The signs are all in Hebrew, Arabic, and English - the three official languages. Nazareth is a bustling city of 90 thousand people - all apparently trying to navigate the narrow, winding, hilly streets at the same time. It reminded me of trying to drive in downtown Chicgo - if Chicago was hilly!
Of the 90 thousand who live here in Nazareth, 60,000 are Sunni and 30,000 are Christian. There are literally no Jewish people in Nazareth. It is the largest Arabic speaking concentration in Israel.
We spent a good portion of the second day at the excavation site of the ancient city of Sepphoris, not far from Nazareth. We had the priviledge of meeting and hearing from one of the excavators. Sepphoris was established in the second century BCE and was a major city during the time of Jesus. It sat on a hill and could be seen from anywhere in Galilee. The excavation there is ongoing.
After Sepphoris we travelled back to Nazareth. We visited a place called, "Nazareth Village," a reconstructed 1st century village. It is situated right in the middle of the modern city, so it was an interesting contrast to modern life going on all around it. We visited a Baptist school and learned about life modern day Nazareth from the director of the school. We visited the Church of the Annunciation - a shrine to Mary:
Finally we visited an excavation site literally right under the Guest House where we were staying. A first century house has been uncovered, and it was facinating to see what a house during Jesus' time would have looked like:
We ended the day with a wonderful dinner on the terrace of our hotel. A very loud wedding celebration was going on down the street, and the call to prayer was going out in the city. Nazareth is a facinating place.
Shalom
Lisa
Looks like a wonderful day!
ReplyDelete