Nazareth

Andrew poses as if reading from the Torah in this synogue modeled after ones built during the time of Christ.

Nazareth is located an hour or so from the kibbutz between the coast and Galilee. It was pretty stressful driving through the crowded streets (built long before cars) as we hunted for parking. Eventually, we found our way to the Church of the Annunciation. This large church has a grotto (cave) in the center of it where Mary and Joseph are said to have lived (but probably didn't).


We also meandered through an Arab souq (outdoor market running through various alleyways) where Garry haggled for my sunglasses.
We liked our next stop: Nazareth Village. It is located on an undeveloped hill in Nazareth where an ancient olive press was found. They recreated many of the settings relevant to Christ’s life and teachings such as:

• Showing olive trees
• Demonstrating how a wine press works (with a live donkey)Recreating a synogogue similar to the one where Christ would have declared the beginning of his ministry

A donkey demonstrates how an ancient olive press would work.

One of the men on the tour commented on Garry’s BYU hat. Turns out they were BYU professors here doing work at the Jerusalem Center. One had been to the Village many times before so he offered to assist us with our kids. We were very grateful considering that the hilly terrain was a challenge to navigate with our strollers.

We even received some clay oil lamps at the end of the tour.