Nazareth

Nazareth is of course the city of Jesus’ upbringing, and there are a few “holy sites” in the city. It is mostly a Palestinian city, Palestinian Christian at one time, although I suspect that Muslim influence only increases over time. I am less than enthusiastic about the city. The most helpful aspect of a visit to the city lies in getting a sense of the terrain of Jesus’ environment.

Here is the Church of the Annunciation, over the traditional site of Gabriel’s appearance to Mary:

Here is the traditional site where Gabriel appeared to Mary, one entrance to the cave:

The other end of the cave open’s under the Church of Joseph next door:

Then there is the traditional synagogue. As I mentioned in reference to Capernaum, it is not at all clear that there was a standing synagogue building at Nazareth at the time of Jesus. Nazareth may have been a village of about 500 at the time, and it seems fairly likely that the “gathering,” the synagogue, was in the village square. The synagogue that is below is certainly centuries later than Jesus, and any earlier synagogues beneath it are just as likely to date years after Jesus.