World Cruise Day 110/152 - Haifa, Israel - Nazareth, Galilee, Beatitudes, River Jordan - a walk through biblical history

Cruise day: 110/152

Ports days: 50
Sea days: 60
Countries: 19
Continents: 5
Ports: 37

Today was another busy day.  Lucky for us, the weather continued to cooperate with partly to mostly sunny skies and temperatures pushing 70 - Perfect for exploring.

We docked this morning in Haifa, about 70 miles north of Ashdod, where we were docked yesterday.  We will be here for two days and have extensive excursions planned for both days.

Haifa is a busy port servicing cruise ships as well as commercial and military vessels.

We boarded bus #8 and were off to Nazareth.  It is always interesting looking at the sights along the way.

A massive cemetery

Some of the roundabouts had art in the middle.

After about an hour, we arrived in Nazareth - the place where Jesus spent his youth.  After parking the bus, we took a short walk up the hill to the Basilica of the Annunciation.  This church is believed to be located on the spot where the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and announced that she would conceive and bear the Son of God, Jesus. The church was consecrated in 1969 after the previous church was torn down.

Mosaics from many countries adorned the courtyard outside the church's main entrance

This side door represented the old testament

The main door represented the new testament

The ceiling over the entry was inlaid

This area was left open, exposing the lower area from earlier years

We ascended to the second level where a mass was in progress

Several bees were working hard gathering nectar

We walked a few paces up to the Church of St. Joseph.  Tradition states that this church was built over the carpentry workshop of Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary, although there is nothing that really supports that assertion. We passed a few displays along the way.

After a very short walk, we arrived at the church.

This is not trash left behind by some inconsiderate tourist - these pieces of paper have prayers written on them and they are left behind

We walked back down the hill to our bus.  Along the way, we took in a couple of sights.

Nazareth's answer to KFC (although we saw many actual KFC restaurants)

A local girl feeding the pigeons

Not sure what specifically this religious facility was but it looked cool

As we left Nazareth, we drove through Kanna where Jesus performed his first miracle, changing water into wine.

Our next stop was the Church of the Beatitudes on the Mount of the Beatitudes.  The beatitudes were all listed on individual stones on the walk into the church as well as being listed in their entirety.

The church is eight-sided, with each side representing one of the eight beatitudes.  The church overlooks the Sea of Galilee. While the actual site of the sermon on the mount is believed to be a short distance away and closer to the Sea of Galilee, this is essentially where Jesus delivered the Beatitudes during that famous sermon to throngs of the faithful.

Arlona, looking amazing as ever

Overlooking the Sea of Galilee

This mosaic representing the loaves and fishes was on the way out, foreshadowing one of our upcoming stops

Our next stop was Tabgha Benedictine Monastery.  Huh?  This doesn't ring any bells?  Well, this place has some significance as it is widely regarded as the spot where Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes. It is now the home of the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes along with the monastery.

The church is quite simple.  This was actually a defense mechanism as if there is nothing worth looting, there is no reason to attack the church.

The altar with a mosaic floor depicting the loaves and fishes - the rock directly beneath the altar is where Jesus stood when he performed the miracle

All over this area, Israelis grow bananas.  This is a look into a huge netted area to protect the bananas from the millions (no exaggeration) of migratory birds that stop here on their annual migration north or south.

We had a nice lunch at a local restaurant for a change.  Most of our lunches have been at chain hotels like Marriotts.  This was a local place that did a terrific job serving whole fish, fish fillets, and chicken along with hummus, salad, pita, and more.  It was very nice.

On the way to the next stop, we passed the birthplace of Mary Magdalene.  There is a town named Migdal and a church called Magdala's Chapel to mark the locations.

Our next stop was at Yardenit - the baptismal site on the River Jordan.

Arlona, getting her first touch of the River Jordan

As we prepared to leave, we needed to turn left.  Traffic wouldn't cooperate so our driver turned right and we wound up being treated to a drive all the way around the Sea of Galilee - not a bad outcome!

Our guide pointed out that at one point, we could see Israel, specifically the Golan Heights on the left, Syria straight ahead (like in this photo), and Jordan to the right.

The Golan Heights

This statue was a gift from Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat as he expected to be fishing n the Sea of Galilee - obviously, that didn't work out so well

We passed over the River Jordan again - the river flows through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea

Our final stop of the day was Capharnaum, a town where Jesus spent much of his adult life.  This is the place where he healed the crippled man and told him to pick up his mat and walk.  Five of the disciples Jesus chose, Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew, came from this town. 

There is a synagogue here, built in the 4th or 5th century AD.

Between the synagogue and the Sea of Galilee, a residential area existed.  The church has been built upon the ruins of that residential area.

In the center of the church, there is a viewing window on the floor showing the ruins below

The church is just up from the Sea of Galilee.  The Sea of Galilee is the lowest freshwater lake in the world, and the second-lowest body of water in the world after the Dead Sea.  The River Jordan flows from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea.

The color difference was exactly as you see it here - blue, then green

Arlona, checking out the chilly Sea of Galilee waters

An egret flew by as we were at the water's edge

As we drove back to the ship, our guide pointed to this hill as the actual location where the Sermon on the Mount happened, a short distance from the Church of the Beatitudes

We arrived back in Haifa

It was a long day, but a good day.  Walking through history is a humbling experience.  Standing in places where Jesus stood along with countless others really delivers a strange feeling.

Tomorrow, we will travel to Caesarea, Tel Aviv, and Jaffa.  It will be another early, and long day in Israel.