Israel: Nazareth

Nazareth was a highlight for me on my trip to Israel. It's the place where Jesus came from, since we know from his name "Jesus of Nazareth". We were planning to go there on Christmas but changed our plans because it would have been jam packed on that day! 

The important attractions in Nazareth is the Church of Annunciation and the Nazareth Village. The church is basically where the whole thing began. An angel met Mary and told her that she'd be having baby Jesus. She was a virgin back then so I'm sure she thought she was crazy. Then the angel met Joseph and told him of the baby too. 

They built a beautiful church on Mary's and Joseph's houses (not their shared home). It's a pretty modern church that reminds me of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain with its cement pillars and spacious structure.

Below the main level is where Mary's house is. Only the priest is allowed to enter the place while visitors can stand outside.

Mary's house

The church had many mosaic artworks depicting the Mother & Child displayed around its vicinities. We found the one from Singapore with Mary in a kebaya surrounded by people from the different races in Singapore.

We managed to find China's too, which depicted Mary like Guan Yin, while the Japanese one was done like a traditional Japanese artwork- girls with slitty eyes and long fine black hair. I guess every culture has a different idea of how Mary and Jesus looked back in the day, but I'm sure they didn't look Asian because they were from Israel!

The other highlight of Nazareth is the Nazareth Village. It is an educational centre for tourists to understand the life back during Jesus' time. We saw how they pressed olives using the help of a donkey, made furniture and wool for clothing! The tour was very helpful because when Jesus talks in parables, he usually takes reference from the environment he had back then.

Olive press

Anyway, my series on Israel has gone on for quite awhile now! We certainly covered a lot of ground while we were there but thankfully, I'm down to one last city after this. Look out for it on Wednesday ;)

PS: How was your Monday? Shoo shoo blues!