Day 6, Trip to Nazareth, 9 December 2016

When I woke up, it was all cloudy over the Mediterranean Sea. An overcast sky, instantly gives an aura of depression. It is not certainly not conducive for photography. Worse than the tyranny of a harsh midday sun. 

Israeli travel agencies might boast that there is really no such thing as bad weather in Israel, and there are only different kinds of good weather. But the truth is, Israel is hot for most of the year, and summer is particularly harsh. This November of 2016 had just been the driest in its recorded history, leading to many bush fires.

Along with the long hot summers, the country gets short, cool, rainy winters. We were visiting there in one such cool rainy winter. Actually, a torrential downpour had drenched the country just two days before our arrival. So, the weather is almost like, if not slightly worse than, the one in our southern India. 

Israel receives, on an average, about 500 mm of annual rainfall, with wide differences between north and south, 900 mm vs 30 mm annually. Even this meagre precipitation is sporadic and never enough. Tamilnadu receives twice this rainfall amount annually. (That it wastes thrice that amount is another story)

Today, it was our plan to drive north again and visit Nazareth, Sea of Galilee and Capernaum. All Jesus Christ sites. In fact, there is a pilgrimage trail called Jesus Trail, covering all these sites. Naturally it must be popular among the serious Christians. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair had taken this trail a few years ago, I read somewhere. He  became a Catholic after leaving the 10, Downing Street. I had also read that he used to pray deeply before taking important decisions, like deciding to support Bush in the infamous Iraq war. (I have also read that Bush was also doing the same-praying-before embarking upon the war. Nuts.)

At the Renaissance Hotel, the main restaurant where we went for the breakfast, had great views. The huge windows allowed panoramic views of the expanse of sea, silver line like horizon and the clean beach. Though today they were simply in many shades of grey, it was all simply enchanting. 

Seaside Views from the restaurant

Beach

As I still have some problems with table manners, (in my opinion, they must have been invented by people who probably had never been hungry) I collected my food and went to a distant corner of the hall, where there is no danger of snobby and dismissive onlookers. And yet, hotel staff will not let me take a bite of food in peace without courteously wishing “be-tei’avon (Enjoy your meal!). This is a strange habit I have observed in Israel - people overdoing their courtesy and forcing me to mutter thanks with a full mouth. (It is a different matter that usually the same staff will ignore me when I try to get their attention for an omlette or a coffee).

Food was good

The breakfast was, as usual, a lavish one. Tired of Falafel and Hummus, today I tried the Baygaleh, the Jerusalem Bagels, for a change. They were ubiquitous in the Arab markets of Jerusalem and no Jerusalem travelogue would be complete without a photograph of a cart full of such bagels in a busy street. But here today, it appeared, the Renaissance chefs had got it wrong, they were about as chewable as the rubber inner tubes of the bike tyres they look like. To compensate for the misadventure, I gorged on the various fruits and finished with a pint of coffee. Coffee was good, may have to stop for loo on our way to Nazareth, I thought to myself.

We started off a little late in the morning and took the Highway 6 (the road is officially named Yitzhak Rabin Highway, but nobody calls it that way, as we do to our Uthamar Gandhi Salai in Chennai. 

Highway 6 is an electronic toll way.  They use a system of cameras and electronic transponders to toll vehicles automatically. There are no toll booths, it is like a normal freeway, but your car is monitored with radio antennae, which detect when you enter and when you leave and calculate the toll rate. They use an automatic license plate recognition system also. And the charges will be mailed to car owners later. Thus I had to pay another 30 USD after reaching India by way of my rental company drawing it from the credit card.

It takes an hour and a half to reach Nazareth from Tell Aviv. After exiting the city, it was all deserts all along, though we could see many agricultural farms on the roadside. We saw many orchards after orchards of Orange with plentiful yield. It was a curious sight to see the the banana plantations covered all over with insect nets. 

Orange orchards

It reminded me of a joke. An Arab guy died and was sent to hell. He was amazed, however, to discover lush vegetation, running streams, waterfalls and beautiful lakes everywhere. Everyone seemed happy.  

“You look surprised,” a resident asked him. 

“Yes, I am,” replied the Arab. “I expected hell to be very dry and hot, like a desert. But all I can see are trees full of all kinds of fruit, lots of vegetables and lush greenery everywhere. This is not hell” 

“Well,” said the resident, “it used to be like you thought, but then the Israelis started to arrive in loads, and the guys irrigated the hell out of the place!”

We reached Nazareth in the afternoon and as we were not hungry, we planned to see the Church of Annunciation, for the prime reason the town is so famous for nowadays.

Entering Nazareth

Nazareth

Nazareth, where Jesus had spent his boyhood, is some 3,000 years old. I must admit that I was disappointed at the first site. Hoping to see a rustic, agrarian Palestinian village, complete with narrow streets and donkeys, we travelled on a road that descended into a valley and then slowly ascended through narrow roads into the old city. 

There was a traffic snarl where the locals were honking off madly at groups of tourists crisscrossing the roads every ten steps. Driving in those crowded narrow roads originally built to accommodate pack animals was really challenging. It was an arduous task to find a parking place and we ended up in a place which was a good mile away from the church. We parked the car in a place where it had clearly been marked ‘No Parking’, between two tourist buses, grabbed our bags and set off on foot to the Church. Wandering, I was consoling myself, was at least half the fun. 

Today, Nazareth, the agricultural village of Jesus’s times, is the home to the largest Arab community in Israel (60,000, 70% Muslim and the rest, Christian). They call it the "the Arab capital of Israel". Jews live nearby, in the Nazareth Illit, a modern settlement overlooking the old town.

It was warm and sunny and we almost lost our way through the Souq, the open air Arab market, where hawkers were selling nuts and spices. With Christmas on its way, there were several thousand miniature Santa Clauses, reindeer and snowmen for sale in the souq and just about everywhere else. Coloring the scene were seekers from all corners of the world. 

On our way to the Church

Though the town is a sprawling one, all the sites are well within our walking distance. After exiting the souq, we climbed up a road to reach the main entrance of the grand Roman Catholic Basilica of the Annunciation. The imposing church is built on the site thought to be Mary’s childhood home. 

Basilica of Annunciation

It was here, according to the Gospels, Mary (aged 14 then) had received the news that eventually changed the history of the world (Annunciation).  But the Greek Orthodox tradition believes that the event occurred while Mary was drawing water from a local well in Nazareth, and they have erected their own Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation at that alternate site.

As is with every church in Israel, the story goes like this. The first church was probably built sometime in the middle of the 4th century, later, Byzantine Emperor Constantine I, built a larger church, around the same time as the Church of the Nativity (the birthplace) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the tomb), destroyed by the Muslims in the 7th century, again another one built by Crusaders, destroyed again by the Turkish Mamluks, finally the present one was built in the 1960s.

But it is that towering cupola of the church that stands out, more than any other. The dome is visible from everywhere in the city. It is believed to have been erected directly above Virgin Mary’s home. On top of the cupola is a lantern, symbolic of the ‘Light of the World’.  

Cupola and the lantern

When we go inside and look up, the ‘intrados’ of the cupola resemble an inverted lily flower, opening its petals to the shrine below. The lily is doubly symbolic, a representation of Mary’s purity, and a flower called Nazareth (ancient Hebrew Ne.tzer meaning a flower). 

Inside the church

Inverted Lily

We overheard a young and knowledgeable tour guide describing all these in a good English to his group of travelers who were busy with their cameras and cellphones. I was probably the only fellow there offering him a binaural appreciative listening. 

The church is a colossal two-level structure, (they say it is the largest church in the Middle East) with a beige limestone façade. Figures of Mary, Gabriel and the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Above them is a bronze statue of Jesus. Over a door on the southern side stands a statue of Mary, aged 14, welcoming all who come to visit her home.

In the lower level of the church, there is a sunken cave containing the ancient home of the Virgin Mary, blocked by an ugly security grille. The shrine and the altar are exactly under the cupola of the church. 

Ancient home of Mary

A spiral staircase from the main hall takes us to the huge spacious upper church. Too spacious. Around the walls of this church are artistic murals of the Virgin Mary in a variety of costumes, presented by many countries. Each Mary appeared to be a national of that contributing country. 

America's Mary

China Mary

Singapore Mary with multiracial followers

Thailand Mary

It is interesting to see how each nation visualized Mary icon in its own local eyes. Chinese Mary had that oriental face and the muslin veil, Thailand’s Mary looked like a Hindu Goddess (Mariyamman?) and as expected, Mary of the USA was with a flowing gown. (Somehow I was reminded of Marilyn Monroe). I seriously searched for an Indian Mural of Mary, there was no mural, and instead, there was a figurine clad in glittering golden colored silk saree! Behind the main altar is a huge mosaic, probably the biggest in the world, depicting the 'one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church’. 

India's Mary in Silk Saree

Mural behind the main altar

We came out of the church and walked through a narrow alleyway to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. The Great Chism is a well-known divide in the Christendom. The Eastern Greek Orthodox Church and the Western Latin Roman Catholic Church do not see eye to eye (as they don’t believe in an eye for an eye!). The Greeks believe a little differently and have built a magnificently frescoed church on the spot where they believe Mary encountered angel Gabriel while fetching water from a spring. The spring still runs beneath the crypt. Many faithful lined up to fill their water bottles coins after tossing coins into the crypt. At the entrance, two Arab guys were selling incense sticks and looking after the church. Within the compound, there is another symbolic well just outside the church.

After this, we wandered through the tourist crowd and found our car. After driving through many of the unnamed narrow streets of Nazareth for one particular Abu Ashraf Restaurant, strongly recommended by the Lonely Planet, we became immensely tired and hungry. None of the locals were aware of the existence of such a place. Perhaps only the LP guys knew that joint! Tired and hungry, we chanced upon a Mc Donald and fervently dashed into it. Typical McDonald’s food served by a typically young staff. All the greasy, high fat, coronary cloggers served there were both kosher and halal. 

Satiated sinfully, we hit the road again, taking the backcountry road through meadows that links Nazareth and Capernaum. As per the New Testament, it was here, in these areas, Jesus preached in a Synagogue, taught his followers, healed the sick and performed the miracles he is believed to have performed. This is also where Jesus is believed to have picked his first disciples, -Peter, Andrew, James and John- all fishermen who lived by the Sea of Galilee.

Tiberias, on the road to Capernaum, Sea of Galilee

Whether it is all fact or fiction, there is no doubt about the existence of the Sea of Galilee. It is still there. The Sea of Galilee, Israel’s main reservoir of drinking water, actually is not a sea, it is a large freshwater lake. Located on the course of the Jordan River flowing from North to South, it is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth (200 meters below the Mediterranean Sea level). Even lowly located is the Dead Sea, but it is a saltwater lake, you can’t drink the water. 

The road from Nazareth was good, but it was fast becoming dark when we reached Tiberias. Touristy Tiberias, located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, is more modern and affluent than the Arab Nazareth.  Though the town is entirely Jewish, (indeed it is one of the four holiest places of Judaism), now it is a major pilgrimage point for Christians. Since we were not into a pilgrimage, we just stopped for a coffee on the roadside and continued on to Capernaum.

Greek Orthodox church at Capernaum

It was twilight time when we reached Capernaum. So we just drove by the archeological sites of the old Synagogue, Peter’s house and the Hexagonal church and reached the Greek Orthodox Church by the sea shore, the Church of the Apostles, standing among the ruins of Capernaum.

Murals on the ceiling

The Church with the pink colored domes was not huge, but was beautiful and majestic in appearance. Surrounded by a lush garden, the location was tranquil beyond description. When we entered into the compound, nobody was there except an old monk in characteristic Greek Orthodox black cassock. He was about to close the gates. We asked for permission and he graciously obliged and let us in.

Inside, all the walls of the church are decorated murals depicting the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Madonna and Child, and some fabled Galilean scenes — Jesus walking on the water, the calming of the storm - and stories about Apostles. All bright, colourful and sublime. We learnt that all those artworks had been done by artist monks from Greece. A recorded solemn rendering Hallelujah was doubling the feeling of serenity. As expected of any religious place of this nature, there was a note of request for donations also. As could be expected of me, I didn’t obey that request.

Then we came out, took the car and drove back. One thing was striking. No passerby was of help when we asked for directions to these Christian sites. None of the dozen people we had sought was forthcoming with at least a minimum guidance to these important places associated with Jesus. The skepticism of the local Jews toward Jesus and his followers is continuing for two thousand years. 

Traffic on the roads was somewhat free, not as choking as was it when we started off in the morning, because of Shabbat.  Sabbath is the seventh day of the Jewish week and it is a day of rest. Jews believe that God busily created the heavens and the earth for six days and took a day off on the seventh day. They remember that seventh day every week and observe it as a religious holiday. They go home before Friday’s sunset and observe Sabbath till Saturday nightfall. During this time, they don’t do any labor, don’t travel, don’t cook and don’t write, don’t use electricity – there are some 39 forbidden acts. There’s no public transport on the Sabbath. 

In the strongly religious Jerusalem, the Downtown area clears out on Friday afternoon, you could see many Jewish women with the head scarves hurrying up with their Sabbath shopping. Kosher restaurants close down and even in the other hotel restaurants, menu restrictions come in.  Outside Jerusalem, you are unlikely to be affected; in fact, many restaurants get good business because nonreligious Israelis go out to eat.

While praying is an obviously unforbidden act, eating good food and sex are not among the forbidden acts. I was wondering, if cooking is not allowed during Sabbath, how could they eat good food? Brainy Jews have worked it out, they do all the cooking before Friday’s sundown and keep the food warm with special, religiously allowed food warmers!  Actually they eat three festive meals before Saturday nightfall.

I had read somewhere that marital sex is encouraged on Sabbath days. In fact, conjugation is a mitzvah, a good deed done as a religious duty. (There are some 620 such commandments. So, observing Sabbath and having sex is a double mitzvah!). I am curious, if God stopped creating life on that 7th day, aren’t His followers also abstain from acts of creation? 

We reached the hotel by around 9 PM and the hotels restaurants had been closed for Shabbath. So, after a quick shower, we set out for dinner elsewhere to a place that would be open till late. 

Orna & Ella

Upon the recommendation of LP, we drove to Orna & Ella, a small but original Israeli restaurant in the Sheinkin Street, a residential neighbourhood not far away from our hotel.  It was like a house made into a restaurant and at that time, it was full with mostly local people but not noisy. Upon the waitress’s suggestion we ordered Yam pancakes (very good), green salad and chicken curry with rice. This time the guidebook guys did not disappoint - the food was good, interesting and different. A tad expensive though. Satisfied, we returned late to the hotel and after a short walk on the roadside, retired to bed.