Up early and off to Haifa to visit Elijah’s cave. I like the church with the cave in it and the dive up the coast is nice.
Lunch was one of those ‘take your chances’ affairs but the falafel was pretty good.
The highlight of the day was our visit to Nazareth to visit the stunning Basilica of the Annunciation which houses the home of Mary and maybe the home of Jesus through his childhood.
The church is very modern, made of concrete and beautiful stained glass. I liked it the last time but was almost not allowed in. This time there were no problems. We were even able to get upstairs to see the church with it’s murals of Mary around the walls.
It’s a beautiful church, well worth a visit if you get the chance.
When I visitied in January I saw a couple of nuns praying at the place where Gabriel is supposed to have given Mary the news and stopped taking photos. Until when I got closer, one of the nuns very slowly and discreetly took out her mobile phone and took a pic !
It is a stunning building, in stark contrast to the much smaller church out the back given over to Joseph.
Ok, picky I know, but the Basilica is built over the alleged site of the angel Gabriel telling Mary she was going to get swollen ankles; not necessarily Joseph’s house … Mind you, the church of the Carpenter’s Shop is only a few yards away so who knows? 🙂
I said Mary’s house… so you’re right. It would have been Joe’s house they lived at. That’s why you’re the guide! I bow to you’re knowledge, O wise one!