Days 10 and 11: Nazareth

Upon leaving Jerusalem, we headed towards Nazareth. After a few stops, including a tel at Megiddo and a 1st century Nazarene village, we checked into our hotel. And by hotel, I mean convent. For the next two nights, we had the opportunity to stay in the Sisters of Nazareth Convent.



They are a French group of sisters started in the 19th century sometime. They did not plan on coming to Nazareth when they chose the name, but eventually they did for some reason they told us but I can't remember. They built a convent and school, and they a few decades later realized they had built over an ancient house and the ruins were excavated. The first night we were there one of the sisters gave us a tour underneath the building. It was cool, and Amir loved the ancient stairs. Besides the ancient ruins though, the actual rooms of the convent were SPOTLESS. It was the cleanest bathroom I have ever set foot in. I actually felt ok letting Amir play in the toilet. It was THAT clean. The rooms were really simple, but beautiful. It was probably my favorite place we've stayed. The meals were simple and European, not the extravagent buffets of the more tourist-y places we've been. Bread, soup, veggies, meat, and fruit. Prepared simply, but carefully.

After we checked in to the convent for our stay, Tim and Amir crashed for a while and I went out to see the churches around the area. Right next to the convent was the Church of the Annunciation. Sadly we did not take any pictures of the Church, but it was the grandest we've seen (I took Tim and Amir there later after they woke up... it was that cool, it deserved another visit). The Church itself had mosaics depicting the annunciation/the virgin Mary from different countries. I liked the Japanese virgin the best.

Here's us as the holy family, pretty close resemblance, no?




The second morning in Nazareth was spent at ancient mosaics. Amir mostly examined the rocks and dirt. Maybe he has a future as a soil scientist? We can only hope.







The mosaic above is of an Amazon woman. Did you know Amazon literally means "without breasts"? Apparently it's because the warrior women of whenever used to cut off their right breasts so they could use a bow and arrow more effectively? Hm.

After the mosaics, we headed to a natural spring swimming hole type deal. There were some impressive waterfalls. There was one inside of a little cave, it was a coveted spot so there was a small line to get in but no one was behind us as we ventured in. Behind the waterfall there was a small space just big enough for two. Tim and I both made it through the waterfall, which was so powerful it felt like you would die when you stuck your head under. No joke, I've never felt so close to drowning in my life, it was bizarre! Tim is nervous about water and drowning, so I'm surprised he made it through so effortlessly. Tim exited the waterfall first, then I followed him but I kept losing my footing in the intense rushing water so I kept backing into the space behind. Finally I just pushed through and grabbed what I thought was his arm and dragged myself out. My swimsuit had completely fallen down and my breasts were exposed - I kind of knew this but wanted to get out alive and then worry about adjusting. Since I thought it was just my husband I was grasping and no one else was in the little cave, I figured I was fine. But actually, Tim had already exited since there was another man waiting and I actually was grasping his arm and flashing him my milkjugs. Lovely, eh? Good thing I'm used to nursing in public, and he was probably European, so it didn't matter too much. We laughed awkwardly and I ran after Tim. Amir had a great time in the swimming hole, and then a great time in the grass. Some Israelis picnicking behind us gave us some of their food and Coke. It was a nice gesture, but mostly they liked our baby and probably felt bad we were feeding him old PB sandwiches and yogurt that had been sitting in a hot bus overnight (who knew hot yogurt tasted so yummy?)