In Roman times Nazareth was a quiet Jewish village. It is now Israel’s largest Arab city, though still 30% Christian. I visited on a Sunday when almost everything is shut, reducing the no doubt usually bustling markets to quiet side streets.

The main attraction is the stunning Church Of Annunciation, the largest church in the Middle East, and unlike any I’ve visited. Built in the 1960s, ground floor entry takes in you into the Grotto of the Annunciation, an atmospheric space with an enclosure on the traditional site of the house of the Virgin Mary.

A stained glass lined spiral staircase leads up to the first floor.

This is a huge Upper Basilica with inventive decoration and features.

Around the walls are huge mosaics from different counties.

Outside are more beautiful mosaics of the Virgin Mary from countries around the world, including Vietnam, Wales, and the Vatican, but not New Zealand.

Also outside can be seen the remains of previous churches on this site, and the striking exterior.

One of Israel’s two lakes called seas (along with the Dead Sea), the Sea of Galilee is a beautiful body of water strongly associated with Jesus Christ, who is believed to have spent most of his life living and teaching on its shores. It is somewhat surreal visiting many places associated with him, all marked as expected by churches, but many are surprisingly modest.

Capharnaum is probably the most significant site, where Jesus was said to have taught. There are extensive remains of a synagogue and other structures, though most date from centuries after Christ.

A modern church built in 1991 hovers like a UFO over the ruins of an octagonal fifth century church.

The lakefront is particularly beautiful here.

The stretch of lakefront at Tabgha is home to two important sites. The Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter is serene place on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

The Church of the Loaves and Fish is where Jesus was said to have fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. There is now a modern 1982 church which incorporates some much older mosaics.