Israel: favorite Christian sites
 

So, what are the best Christian pilgrimage sites in Israel? Most inspiring and most "feels like you can see it happening"? Particularly from a Protestant standpoint.

Definitely the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is the place of the Crucifixion. As you may know, there is some question about the authenticity of some Christian sites, but IMO the most likely to be real is this place. I truly felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck when I was there.

In that same church there is a place where some people believe is the burial place of Christ. However the traditional Protestant belief is that he was buried in the Garden Tomb, which is a few blocks past the Damascus Gate. Of course neither location is guaranteed to be the exact spot, but you'll find the Garden tomb will look much more like what we Protestants learned about in Sunday school.

I started to tell you all about Bethlehem, then I remembered meeting you on another thread, so we've covered that. :-) Please plan to go there.

We enjoyed Nazareth (walking through the old city and imagining where the carpenter's workshop would be) and north through the area of the sermon on the mount and the sea of galilee (don't miss the museum with the 2000 year old boat recovered). We drove from Jerusalem and it was easy. But I would say skip Tiberius itself.

Thanks, that's good to hear about Nazareth. I had heard that it was kind of dirty and industrial, so I was beginning to wonder if it was really worth the trip.

Also, thanks to P_M. I read your travel post after I got your first message. I really enjoyed it, and I can't wait to take in that first view of Jerusalem!

My wife's favorite place was Nazareth. Jerusalem was a bit overwhelming - I'm sure she'd enjoy it much more next time.

holley, I'm so glad you enjoyed my report. :-) I think Nazareth is definitely worth a visit for any Christian. We saw Nazareth on the way to Tiberias, and IMO a few hours there was quite enough. I can see I'm of the minority opinion of posters on this thread, but I did find Nazareth to be a bit dirty. However I liked Tiberias and found it to be a good base for exploring Northern Israel. But everyone will have their own opinions, and that's what makes this board such an interesting place. :-D

I hope your first view of Jerusalem will take your breath away, as it did for me. We were coming from the Dead Sea area, we went through a tunnel, and OMG there it was!! Jerusalem was the greatest travel experience of my life, from the first view to the day I sadly left.

--Definitely the Garden tomb (more moving to me than the church of the holy sepulchre, which seemed political and 'religious' rahter than historic).
--The mount of olives, and the via dolorosa
--The Jordan River
--The sea of Galilee
--And of course, the historic Jewish sites are significant to Christianity as well, since the whole Bible is relevant
--The western wall
--Masada (go with a guide who can recite the famous speech to you)
--Megiddo
--Take the walk on top of the wall in Jerusalem, overlooking the city. You'll suddenly understand the Bible verse about Jerusalem being a "city that is closely builded together."
--Walk around the old city, and count the gates, and re-read the Bible chapters about re-building the wall
--Have a marvelous trip

If you want to walk where Jesus walked, I suggest that you look at the Biblical Sites of Israel and Jordan. Do not waste your time going to all the churches and places claimed by the church as holy sights. Their existence is not verified. Walk the streets of Jerusalem, Galilee and Nazareth. Take your time, read your Bible, meditate on the past of these places. Most of the places where Jesus walked are buried under layers and layers of rubble. Experience the Middle Eastern atmosphere. Rent a car and drive around. A stay at the Rosary Sisters in Nazareth is worthwhile: [email protected]
Enjoy!