Nazareth -Day 4

We are started out by going to Nazareth. It was nothing like what I pictured in my mind  I pictured a sleepy little town. Oh gosh no.  It is quite a metropolis. It has a population of 130,000 people and is situated high on a hill looking over Galilee.  It is 70% Arab Muslim and the remainder are Arab Christians or Jews. Nazareth, for the first time, now has a Muslim mayor. Things are changing and the Jews and Christians are slowing leaving Nazareth .

My overall impression is that it is poor town that is pretty shabby. The electrical lines fascinated me.  I find it hard to understand how it can sustain such a large population.

We went to the Basilica of the Annunciation.  This church was built upon the site where the Angel Gabriel visited Mary in her home to tell she would become the mother of Jesus. This church is literally surrounded by Muslim markets and homes,  not the best neighborhood.  You would not catch me there alone. 

However, once inside the church courtyard, it was beautiful. 

Centurian Cornelius bought this land back from the Ottoman empire and built this church over the site of Mary's home.  It is known to be her home as the new Christians after Jesus's death would go to these important sites to pray. Due to this it is reliably believed this is her actual home.  The pictures below shows her house. You can see the stairs behind the altar led from the animal caves up to her home  I guess she was with the animals when she received the news.  I suspect the altar is the exact spot where she received the visit but I need to verify this tomorrow.

I cannot even begin to put into words how moved I was by being there.  It is life changing .