February 2017: It is taking me forever to update my Holy Land series. I have no excuse.
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Our second country in this Holy Land trip is Israel. After we crossed from Jordan, we had a new bus, and a new guide in this leg. His name is Zohar. He used to be part of a paramilitary group, and he has been to the Philippines to a couple of times. He had a handful of Filipino phrases that he used just when needed. He says "walang bibili" whenever we have a limited time in a stop. Mabenta tuloy sya samin.
We had a quick stop at the Mount of Temptation before Zohar herded us to a touristy center. We met the feta cheese and falafels again. Can't really complain though.
In the bible, there's a story about Zacchaeus, the tax collector. He climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus (he was a short man). Now this was not the real sycamore tree (or I think this isn't even a sycamore tree) but just a "symbol" for that tree in the story.
From this point, it was almost a one-hour drive going to Nazareth. The weather turned on us...for a time. We entertained by introducing ourselves to the group. There were 20+ of us and since we would be travelling for the rest of the trip, it would be good to know each of their names. (I was the youngest, hihi).
No rains when we arrived in Nazareth. Our first stop: a souvenir shop. We stayed here for AN HOUR. I bought nothing. I stopped my parents from buying a lot - one of my roles as a parent manager for this trip.
We had a manageable uphill walk to the Church of the Annunciation.
I've seen a handful of pretty churches: the Duomo of Sienna, Sagrada Familia, and the Duomo of Florence (just from the outside). The Church of Annunciation falls in that same awesomeness level. I cannot explain the inspiration for the artwork nor the architecture. I lack the keywords for art appreciation. All I can say it that it was really very beautiful.
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Our second country in this Holy Land trip is Israel. After we crossed from Jordan, we had a new bus, and a new guide in this leg. His name is Zohar. He used to be part of a paramilitary group, and he has been to the Philippines to a couple of times. He had a handful of Filipino phrases that he used just when needed. He says "walang bibili" whenever we have a limited time in a stop. Mabenta tuloy sya samin.
We had a quick stop at the Mount of Temptation before Zohar herded us to a touristy center. We met the feta cheese and falafels again. Can't really complain though.
In the bible, there's a story about Zacchaeus, the tax collector. He climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus (he was a short man). Now this was not the real sycamore tree (or I think this isn't even a sycamore tree) but just a "symbol" for that tree in the story.
*click*
No rains when we arrived in Nazareth. Our first stop: a souvenir shop. We stayed here for AN HOUR. I bought nothing. I stopped my parents from buying a lot - one of my roles as a parent manager for this trip.
We had a manageable uphill walk to the Church of the Annunciation.
At the gate |
Find this painting from the Philippines |