Israel

This is the west side of the Sea of Galilee looking south. Can't you
almost see Jesus with a small fire, cooking fish and calling to the disciples.

This is a long distance look at the city of Nazareth. It is a much bigger
city today than in the time of Jesus(estimated to be about 400 then). I hadn't realized what a mountainous area it was in. Guess it makes sense though as they tried to throw Jesus off a cliff when he first proclaimed who he was. We visited a synagogue in Nazareth built on the
foundation of the small synagogue where Jesus read from Isaiah. We also visited the
church of the annunciation that claims to be built over the site where Mary was visited by the angel.

This is looking east over part of Bethlehem. The hills in the
background are representative of where the shepherds were when
they recieved the news of Christ's birth from the angels. In Bethlehem
we visited the church marking the place of Christ's birth. Bethlehem is currently
palestinian controlled and walled off from other areas. We had to change buses and
leave our Israeli guides behind to visit here. Armed Israeli guards walked through the
bus and checked everything carefully.

Here we are near the Garden of Gethsemane with the Old City of
Jerusalem behind us. The Kidron Valley is the green strip in the middle
and the Dome of the Rock (where the Holy of Holies of Herod's Temple
had been) is between us.