Nazareth

     I don't feel very organized about the information I've been sharing. It is difficult to find time to explain and even more difficult to have the energy. We are at breakfast by 6:30 every morning and out walking in the sweat-fest heat until lunch. We stop and taste something awful and then walk some more until about 4:00 when we return to the hotel. Every time I access this blog I have to click around aimlessly until I figure out how to change the Hebrew letters into English. But for the moment, I've got it working and I have lots to tell.
     Today is sabbath and almost everything is closed. Traffic is low and our breakfast was made up of things prepared yesterday. It was fun to participate in the culture a little.
     This morning we began in Nazareth, Jesus's hometown. Today, it is a large city that is actually made up of two cities, Nazareth and Nazareth-Elit. The second part was added for Eastern European Jews who came to Israel in the hmm 40s or 50s? The original section is made up of 70% Muslims and 30% Christians (Roman Catholics and Greek Orthodox). To get there we drove down off Mount Carmel and then back up,up, up another where Nazareth sits. To travel here on foot in biblical times must have been brutal. It is hard to imagine Mary taking that walk at 9 months pregnant.We visited the Church of the Annunciation, St. Joseph's Church, and the Church of the Synagogue.
     Everywhere we have been has layers, just like Tel Aviv. Generally, the locations are traditionally held to be the site of important biblical events so a church is built there. The first layer is Byzantine, about 1100 AD? with mosaic floors still intact in many cases. The next layer is Crusader. On top is the modern church which is usually pretty impressive. We were not allowed to wear shorts or show our shoulders today.
     The Church of the Annunciation is enormous. In the courtyard outside are mosaics and paintings of Mary and Jesus from Catholic churches all over the world. It is interesting to see that everyone pictures Mary like themselves. African countries have Mary with darker skin, Asian countries have slanted eyes, and everyone puts her in clothes from their culture. There was a joke about the American Mary resembling Hilary Clinton that was quickly struck down as blasphemy. The most expensive and extravagant was from Japan and was housed inside the church. We couldn't tell at first, but if you take a picture and zoom in on a section of Mary's kimono, you see that the white color is made of pearls and decorated with real gold flowers.
     Next to the Church of the Annunciation is St. Joseph's Church, traditionally located over Joseph's home. We had to go downstairs because of the layers to see the remains of the grotto that are believed to be where Joseph lived. There is evidence of a mikvah, a place for ritual baths for Jewish men to purify themselves. There was also a staircase and a water cistern. Even if the tradition is incorrect about Joseph, it is obvious that someone lived here and interesting to picture Jesus living somewhere similar.
     After walking through another market, we came to the Church of the Synagogue. I was very confused about the layers here. The location is traditionally the place where the Synagogue at which Jesus would have studied as a child and preached before getting mobbed out of town. However, that structure is no longer there. The place we entered was a modern building, I think created to symbolize the old synagogue. This was built on top of a Crusader church, the floor of which was still present. Confused yet? Me too.
     That was only the first part of our adventures today. I'd love to get some comments so I can hear from you all. Dad, go down to the air hockey table. Jacob, dirt is hard to find, everything is built on top of something. I went with chicken for lunch. I was pretty psyched to see a french fry. The bus and the mountains and the crazy traffic are not my tummy's friends.