This morning we packed up our bags for four days out of Jerusalem and away from St. George’s Guesthouse. Driving northwest from Jerusalem, we went up to the Mediterranean coast to the Roman Empire city of Caesarea Maratima, built by King Herod the Great and named in honor of his Roman patron, Augustus Caesar. Built on the site of a former Phoenician port, its history has included periods of prosperity and decline as it was successively overrun by crusaders, the Mamelukes and others. Its history was reclaimed in the 1940s and now one can visit the former amphitheater, hippodrome where chariot races occurred in Roman times, a Byzantine street, the crusader wall and citadel, and the Roman aqueduct which was a wonder of its time, bringing fresh water from miles away.
From Caesarea on the coast we went eastward toward Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown, where we had lunch at the Holy Land Restaurant, starting with a variety of Middle Eastern salads and pita bread, a main course of that Middle Eastern original, spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, and wonderfully rich macaroons and coffee or tea for dessert. It was good to sit down in a cool place and relax after our long morning of walking and sunshine.
Leaving the restaurant, we walked up the hill to the Orthodox Basilica of the Annunciation, built in honor of the Virgin Mary and the visitation by the Angel to announce her conception by the Holy Spirit. The present, modern church is built above and around a crypt marking the place where the Angel is said to have visited her. Fr. Kamal pointed out and deciphered all of the symbolism on the front of the basilica. Above the basilica, a garden leads to the church of St. Joseph, rebuilt early in the 20th century on the site of what is believed to have been Joseph’s home and workshop. This is also the site of Mary’s well, where we again drank the water and refilled our water bottles.
Finally, because the Kibbutz asked us to arrive a little later due to it’s being the Sabbath, we make a side trip (planned for tomorrow) to the church at Cana in Galilee, according to St. John’s Gospel the site of Jesus’ first miracle – turning stone jars of water into wine when the wedding party ran out. In one of the chapels, I was privileged to officiate a service in which the married couples in our group were able to renew their marriage vows, and now have a certificate from the church commemorating that moment. It was a particularly inclusive service in that it also included those whose spouses were not present with us, as well as those who spouses are deceased. Those persons not in married relationships served as the unofficial witnesses, supporting those renewing their vows.
We then headed south along the western bank of the Sea of Galilee to make our way to the Ein Gev resort kibbutz, which sits on the eastern shore. As I am typing this late on Saturday evening, I am looking across the water to the crescent moon and the lights of Tiberias. On our way down the mountain, we stopped to take a photo looking from west that I can’t seem to fit into this. Will try again tomorrow.
Tomorrow we get to sleep past 7 a.m. for the first time since we have been on the trip. We will be worshipping with the Arabic congregation of St. Paul’s in Shefa – Amr, west of Galilee. Have a blessed day – and don’t forget we will be skyping live to the Trinity Church library tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m. Shalom, Salaam, Peace, don+
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