Nazareth and Tiberias
The day after I got to Nazareth, I went to Tiberias, a city on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. What a nice little city! I rented a bike and decided I would try to bike around the lake (incidentally, the Sea of Galilee is actually fresh water) which is 55km. Well, I think I got about three quarters of the way around and gave up. I had been biking from 10 until about 5pm. Please note that I was on the road during the heat of the day -- and I heard it was about 38 degrees that day. I wasn't feeling very well. The road itself isn't really hilly for the most part but the first 15km or so are quite hilly so I wore myself out pretty early. But it was very cool. I saw the Mount of Beatitudes, something I really wanted to see because it features one of my favorite parts of the Bible and I stopped in Capernaum for a while and enjoyed the serene view. But that was a hard ride! I'm glad I tried but I wish I could have finished it. I think I was pretty worn out from Petra and Sinai, all done in the last week, not to mention wandering around Amman and Nazareth in the heat. I also THOROUGHLY enjoy a quick dip in the lake.
In the end, I hitched a ride with a pick up who took me and my bike back to Tiberias.
When I got back to Tiberias, I met the hostel owner who was Jewish. We sat and talked politics for a while which was really frustrating for me. Coming from a nice liberal secular democracy, I find it hard to accept the notion a Jewish state. We discussed this for a while. While we were of differing opinions, he still gave me a hug before I left the hostel.
After one night in the hostel, I accepted an offer to stay at the home of a man I had met in Jerusalem. He family was SUPER inviting and hospitable, making tabouleh to honour my presence. I had a great time in their home and we had a lot to talk about. You see, the man, Karim is Christian Arab Israeli while his wife is Swiss with Israeli citizenship (that took 8 years to get) and they have two young kids. We talked about their situation and about my experience in the country. It was a great night.
The next day, Laura took me around Nazareth and Karim took me to the bus stop for my second trip to Haifa.
Really, Nazareth was one of my favorite parts of this trip. I felt more at peace there than most places in this region and regardless of the heat and exhaustion, I was able to really appreciate the experience. I felt more in touch with my faith there than I have in a really long time.
In the end, I hitched a ride with a pick up who took me and my bike back to Tiberias.
When I got back to Tiberias, I met the hostel owner who was Jewish. We sat and talked politics for a while which was really frustrating for me. Coming from a nice liberal secular democracy, I find it hard to accept the notion a Jewish state. We discussed this for a while. While we were of differing opinions, he still gave me a hug before I left the hostel.
After one night in the hostel, I accepted an offer to stay at the home of a man I had met in Jerusalem. He family was SUPER inviting and hospitable, making tabouleh to honour my presence. I had a great time in their home and we had a lot to talk about. You see, the man, Karim is Christian Arab Israeli while his wife is Swiss with Israeli citizenship (that took 8 years to get) and they have two young kids. We talked about their situation and about my experience in the country. It was a great night.
The next day, Laura took me around Nazareth and Karim took me to the bus stop for my second trip to Haifa.
Really, Nazareth was one of my favorite parts of this trip. I felt more at peace there than most places in this region and regardless of the heat and exhaustion, I was able to really appreciate the experience. I felt more in touch with my faith there than I have in a really long time.