Sep 29 – Zippori and Zfat

First stop today was the archaeological site of Zippori (or Tzipori or Sepphoris).  This ancient site is just outside of Nazareth, and some believe it is the birthplace of Mary, mother of Jesus.  It was once the capital of Galilee.  

This site has a lot of beautiful mosaic floors that were in pretty good condition.

A more recent discovery at this site was the Jewish Synagogue.  It also has some wonderful mosaics.

Picture of what it looked like:

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More Zippori
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From here we headed high up into the hills to the small town of Tzfat (or Safed).  We wandered the narrow, windy cobblestone streets and little shops…

and settled down for lunch in a lovely square.  We had falafel pita sandwiches…some of the best we’ve had anywhere.

Then it was over to see the 16^th century synagogue, Ashkenazi Ari.  

There were great views from the village. 

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More Tzfat
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There was a massive traffic jam (due to a stalled large truck) getting out of the village (there are few roads down).  However, Manny knew the town well and was able to backtrack and get us out via an alternative route.  When we got down, we saw a massive, miles-long traffic jam of vehicles trying to get into the village,

We headed to the Sea of Galilee where Manny was hoping to get us on a cruise of the sea today instead of tomorrow.  However, we were too late to catch the boat.  But we did stop in the nearby museum where we saw the “Jesus boat”.  It is an ancient fishing boat that was discovered in 1986 and has been dated to the 1^st century AD. It took them 10 years to complete the restoration and preservation of the ancient, waterlogged wooden planks. 

Art beside the Sea of Galilee.

Tonight, we are staying in Tiberius at the Scots hotel.  It is sort of a destination on its own.   It had a definite Scottish Baronial architecture feel.