Caesar's Las Vegas & Nazareth

The Coliseum

We began our day at Caesarea Maritania, the "Las Vegas"of the Herodian Era. I call it this because it was a place of entertainment and culture, created so that young people with wealth have a place to spend their money. It served as a port city on the coast of the Mediterranean. Herod lived there much of the year, and his administration convinced people to have a good life here. And many did, of course, at the exclusion of those without money.

Like many sites here, it has undergone many seasons of occupation which has changed it drastically over the years. First, it was created by Herod, who was a major builder in his day. After the fall of Rome, the site was cared for by Christian Byzantines. Then the Ottomans came later and installed a Mosque over the site of the church. The Ottomans were defeated by Crusaders and the site passed again into Christian hands.

The Chapel on Mount Carmel

Next was Mount Carmel and the Prophet Elijah. You may remember the story from 1 Kings 18 when the prophet test the priests of Baal with sacrifice and fire. There is currently a Carmelite church on the spot of the altar which celebrates this event. We learned here again the importance of speaking the truth with courage. The view from the top is simply amazing.

A 1st century house

Next it was on to Nazareth, where we saw excavations by the Sisters of Nazareth. About a hundred years ago, a large hall with a big arch above it, catacombs, water pits, mosaics and an ancient church’s altar were found. One assumption is that this is a Jewish burial site from the Second Temple times, and that later those graves became water pits and perhaps even a house. Some claim that it is the house of Joseph, and there is some chance that it might be because the Byzantines built a church on top, then later the Crusaders added treatments that would be useful for pilgrims.

The Mother Superior shared with us that there is virtually no inter-religious dialogue in this town that is 60% Muslim and 40% Christian. Which led us to ask, if the religious leaders are not leading conversations for peace, who will?

The Queen of Heaven, US

A quick walk across Nazareth led us to the Church of the Annunciation, which was built on the site where the Angel is said to have visited Mary to tell her that she was with child. It was touching to see the many Roman Catholic visitors and how they worshiped in many languages. We read Deuteronomy 22:13-21 to get an understanding of the risk that must have been involved for Mary, and reflected that there is no faith without risk.

Another walk through Nazareth led us to a spice house which smelled amazing and has been run by the same Palestinian family for over 100 years. I bought some of the spice mix that we have been using with olive oil at breakfast. We came to a place known as Mary's Well, where Muslims believe she was first visited. We looked at the distance between the well and the annunciation (about a mile) and thought about how hard it must have been for her to carry water every day.

Our overnight was at St Margaret's Guest House, which has a beautiful view of the town.