Nazareth, Israel: Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation; things to do

Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation/Church of St. Gabriel/St. Gabriel's Greek Orthodox Church  

Probably established in Byzantine-era Palestine, this Eastern Orthodox church was rebuilt during the Crusades and again in the 18th century.  It currently serves Nazareth’s Arab citizens.  The church is located over an underground spring, which according to Eastern Orthodox belief is where at the time of the Annunciation the Virgin Mary got her water.  Water from the spring still runs inside the church apse and also feeds into the adjacent Mary's Well, located 150 yards from the church.


church interior:

well:   

 

More things to do in Galilee area of Israel.

More ideas for exploring the Middle East.

videos c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Capernaum, Israel: St. Peter Fish & Grill Restaurant; restaurant review

St. Peter Fish & Grill Restaurant

Not only does the large and popular restaurant St. Peter Fish & Grill Restaurant overlook the Sea of Galilee, but visitors here dine at long tables on an assortment of delicious shared salads plus their own farmed whole talapia—almost like folks did back when the fish actually came from the Galilee.

talapia at St. Peter Fish & Grill Restaurant in Capernaum, Israel

More things to do in Galilee area of Israel.

More ideas for exploring the Middle East.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Capernaum, Israel: The Yigal Alon Center; things to do

The Yigal Alon Center  

Kibbutz Ginosar 1490, 972-4-672-770. 

"Jesus Boat" reconstruction at The Yigal Alon Center in Capernaum, Israel

A decade ago, a 2,000-year-old fishing boat (from the 1st century A.D.) was discovered buried in the Sea of Galilee mud.  Nicknamed the “Jesus Boat,” it is displayed in a protected environment in the grand new Yigal Alon Center where it is still undergoing conservation.  Jerome Hall, from U.C. San Diego, is documenting the boat.  “I’d like to get into the mind of the person who built the boat,” he says.  “Laying under here for 16 years I’ve heard everything,” he adds.  Hall is currently finishing a book about the boat.  “The boat has its own story to tell in its wood.”  He thinks the boat was built from pieces of other boats and that it was sitting on the shore being taken apart when something cataclysmic happened and it was covered with mud.  He thinks the boat builder was brilliant but limited by what was available.  “He built the boat he could, not the one he wanted.”



More things to do in Galilee area of Israel.

More ideas for exploring the Middle East.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers