The Holier Land

It's not really the Holier Land to be fair, just more of the Holy Land. But hey - fun title! We started day two in Nazareth, where, I can confirm, there is a McDonald's. I know this isn't what I should have taken away from the visit, and I shouldn't be that surprised - it's the largest city in the North of Israel. I just wasn't expecting it. But anyway, on to the culture!

We had a nose around two churches built on the supposed sites of Mary's house and Joseph's house respectively. I had a bit of a to-do with an Egyptian pilgrim who swore at me after I shouted at her for moving someone from our group (who I think was saying a prayer) to take a picture with a statue. I probably should have held back, but her behavior was so unnecessary!

After a quick wander through the streets of Nazareth we jumped on the coach to the Sea of Galilee and, much to my delight, lunch! Delicious cold roasted vegetables were served with hot potatoes and chicken or fish, all washed down with refreshingly zingy homemade lemonade.

After lunch we made the short journey to the banks of the River Jordan, which were jam packed by people renewing their baptismal promises. We didn't have time to go in, there was quite the queue, but if I'm honest I'm not sure if I could have got in the water. There were two metre long catfish just swimming round peoples legs!

We had a short stop at Capernaum, the town where most of Jesus' disciples came from, that is now a beautifully displayed archaeological site. You could still really see the structure of the town, unlike most of the other places we visited, so it felt a bit more real.

It may look a dull grey day, but it was around 30°C, and we were all absolutely melting! Our next stop was the church built to remember the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. Appropriately, there was a little pond of fish in the quadrangle.

Our final stop for the day, and our final stop in Israel, was the Mount of Beatitudes, the hill where Jesus was believed to have delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It was a beautiful place to end the day. The current church there is run by the Fransiscan order of Catholicism, and is set in a botanical garden where you are not allowed dogs, shorts, eating, talking, smoking, or, funnily enough, guns. The disruption we sometimes hear about on the news isn't apparent when you travel in Israel, but every now and then you see a little reminder, like this sign.

I would recommend visiting Israel to everyone, religious or not. It's a nation packed to the rafters with history, kind people and good food. I'll be returning as soon as I can, to take in a bit more of it at a slightly more leisurely pace. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading these two posts, I've certainly enjoyed sharing my experience with you. I love reading other peoples travel posts, so let me know if you've been writing any recently!