Major letdown!

We were looking forward to seeing Nazareth.  However, as we have found with almost every site here in Israel, what is in our mind is far from the reality.  I hate to make this observation because it's going to sound bigoted in some way, although it's not; it's just an observation.  The Muslim parts of every city we have seen are filthy, gaudy, unruly and disorganized.  People drive erratically.  Shopkeepers have their goods out in the streets and on the sidewalks along with their trash.  There is an overall messy look as well as a feeling of unease.

Nazareth was no different.  

It is only about 25 minutes from Tiberias by highway.  After climbing back up from the sea, we first drove through Cana.  It should have been....and could have been....a quaint little village on the slopes of the mountain leading to Nazareth.  But as I've just explained, there is nothing quaint about the vision we were met with in every city.  Cana is where Yeshua was a guest at a wedding, turning water into some great tasting wine.  So we bought some of it........lol.

When arriving at the top of the mountain, we drove into Nazareth.  It is actually a very busy, thriving city with a great deal of new buildings.  Right in the middle, in a basin, is the Old City of Nazareth.  It was similar to a Muslim village you might see on TV with black robed women everywhere with their husbands and children in tow.  I cannot even imagine how hot it is inside that attire and it is such an odd dynamic.  Only adult women are dressed like this.  Everyone else, even in their own family, is dressed normally like we do in the West.