Nazareth and goodbye gathering

Wednesday we drove past a United Nations compound between Jordan and Israel. We drove on past Mt. Hermon which was snow covered. That was where Moses experienced the burning bush. We continued to the Church of the Annunciation where Mary received her commission to give birth to the Savior. As we walked we saw a warning from Islam Qu’ran revealing that unbelief will result in our being “losers” in the end times. The church is now Catholic and is really a monument to Maryolatry displaying life sized mosaics of her in the cultural styles of various countries. The one from China had Chinese features, the Mexican in Mexican, etc. The US contribution was in a 3D metal sculpture and was ugly. Of course the church was in Nazareth where she lived. The old city was excavated under the church. We drove through some beautiful country because this area gets rain. We saw a beautiful tiered garden before coming to Hiafa for lunch. The guide called ahead so the restaurant had our lunch ready. We had a schawarma. Ours was chicken in a pita pocket. I was not eating much because I was still weak and exhausted but improving. We drove to Caesarea and saw another aqueduct built by King Herod the Great. He was a very busy builder of palaces in various places throughout the nation. This one was a port to rival Alexandria. We toured the ruins of this palace. Paul refused to be tried in this city, preferring to be sentenced in Rome. A historic site was the amphitheater where many Jews were fed to the lions and where the only known reference to Pontius Pilate was discovered on a stone inscribed with his name. There was also a large outdoor swimming pool at the ocean’s edge. We continued to our hotel in Tel Aviv. We were interested in going to bed but had registered for a tour of the city by night including a dinner. The guide took us to Jaffa, the original site of Tel Aviv, to see the modern city at night. I had forgotten the camera but the sight was impressive of this beautiful gem on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. As we drove, Anet’s husband and son joined us on the bus as we went to dinner. It was our farewell dinner and in a beautiful seaside restaurant named London. We had many servings of appetizers before getting our entrée’. The windows were closed because it was cold on this winter night. The room was heated by salamanders on posts. We had choices including kabobs or salmon which we chose. The dinner was elegant, and we all parted company in good spirits. We had to return to the hotel because we weren’t finished yet!