The Jesus Trail
Trip Start
Sep 17, 2007
1
213
272
Trip End
Oct 08, 2008
Nazareth,
Galilee,
Israel
Monday, July 7, 2008
There are two hostels in Nazareth. We only had information on one of them but a guy in Jerusalem had mentioned another hostel nearby. Azar. With only this name we stumbled around in the dark and twisted backstreets until we arrived, sweaty and tired, at the Fauzi Azar Inn. When the volunteer said they only had one bed left, I was prepared to sleep in the common room when he decided to open up one of the private rooms and convert it into a "dorm" for our use. At least we had a bed.
The Azar was an expensive dorm bed at almost $20 a person, but it was a lovely place. A restored mansion with a lovely view over the city, it had beautiful hand-painted ceiling and large windows. There was free Internet (no small thing considering how expensive Internet was in this country), an amazing fully-equipped kitchen, and amazing hot showers. Since it was our anniversary the next day, we decided to stay two nights.
The next day we did a little touring of the city. We visited the Basilica of the Annuniciation, where Mary was told that she was going to bear the Son of God. It was quite beautiful. There was an interesting collection of Mary/Jesus art in the courtyard and inside the Basilica. They had been donated from all over the world. It was interesting to see the Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese perceptions of Mary and Jesus. The church is built over a grotto and there was a service being held when we were there. It was peaceful and quiet. Next door was St.
The Basilica
Joseph. This church was built over the traditional site of Joseph's workshop. You could walk downstairs to see the cave and various passages. We also visited Mary's Well, which the Greek Orthodox Church claims to be the site of the anunciation. The little church is covered with beautiful blue/gold frescoes and has a little well trickling by in the back. We had an enormous schwarma for lunch (pita with meat and an assortment of vegetables and spices), and we enjoyed the free Internet at our hostel.
We planned on basing ourselves in Nazareth for daytrips to Akko and Tiberius. But we ended up with another hotel problem. After two nights at Azar, we transferred to the Sisters of Nazareth convent to save a little cash. They had been full the night we arrived but told us we didn't need a reservation because it was empty the next day. So we checked in the next day and that night they told us we couldn't stay the next day because a large group was taking all the available beds. Of course, the Azar was also hosting a huge group so they were full as well. But they came to the rescue once again and took us to a local's house which was being set up as a dorm. So in four days in Nazareth we stayed in three different hotels. This place is not set up for independent travellers; they're all kicked out whenever a large group is in town.
~Travis
Comments
Happy Anniversary, lovelies.
love.