Journeying to Nazareth

Sunday September 14

Today was spent journeying north from Jerusalem to Caesarea Maritima, Mt. Carmel and Nazareth.

It was a hot day!

Caesarea Maritima is the ancient artificial seaport carved out of an intentionally chosen poor site by Herod the Great – a way to prove his enormous power – that he could even control nature. The remnants of the original artificial mole can be seen below the water – a truly remarkable achievement.

It is here that Pontius Pilate and a full Roman legion – 10,000 men – made their home, and from here that Pilate journeyed up to Jerusalem – into the back country, the hot, dry, dusty desert – three times a year for the three Jewish festivals, of which Passover was the most important.

And we even took time for a little paddling in the Mediterranean!

From here we drove to Nazareth, in the Galilee region. In the time of Jesus Nazareth was a ‘no-name’ hamlet – one of many that dotted the region close to the regional capital of Sepphoris.

Our home for the next three days is the Convent of the Sisters of Nazareth, a French order that established itself in Nazareth in 1882. Their wonderful convent is located a stone’s throw from the Roman Catholic Church of the Ascension – the largest basilica in the Holy Land.