Under his direction a grotto was uncovered which many believe to be the place where Joseph had his carpenter shop, and where, if this is true, the little Christ must have played among the shavings.
The various sects here make all sorts of claims. The Latins allege that they own the table upon which Christ supped with His disciples both before and after the Resurrection. It is a block of hard chalk eleven feet long and nine feet in breadth. In another place in the Latin monastery is what is known as the Angel’s Chapel and the Chapel of the Annunciation, where the Virgin received Gabriel’s message. There is also an old cistern which is called the Kitchen of the Virgin, and in the centre of the town is Mary’s Well, or, as it is sometimes called, Jesus’s Spring, or Gabriel’s Spring. This is undoubtedly authentic, for it is the only spring or watering place Nazareth now possesses or ever has possessed. It is therefore certain that the child Jesus and the Virgin frequented it, and that Mary came here daily for water. This is a fountain rather than a well. The water gushes forth in two streams into a stone basin, whence it flows into a stone-inclosed pool. There are always women with water jars about it, and the scenes of to-day are probably the same as those of Christ’s time.
Fish from the Sea of Galilee are an important factor in the food supply of the Holy Land. Large catches are common
Capernaum to-day is the city of prophecy fulfilled, for of it Christ said: “And thou, Capernaum, ... shall be brought down to hell”
For centuries the Jews have been city-dwellers and traders, but the colonists are doing the manual labor on the lands they have taken up, though at first they brought down on themselves the reproaches of their neighbours by hiring Arabs
Thousands of pilgrims come to Nazareth every year to visit the places hallowed by the Saviour, and it is also on the main route from the mountains of Lebanon to Jerusalem. Caravan routes from Damascus to Egypt wind about it, and it has always been an important point on the chief travel routes.
The bazaars are of about the same character as they were in Jesus’s day. They are narrow, cave-like stores lighted only from the front. The merchants sit there walled around with goods, while the customers stand out in the cobblestone roadway and bargain. The streets are dirty and camels and Bedouins are continually moving through them. The men wear turbans and gowns, and the women are veiled or unveiled, according to whether they are Mohammedans or Christians.