Israel and Africa

 I walked from Jerusalem central station to the hostel to dropped my bag, and then immediately ran to Jetta Gate of the old city to take 2-hr free walking tour. It was so hot under the sun, yet the highlights were rewarding, such as incredible rooftop views and narrow twisted streets. We visited all four of the Old City’s quarters – Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian, then saw world-famous sites like David’s Citadel, the Hurva (ruined) Synagogue, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Dome of the Rock, the Mount of Olives and the Western Wall for a view point.  When I got back to the hostel, there were tasty free food (vegetarian beef, salad, and rice) in the kitchen. After making some new friends in the kitchen, I went back to check the Machane Yehuda marketplace full of fresh, local produce and desserts that is always in season. I then stopped by the hostel rooftop of the hostel but had no energy to socialize with the hostel mates. What a day!

 I started walking along the shoreline of  Sea of Galilee (the largest freshwater lake of Israel)  from 8:00 am to check out the Old Cemetery with both Jewish and Muslim sections, the Tomb of Rabbi Meir, and then reached Hamath Tiberias National Park, with Hot Springs flow at a temperature of about 60C, with a saline concentration of 36.5 gr. It has three outdoor thermal pools and a small multimedia museum in what was originally part of a Turkish bathhouse and then a synagogue dating from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD, which has a beautiful zodiac mosaic floor. The tomb of Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon is the final resting place of the Spanish physician, who worked in the court of the Muslim ruler Saladin. This revered rabbi was one of 12th-century Egypt's most highly regarded sages. Next to Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon's tomb lies Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai, the Holy Land's most eminent sage at the time of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. Ben Zakkai is said to have faked his own death...

  I toke two buses to get from Nazareth to Tiberias located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee/Lake Kinneret in the north of Israel. The view of the lake from the hills is fascinatingly blue. “Tiberias is one of the Jewish Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed. It is a pleasant lakefront resort, and also a good base for visiting the Galilee and Golan.” I ran into two young backpackers on the bus planning to transfer buses from Tiberias to Golan highlands.  However, it was hotter than other Israeli cities I have visited. I took a nap in the hostel and got out after 5 pm to walk around town and along the lake shore, as well as dip my feet into the lake.

 I woke up early to catch a bus to Nazareth, where Jesus may have grown up, studied and lived most of his life. I walked uphill to store my bag at a hostel since there was no locker in the central bus station. Unfortunately, most of the religious buildings are open only on Saturday and Sunday, such as these sites include the Greek Orthodox Church of the Archangel Gabriel (built over the freshwater spring known as "Mary’s Well"), the Greek Catholic "Synagogue Church" (assumed site of the synagogue where the young Jesus was taught, and where he later read from Isaiah), and the Franciscan Church of St. Joseph (built over a cave identified since the 17th century as the "workshop" of Joseph).  Therefore, I only got in the Basilica of the Annunciation that is built above the sunken grotto which according to the Roman Catholic faith was the home of the Virgin Mary and the place where she received the Annunciation (the announcement of the imminent birth of Jesus)....