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Nazareth is one of the most important Christian holy sites in the
world. It is the largest Arab
city
in Palestine with a population of 60,000 half Christians and half
Moslems living together
in
harmonious co-existence. Nazareth is well known because Jesus Christ
spent the first
20
years of his life there. It is holy to Christians because it throws
light on the holy family,
especially Mary, the mother of Jesus.
This
is the place where a Christian believer can consider Mary’s
qualities: a noble woman,
a
woman of purity, simplicity, sensitivity and pureness of heart.
There are numerous
monuments commemorating different episodes in the Gospels such as
the Church of the
Annunciation (starting to be built in 1909, finished
in 1966).
The
houses the Grotto of Annunciation (when archangel Gabriel appeared
to Mary with the
news
that she would become the mother of Jesus. This church is the
largest in the Middle
East.
Other monument includes Gabriel’s Church
(which is
placed where the Greek Catholics
believe that the Annunciation took place), Church of Joseph (the
place of his carpentry
shop), Mensa Christi Church (where Jesus dined with the Apostles
after his resurrection),
Synagogue Church (where Jesus preached) and Basilica of Jesus the
Adolescent.
The
site where Nazareth exists today was founded and settled between
600-900 BCE.
Nazareth is located between the open space of the Jezreel valley and
the mountainous
regions of Galilee. Nazareth is also 60 miles north of Jerusalem
and midway between the
Mediterranean and Galilean seas
Nazareth is in the central area of Galilee and is surrounded by
numerous sites of
international historical and archeological importance, such as Cana
of Galilee, Sephoris,
Mount Tabor, the Mount of the Precipice, Tiberias, Capernaum amongst
others. The heart
of
Nazareth today is the Old City, which is comprised of two parts: the
nucleus - the
historical and religious core - and the ``casing" - the markets,
mansions, and houses on
the
slope of the Nebi Sa'in Ridge.
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