Days Four (continued) and Five

DAY FOUR (continued)

We just got back from Jordan today (i.e., Day Eight, to be recounted in a future post) and are able to pick up where we left off. Our next to last stop on Day Four was Nazareth. All along we have been using J. Murphy-O'Connor's Oxford Archaeological Guide to the Holy Land and have not been disappointed. About Nazareth Murphy-O'Connor writes, "Modern Nazareth is dominated by the massive basilica of the Annunciation: visible from anywhere in the town, it serves as a perfect orientation point."

We have strong evidence to the contrary; leaving Sepphoris in our little Diahatsu we pulled into Nazareth and circled the city (note I didn't say "town"...Nazareth is actually the largest Arab city in the country) approximately four times before we located the basilica. [Emily jumps in here to say that she was so frustrated that she was ready to skip the stop altogether.] This was only half the battle. Once located it took us another three laps around the basilica to figure out how to get in.

Finally, we parked the car. Of course, there are no lots, no meters, no parking rules; you just find a spot and hope the car is still there when you return. Because our car had two large El Dan (our rental company) stickers on the side, our Diahatsu basically screamed "TOURIST," and we were especially anxious leaving it alongside a turnabout. Luckily we were on a mission from God.

Anyway, here is the facade of the not-so-visible basilica of the Annunciation

Once inside you see that the courtyard is lined with mosaics of Mary from all over the world.

The basilica commissioned works from lots of different countries, and we really enjoyed the international flavor. The inside of the church features more depictions of Mary, including one from the United States:
After leaving the church and finding the Diahatsu where we left it, we hustled to reach the top of Mt. Tabor before it closed at 5 pm. According to Father Murphy-O'Connor, "The perfect breast shape of Mount Tabor excites awe and wonder"; this is perhaps true, but we could not share his excitement because it was already getting dark. After zigzagging up the mount, we reached the church at 4:55 pm, snapped some photos, took in the spectacular views (our photos came out a little too dark), then slowly worked our way back down. After this long day, we drove back to Jerusalem and went straight to bed.

DAY FIVE

Worn out from our excursion to the Galilee region, we slept in this morning and decided that we'd head to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity. Bethlehem wasn't on our original itinerary, but we decided that it was definitely a stop that shouldn't be missed. Because it is in the West Bank, however, Bethlehem can be a tricky destination. We didn't feel comfortable driving our rental car, because a) it is plastered with El Dan stickers and b) it has bright yellow Israeli plates (the Palestinian Territories have green & white plates). Luckily, Andrew has befriended the director of the Tantur Ecumenical Institute, which is run by the University of Notre Dame and just happens to be located a stone's throw from the Bethlehem checkpoint. After a quick call to Fr. Mike, he assured us that we could park at Tantur and walk to the checkpoint.

My mental image of Bethlehem prior to this trip was the city we sing about on Christmas Eve - a quaint, peaceful "little town." This dreamy vision was shattered after going through the metal detectors, seeing the enormous cement barrier that runs along the city, separating it from Jerusalem (think Berlin Wall), and facing the aggressive taxi drivers on the other side. Nevertheless...the Church of the Nativity was our destination, and it was well worth the hassle of getting there!

The Church of the Nativity, as one would imagine, marks the site where Jesus was born. Here is a picture of us at the entrance:

That door is not an optical illusion; it really is that small. It's called "the door of humility" - the arch above the door shows the entrance's original size. It was made smaller around 1500 AD to prevent looters from bringing their carts in.

Once inside, there's much to see: a portion of the beautiful mosaic floor from the 4th century, faded portraits of saints painted onto the red marble columns, and dozens of oil lamps strung throughout the nave. Underneath the church is a network of caves thought to be the place where Jesus was born, and where Mary placed him in the manger. Here's a photo of me kneeling before the Birth Altar: Beneath the altar is a 14-point silver star and a space to reach down and touch the original rock at the site. It was a beautiful, reflective place to pray.

Next to the Church of the Nativity is St. Catherine's Church, where midnight Mass is celebrated and broadcast around the world every Christmas Eve:

The tomb and study of St. Jerome, as well as the tomb of his patroness Paula, are located in the same network of caves beneath the church. That study is where Jerome produced a Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible.

After Bethlehem we drove to the City of David, which is where David first occupied Jerusalem. It is located just south of the Temple Mount, outside the walls of the Old City. After a few hours touring that site, we headed back for a nap before enjoying a special guest dinner at the Albright.