Hannah Simian , a local weaver, holding a ball of wool from the village flock. Photo by Lydia Aisenberg

Although I see Nazareth perched atop the range of mountains across the Jezreel Valley from my kibbutz daily, I hadn't visited the town for many years until I recently joined a group of ESRA members, mostly from the center of the country, out and about in the north for a day.

Sometimes the sun shines on the white buildings of upper Nazareth or sunlight reflects off some glass somewhere in town, blinking like a beacon across the valley. More often than not in the winter and spring months a halo of clouds floats over, and in summer Nazareth gets lost altogether in the early morning rising mist only to reappear again around noon.

So near, seen all the time but somehow out of sight, discovering Nazareth anew through the eyes of our guide for the day, Nazarene archaeologist and cultural heritage expert Sharif Sharif-Safadi, was an exceptionally interesting as well as challenging experience. A walking talking almanac with six languages and more than that number of published books tucked under his academic belt, soon to be joined by a doctorate notch from Haifa University. Walking the walk and talking the talk with Sharif brings alive the age-old alleyways, bricks, mortar, arches and heavy doors of Nazareth as one becomes immersed in the ancient and not-so-ancient past in modern times.

Sharif-Safadi was born in Nazareth and is a Nazarene through and through even though he spent a number of years abroad, including studying archaeology and working on historic conservation in Italy. He is not only knowledgeable but also charismatic. Walking in his footsteps through the streets of Sharif's hometown (where almost every other local greets him warmly), one hears in graphic detail about the people of the past, who built what and when and how they lived way back then - whilst at the same time sharing in the pride of a local lad who sees vividly what has become invisible to so many but which he brings alive almost immediately upon starting out on a walk around town.

A great deal has been accomplished in Nazareth in the last decade, primarily the renovation of dilapidated historic buildings, the construction of decent pavements and the installation of street lighting throughout the suk, plus an attractive plaza on the site of what had been a running battleground between Muslims wishing to build a gigantic mosque under the Church of the Annunciation and the local Christians opposed to the plan supported by the town's Muslim two-thirds majority.

The first port of call was the newly constructed plaza from where Sharif points out a number of houses at the beginning of Casa Nova street that would have been the palatial homes of rich Arabs during the Ottoman period. The arched windows, wrought iron balconies and decorative stonework up on high would be sorely missed by many who are not used to lifting their heads or having someone like Sharif point out that they should do so in the right places.

"Nazareth features buildings that are absolute pearls, gems of architecture and quite unique," explains Sharif, and continues to describe the inside of such a second half of the 19^th century building as that across the way - Marmaris marble floors, intricate ceiling and wall paintings in every room and much more.

We strolled up Casa Nova street to the Basilica of the Annunciation which was built over the remains of Byzantine and Crusader churches and stopped along the way to view a portion of the Catholic pilgrims House, built in 1840 but enlarged greatly with funds from the French government, which also paid for a large part of the market place and for other renovations in the town as part of the Nazareth 2000 project.

The number of pilgrim groups from diverse countries was good to see, but according to local merchants in the suk many of the groups only visit the church and then continue on their way. A large number of shops permanently shut in the higher end of the market was evidence enough of that sad fact. The combination of loud, pealing church bells mixed with a muezzin calling his faithful to prayer creates special background music to the ears whilst walking through the narrow suk.

From the Church of the Annunciation (the site controlled by Franciscan Fathers for over 400 years) we went to what is called 'The Synagogue Church.' One does a double take at the sign and it doesn't help too much hearing a group of pilgrims coming toward the end of a service in the 'synagogue church' as we approached.

A marble slab embedded in the stone above the entrance to the arched ‘below street level’ area says in Arabic and English, Synagogue. Another sign in Arabic, Hebrew and English reads as follows: 'According to tradition, the Nazareth Synagogue where Jesus preached stood on this spot. From the late 12^th century onwards, pilgrims reported visiting a church on the site. Adjacent to the Synagogue Church is the parish church of Nazareth's Greek Catholic community, built in 1887.'

The jewel in the crown of the visit to Nazareth was seeing one of the glorious ceiling paintings in what was once a magnificent home of rich, and possibly famous, Arab residents in Ottoman times but nowadays somewhat carelessly-renovated and divided into three separate homes by a widow who bought the property and created flats for herself, two sons and their families.

The lady of the house sleeps in a bedroom with a ceiling painting that would make getting out of bed in the morning a real extra effort above the norm. The artwork on this ceiling shows plump child angels and intricate floral designs with panels around the upper walls depicting scenes from near and far.

"The artist, Salib Johanna, hailed from Lebanon and used a technique called secco, similar to fresco, the colors taken from minerals and mixed with egg. Johanna received a gold pound each day and – according to his demand - a bottle of arak," explains Sharif to everybody in the room – all craning their necks upward trying to take in every tiny detail of Acre, Tiberias, Haifa, Jaffa, Istanbul and other exotic places far away and possibly visited by the wealthy merchants and their families.

In the mid-1980s Sharif returned to his home town from Europe and after a friend showed him a wall painting in a house under renovation, he undertook to go from building to building in search of more permanently on-the-wall and ceiling artistic relics of the past.

Camera in hand, Safadi's detective work resulted in the publication two years ago of a book, Wall and Ceiling Paintings in Notable Palestinian Mansions in the Late Ottoman Period: 1856-1917. He painfully describes his discovering signs of paintings that had been covered over by unappreciative workmen or house owners – such as those that used to be in rooms in the house we visited.

On our walkabout talk about Nazareth's old city we passed renovated buildings that have become cultural and art centers, boutique hotels and some very beautiful homes of local folk with a flare for incorporating the past with present designs with delightful and eye pleasing results.

Our visit to Nazareth culminated with a visit to Nazareth Village, an attempt to recreate the life and atmosphere of life in a Galilean Jewish village under the Romans 2000 years ago. It did not really impress this writer although guide Laurie Hadden, a retired school teacher from Toronto whose father emigrated from Newcastle in England, did so very much. This is his second stint of volunteering at Nazareth Village and quite obviously not too many Jewish groups pass through the place wanting to introduce one to "the Nazareth Jesus knew."

Laurie showed us a beautiful 100 year old olive tree with a magnificent trunk – if only trunks could talk! The tree was a gift from a family in Kfar Kana. He led us along the terraces, cultivated in the same way as they would have been thousands of years ago, to the vineyard, winepress, homes of the would-be residents at that time, the synagogue and more.

In one of the buildings two craftspeople were hard at work, a carpenter and a weaver. The weaver was local Christian artisan Hannah Simian. The wool is from the village flock which we saw grazing in the shade of a spreading tree and watched over by volunteer shepherds dressed in brown robes (the herdsman, a volunteer from Canada and his lady friend from Colombia). Hard at work on a wooden loom propped against the stone wall, Hannah uses saffron and other herbs to dye the wool brilliant, eye-catching colors and is delighted to explain what herb was used for each of her colorful creations.

Homeward bound, the last port of call was to a vantage point on the hill known to local Arab residents as Jabal Qafzeh, to Christian pilgrims as Mount Precipice and to valley dwellers such as this writer, Har Hakfitsah (The Jumping Mountain). Legend has it that Jesus was led to this spot by fellow Nazarenes intent on throwing him off the mountain to the Jezreel Valley floor below.

The view is breathtaking – the orchards and the yellow, green and brown fields of the kibbutzim and moshavim of the valley create a ‘Mother Nature’ patchwork quilt of tremendous beauty down below. Givat Hamoreh, the town of Afula, part of Mount Tabor and much more contribute to the mosaic of the valley of the new millennium – and an even deeper appreciation of the previous one.