Walking in the Messiah's Footsteps: Israel Opens Jesus Trail

By SIMON MCGREGOR-WOOD
JERUSALEM, May 1, 2009

The Jesus Trail is 40 miles long and starts in Jesus' home town of Nazareth.

Recently completed, its route winds through the towns and villages of the Galilee region in northern Israel. This is the place where Jesus and his disciples established their ministry. It is a landscape steeped in the history of the New Testament and the gospels.

The free trail is the brainchild of local Israeli tour operator Maoz Inon, who runs a guesthouse in Nazareth in partnership with American David Landis, who has a track record in adventure tourism. They hope it will attract Christian pilgrims from around the world and help boost the local economy.

It took several years to plan in coordination with Israeli tourist authorities and has opened in time for the arrival of the pope and an expected spike in Christian tourism. the rest