Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Nazareth

Israel is a fascinating place.

You have the hip and modern mixing side by side with the ancient and reverent.  This collision waiting to happen somehow manages to swerve at the last second and instead create something interesting.

Starting our trip in Tel Aviv, we first had some delicious pita stuffed with meat balls and steak.  Although, it was the bread which blew me away.  Although I consider myself a fussy bread eater, this was the stuff of dreams.  I think I ate more than was healthy and consequentially had to waddle back to the hotel.

The next day, we checked out the streets of Jaffa, an ancient city where King David and Solomon ruled.  Although sadly, in the nearby Tel Aviv, we were reminded that people don’t always seem to respect and preserve beauty.

After that, we went to Nazareth.  A town which has become famous because of Jesus.  Here we visited the church of Annunciation, where Mary, mother of Jesus, was told that she would give birth to the son of God.

Following this, we visited the mount of beatitudes where Jesus spoke his (even today) counter cultural statements.  It was here, on the now grounds of a carefully cultivated garden, that he said that blessed are the meek.

We then retired to Tiberius, on the banks of the sea of Galilee.  The place where Jesus spent much of his ministry, preaching to the crowds.