LOWER GALILEE PART 1

IsraelNovember 2008

We alighted along this busy main road to walk to the Franciscan Wedding Church at Cana of Galilee

We walked on a narrow stone pavement to reach the place where Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into wine (John 2:1-11)The pavement slopes towards the centre for better drainage

The Franciscan Wedding Church

Inside the church is a stone jar which is reportedly to be one of the six jars in John 2

On our way out of Cana to Nazareth

The sights along the road to the Church of Annunciation in Nazareth of GalileeFresh pomegranate juice tastes wonderful!

Roadside souvenir stalls

Nazareth—the hometown of JesusThe Church of Annunciation is supposedly to be the place where the angel Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-35)The church is dedicated to the worship of Mary

Around the church compound are depictions of Mary & baby Jesus contributed by different countriesThe Singapore Mary wears a sarong kebaya

Doesn’t the Mary from China look like the Goddess of Mercy?

There were more such depictions inside the churchThis was contributed by Taiwan

The sanctuary has many interesting features

The cave in which the Virgin Mary received the news from the angel Gabriel that she would give birth to Jesus

This Roman Catholic church is the largest in the Middle East

The contrast is stark when you see the dilapidated building just opposite the church

The streets of Nazareth