debandfredseeingtheworld: Heading Eastward to Nazareth

We left Haifa this morning. Haifa is Israel's 3rd largest city, located on the slopes of Mt Carmel, running down to the Mediterranean Sea. Haifa is a new city in comparison to Jerusalem and is famous for their inter cultural mix of people. It's a beautiful place for strolling along the seaside, it's also known for it's many universities.

Akko or Acre, a Crusader port city, is a Unesco World Heritage stonewalled fortress town on the Mediterranean. Old Akko's stone houses remain homes to local families, whom are predominantly Arab.

The stonewalled fortress.

The Knight's Halls

Huge columns

Templer Crusader Tunnel

Inside the tunnels

The Al-Jazzar Mosque with its green Turkish dome is the dominant element on the Akko skyline. It is the largest mosque in Israel outside of Jerusalem.

We visited the Wedding Church in Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle of turning the Holy Water into wine at a wedding.

The Wedding Church

The alter

The cement jug, that held the Holy Water of which Jesus changed into wine.

We continued on, which was not far, to Nazareth, the childhood home of Jesus. It is the largest Arab city in Israel. Here we went to see, the Basillica of the Annunciation, which is the largest church in the Middle East. It stands on the site where the Roman Catholics believe the Angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to the Son of God. The Church of the Annunciation is the most important church to the Roman Catholics.

The Church of the Annunciation

Inside the Church

The House of Mary

The front door of the church.

We carried on to Mount Tabor where the Church of the Transfiguration sits on of the mount. This site marks the place where Jesus was transfigured as he spoke to Moses and Elijah in the presence of three of his disciples, Peter, James and John.