Wednesday -Foot tour of Nazareth and on to Jaffa

We were up and checked out of our hotel by 8:30 to begin a foot tour of the









old town of Nazareth.  Our first stop was in front of our hotel right next the the Church of the Annunciation. Here we read the scriptures relating to Mary learning that she will give birth to Jesus.   The second stop was at a work of art on a wall depicting Ofer Prison and symbolic depiction of the wall and the mothers who wait for their children to be released.

The next stop was the Bascilica.To get there we wandered through a market area that had been deserted during our evening walks.

The Bascilica is a magnificent structure that was built over the top of what was believed to be Mary's home. We then walked to the Greek Catholic church which is believed to have been built on the sites of the synagogue where Jesus read from Isaiah and proclaimed that the scriptures have been fulfilled today before you. We celebrated with a reading and a song from Jim and Jean- "The Spirit of the Lord".
Then Omar took us into the sanctuary where he explained two of the icons.

Then we were back in the bus headed for Tel Aviv and Jaffa.  We drove along the beach of the Mediterranean and were reminded that families who live in the Westbank are not allowed to visit the ocean,  They cannot get a permit to travel outside the Westbank.

We enjoyed a 'pizza' lunch then took a tour on foot around St Peter's Church in Jaffa.  A lovely walk with lots of stairs.  Omar spoke of how this area had been populated by Palestinians before 1948,  now Palestinians are not allowed to live in Jaffa. Their homes were confiscated and in this area were taken over by the artistic community.   St Peter's Church is attended by a Palestinian Christian community's that lives outside of Jaffa.

Then we were back on the bus headed to Bethlehem where we will spend the next three nights. It is about an hour drive depending on traffic, it is only 2:55 as I write this, we will see when we arrive. The road is a divided highway with 2 lanes each way.

We arrived in Bethlehem at 3:30, then made a quick shopping stop then onto our hotel The Star Bethlehem.  It is an 8 story hotel with ok rooms, small but fully supplied including WiFi in our rooms.  Dinner on the 8th floor then to bed.