Nazareth

On Sunday after communion, on our way to Nazareth we stopped at the Mount of Temptation.  The place it is said Jesus was tempted by the devil.  To get to the top, where a monastery is located, we needed to first take a cable car and then walk up a very steep path, a path version of the W road by our house.   The monastery was beautiful and had an incredible view.  There are currently only 2 monks in this peaceful and beautiful location.  The monks normally only stay for a couple of years and then rotate. Like most of the Holy land, the highlight was a rock behind some glass.

At Nazareth, the ongoing discussion is where the annunciation of Mary occurred. 

St. Gabriel’s church, which claims Mary’s well and also has a painting of the Angel Gabriel and Mary showing Jesus in her womb. This was an orthodox church which had the well in the back of the church for all the visits.

Then off to the Basilica of the Annunciation (just down the street) which claims to be built over the house of the virgin Mary.  The current church was built over 3 other churches in 1969. It is a 20^th century church within a crusader church within a byzantine church within a 1^st century home.  It houses a large selection of art representing Mary from various countries, including the US who provided funds to this church.

The distance between these two churches was said to be the distance of the city in Jesus’ time.

So did St. Gabriel show up at the house or the well??

We then checked into the Sister’s of Nazareth, our home for the next 3 nights. 

On our last night, we were treated to a special treat.  Tour archaeology site below the lodging which included cock tombs, (similar to where Jesus’s body would have been prepared), a tomb of a saint, and 1^st century homes. This was close enough to Mary’s house that Jesus could have been there, underneath the place we stayed.