Haifa, Israel

Sunday, November 15th
Route of the Ancient Traders
Day 5
M/S Nautica
Haifa, Israel
Mostly Sunny – 69 Degrees

When you board a cruise, you surrender your passport. This makes us uncomfortable. In most ports, the local authorities clear all passengers through passport control, en masse. Sometimes they board the ship and inspect each passport, but they usually accept assurances and documentation provided by the ship and that is that. You never even get a stamp in your passport.

Not so Israel.

Passengers were called to the lounge starting at 6:15 this morning to retrieve their passports and immigration cards and then proceed to a face-to-face inspection with Israeli authorities. As much as we resent the TSA, we are willing to accept Israel’s need for tight security.

The line moved quickly and the Israeli Frontier Control Officer stamped our immigration cards. We were free to go, but Tres asked the officer to stamp his passport as well. “No,” he said. “You are traveling to Arab countries and it is better for you if I don’t.”



Tres’ immigration card is marked with an “N.” We don’t know what that stands for, but Tres has been targeted for secondary security screenings each time he has gotten on or off the ship in Israel. He must have done something very wrong in a past life.



Haifa is a relatively new city. There is no mention of it in the Bible. In fact, there was nothing here until the middle of the nineteenth century.

Haifa is a launching point for visits to the shrines of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, but it is also the home of the Baha’i faith. The faith teaches the spiritual unity of all peoples and that a succession of divine messengers has been sent to preach peace and justice in a process of collective evolution. These prophets include Abraham, Mohamed, Jesus, and Buddha, among others. In this way, the Baha’i faith incorporates the teachings of all religions. The faith’s Universal House of Justice, beautiful gardens, and the tomb of its founder command a prominent position at the base of Mt. Carmel overlooking Haifa. We stopped at the top of the hill to admire the view.

Israel is long and narrow, running North to South. Haifa is on the Mediterranean coast in the North, not far from the border with Lebanon. We headed East, over the crest of Mt. Carmel and into the Valley of Armageddon. Foreboding, yes, but we survived. Beyond the valley, we climbed the hills of Galilee and drove into Nazareth, where Jesus spent the early years of his life. This is a Christian city in a Jewish country.

The most sacred site in Nazareth is the Basilica of the Annunciation, one of Christendom's most revered shrines and the largest church in the Middle East. The Basilica is built on the same site where the Archangel Gabriel revealed to Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah. The modern Basilica is in stark contrast to the ancient ruins on which it sits. It is crowned with a cross that identifies this site as a place of pilgrimage.

The Pope visited the site in the early sixties and was appalled by the condition of the church. It was not safe to visit, and was certainly not a befitting monument to such important history. The Pope vowed to build a basilica worthy of the Virgin Mary. Catholics all over the world contributed to the cost of construction and many nations donated works of art to the cause. The basilica opened in 1968 and it is extraordinary.

A service was in progress as we entered to the chant of “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”

The altar of the main church incorporates a portion of the grotto where Mary had lived. The upper church rises above the lower altar and a remarkable 170-foot high cupola rises high above it all illuminating the interior with natural light. The dome evokes an upside down lily, representing the Word of God as Archangel Michael spoke to Mary. As we ascended the stairs to the upper church and stood under the cupola, the sun shone in and the bells peeled.

This panel was donated by the United States.

Next, we went to the Church of Joseph, which was built in 1914 over the chambers that once housed Joseph's carpentry shop.

On the way out of Nazareth, we passed the central square and Mary's Well, a white stone fountain that serves as a shrine commemorating the Virgin Mary. The shrine is located at the site of an ancient underground spring where it is believed Jesus and his mother came to draw water.

East of the hills of Galilee are the Jordan River Valley and the Sea of Galilee, actually a fresh water lake 600 feet below sea level. The switchbacks revealed views of the water and the Golan Heights in the distance. We passed through Cana, where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine, and the Mount of Beatitudes, where He delivered the Sermon on the Mount. On the shores of the Sea of Galilee, we dipped our toes where Jesus walked on water.

There is a small chapel on the lake dedicated to the Primacy of Peter. This is the site where Jesus designated Peter as the leader of the Church. Just up the lake are the reconstructed ruins of Capernaum, the center of Jesus' ministry while He was living in this area.

We stopped for a buffet lunch at a working kibbutz overlooking the Sea of Galilee, which was very nice, and then on to an ancient baptismal site where the Jordan River emerges from the Sea of Galilee on its way to the Dead Sea. There may have been some historical significance, but it was an interminable hour at the The Disney Holy Land Experience, a tourist trap. Finally, we made our way back over the hills and through the valleys to Haifa.

Next stop: Ashdod, Israel