Pilgrimage 2.0-8 : Annunciation

After four nights, we left Jerusalem for Tiberias. Got a cup of latte at a rest stop for NIS16 (around MYR19). Just one swipe of my RHB VISA credit card and the transaction went through. No restrictions. FYI, VAT in Israel is 17%.



A minor attraction along the way was the Caesarea Aquaducts, built by King Herod. There's a beach there that is popular with sunbathers. No cute hot bods spotted on the sand.







Finally we arrived at Haifa, Israel's third largest city, and also part of its food stockpile. The Baha'i Gardens (UNESCO World Heritage Site) were there, but we only could visit a small part. The Baha'i faith is universal in nature, where its adherents seek the unity and equality of all people. Near the gardens is the Universal House of Justice which governs the Baha'i faith. The weather was hot, but it matched perfectly with the hotness of Baha'i Brock, a straight hunk who was touring the gardens with his girlfriend.









Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Stella Maris was another amazing site. Beautiful frescoes adorn the blue rotunda. The statue of Our Lady was located on a raised altar. Below the altar is a cave dedicated to Elijah.





Lunch was at Kalamaris Restaurant, built at the side of the cliff overlooking Haifa. Sherry arranged for the best view in the house. But with the huge window, of course it was bit hot, so everyone started to peel off their coats! We had grilled chicken breast, battered fish, or beef kebab, with typical side dishes like hummus, olives, and salad. And of course we had plenty of iced water! And the fresh dates were divine. Look at how they glisten!





The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth is a very modern church, made of stone of concrete. The main facade reminded me a bit of Sagrada Familia's Passion Facade. The church is split into the lower and upper basilica, making it the largest church in the Middle East. The lower basilica houses the remains of the house where the Angel Gabriel visited Mary to announce to Her that she would be the Mother of God. The upper basilica is lined with multiple large artistic renditions of Mother Mary, offered by the Catholics from several countries. The place was large, but we didn't have much time to explore it.











Time was not on our side because we had a scheduled mass in the Wedding Church at Cana, where Jesus performed the first miracle of water into wine. Seven couples renewed their wedding vows there. The oldest couple had been married for 66 years! The old lady covered her mouth and giggled like a school girl. A one-man video crew filmed the whole thing.







Our pilgrimage brought us to Tiberias, located at the Western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Stayed at the Gai Beach Resort, a typical Jewish hotel that's located opposite a Jewish cemetery that is the resting place of several famous rabbis. Sinks with a natla cup (two-handled cup) are found outside of the dining areas and function rooms. And at breakfast, they don't serve red meat, just mostly milk products. Non-kosher food products are not allowed in the dining areas. And the doors are affixed with mezuzahs.







That night, we ventured out to town on foot. A long the way, a group of Israeli teenagers gave us friendly "Ni haos". A stroke of bad luck cut short our gallivanting. One lady fell down while crossing the road and cut her palm. The cut was pretty deep, and she bled quite a bit. The "Ni hao" kids actually sensed the accident and came to our rescue. Once things had stabilized, some of us walked the injured lady back to the hotel where a nurse in our group dressed her wound. Some of us did continue to explore, but there was nothing much to see. Just a bunch of touristy shops along the waterfront selling cheapo stuff at inflated prices which I felt was very reminiscent of some parts of Malaysia. The only difference was the crowd. Replace Muslims in hijabs with Jews in kippahs and sporting tzitzits.