Nazareth Village

Typical shopkeeper in Nazareth.

Becky going in to one of the many local eateries.

We learned to appreciate Falafel and Schwarma for lunch almost daily. It is the Middle Eastern version of our MacDonald's. Falafel was pita bread stuffed with salads, spices, and fried chickpeas. Schwarma was the same but studffed with some kind of meat, either lamb, chicken or beef. You can see the Schwarma meat rotating in the background of this eatery.

After lunch we drove through modern day Nazareth and on to the local YMCA where they have a beautiful recreation of village life during the time of Christ. Thew YMCA was built on land that had been an ancient vineyard.

We entered the village through an ancient "eye of the needle", a door within a door, which was typical of the time. How that spoke to my heart of the need to humble oneself to be able to enter the true Door, for one must bow or kneel to go in.

The first sight was that of a carpenter's shop.

Olive trees were other constatnt companions on this pilgrimage. It is against the law to dig them up in Israel. When cut down they will sprout new life and are thus almost impervious to destruction. Also, as Yael, a dear friend of our tour leader Gayle, shared, new trees can be started easily by simply sticking a cut off branch into good soil! What a picture of Christ's life, the church springing forth from his death, the resurrection of life, and the emerging and spreading forth of the church! This land truly cries out in a language of allegory and prophecy!