Steph and I spent 4 nights in Nazareth after arriving Sunday evening. We stayed at the Fauzi Azar Inn, a 200 year old guest house that previously was an Arab mansion. Marble flooring, 6 meter high hand-painted ceilings, a courtyard with stone arches and a balcony with views of the city made this Inn one of the best places we have stayed on the trip. It was so comfortable that we spent an entire day just lounging, leaving only once to get something to eat. David L...

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said." Matthew 28:5-6 On Tuesday we traveled for 9 hours on a ferry from Santorini to Athens, spent the night, then hopped on a plane the next day from Athens to Tel Aviv, Israel with a layover in Cyprus. We rode in a sherut (service taxi) and arrived in Jerusalem at 2:00 AM, worn out and ready for be...

An early morning bus ride took us to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. We mistakenly got off at En Gedi beach. After the bus had left, we realized that we were not at En Gedi Spa, where we were looking forward to a mud bath, sulfur baths, and floating in the Dead Sea. Apparently we had gotten off the bus one stop too soon. The 10 km walk would have taken too much time since the last bus to Jerusalem that day left at 2:25 PM. "Well," I said, &q...