moment a bit bizarre.

We then stopped at the Capernaum Orthodox Church (as it is more beautiful than the Roman Catholic one) which is said to be the home of St. Peter and where Jesus after he rose from the dead fed five thousand people. Another beautiful example of a Greek Orthodox Church. This one was especially nice because of the light fixtures and every square inch had paintings. It also smelled like burning candles which really added to the visit.

We stopped for lunch... more shwarma and falafel. This is a recurrence of Greece where if I saw another greek salad I was going to be ill. The falafel at this place was very tasty... but certainly I am falafel'ed out!

After lunch we went to the Jordan River where people where being baptized in the river and you could purchase a white gown (it also came with a towel from what I could see.) I decided my feet in the water would be more than plenty for me. Once I got my feet in I realized there are MONSTER catfish that live in this river, like HUGE! Plus many different sized fish. It was definitely time to get out when the tiny fishes were coming up to take bites out of my feet... just like in Copenhagen but this time I didn't have to pay! There were many people swimming in the open areas (there are areas where you can walk slowly into the water and then walk out the other side) with those fish. Certainly need a lot of faith for that activity!

It was then a very long drive home. I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got home at 6pm, although I did manage to get some sleep in the van. Not willing to miss out, I jumped in the shower and I was feeling much better. A group of ten of us headed the the New City for dinner. It like Friday night there because one, it's largely jewish in this neighbourhood, and two the Shabbat is tomorrow so everything closes before sunset. We went to this great restaurant and we sat outside. The temperature was perfect not too hot and not too cold, seriously perfect. My pasta (note the lack of falafel) sauce was very sweet but the ravioli was very good. The hot chocolate was pretty amazing. They put real chocolate at the bottom of a clear mug and then fill it with hot milk. When it comes it looks like a mug of hot milk but as you stir it, the chocolate melts and it becomes a cup of deliciousness!

Time to head to bed... should be another great day tomorrow and our guide promised no churches tomorrow!

 

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