SUTTON Travels: Israel

04 December 2021

Bethlehem, Palestine

Bethlehem is the traditional birthplace of Jesus. The Basilica of the Nativity is built on the traditional birth site. The photo below reveals the 4-foot high entrance reportedly designed in the 1600s to keep men on horses from entering.

The photo below is of an altar within the basilica.

The photo with the star marks the traditional site of Jesus' birth.

The next photo depicts a person praying at the altar of the traditional manger site where Jesus was lay following his birth.

The Church of St Catherine is a Roman Catholic Church next to the Basilica of the Nativity. It was built in the 1800s and is reported to be above the cave complex where Jesus was born. Earlier churches were built on the site with evidence of one from the era of the Crusaders (c 1100s).

This church is the site of the midnight mass broadcast each Christmas Eve.

St Catherine lived in Alexandria Egypt in the 300s. Her conversion story is based on a vision of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrated her feast day 24-25 November.

Inside the Church of St Catherine

A window in the Church of St Catherine

The caves below the church are connected to the Basilica of the Nativity. According to tradition, Jerome ( Statue below) translated the Latin Bible there.

Notes

Photos are from 1996

My website is www.suttong.com

Google Map Church of Nativity Bethlehem

My wife and were on a tour organized by EO of Lakeland, Florida: Link Educational Opportunity Tours

03 December 2021

Nazareth Israel

Nazareth is a large city in Northern Israel. In Christian history, Nazareth was the home town of Jesus and the traditional place where Mary learned from the angel Gabriel that she would become pregnant by God's Spirit with a son who would be called Jesus.

The photo above is a church built on the traditional site where Mary learned of her pregnancy. The event is referred to as the annunciation. And the church is the Church of St. Gabriel. It is a Greek-Orthodox Church.

Scholars estimate that Nazareth was a small village of only a few hundred people during the time of Jesus. The city is mentioned several times in the gospels and Jesus is known as "Jesus of Nazareth."

A few photos from inside the Church of St Gabriel.

The photo below is the traditional site of Mary's Well named for the place where she is believed to have received the angel's message.