The Travelin' Grampa
The Travelin’ Grampa Touring the U.S.A. without an automobile Focus on fast, safe, convenient, comfortable, cheap travel, via public transit. Vol. 7, No. 12, December 2014 Illustration credits: Jesus Birth, StoriesNow.com; painting by Giotto di Bondone at Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy. Left: After traveling 120 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary arrive at Bethlehem, finding no room the inn pictured. Right: Mary, Jesus and Joseph during their flight into Egypt, a 310-mile trip. First Christmas story is largely about traveling Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus ordered a “census of the whole world” be taken. This required everyone returning to their ancestral homes to be counted. Thus, Joseph, a carpenter residing in Nazareth in Galilee, traveled with his wife, Mary, then pregnant, to Bethlehem in Judea, at least an 98-mile journey. Though the Romans built many nice roads, it’s likely the couple trekked 120 miles over unpaved and often hilly roads, to avoid crossing unfriendly Samaria, where bandits attacked caravans. They likely averaged 20 miles in a day, making their trip a difficult week-long experience. It’s believed Joseph walked while Mary rode a donkey. Well-to-do craftsmen such as Joseph and his father Jeremiah could afford to rent, or even own, a donkey. Mary’s parents, Joachim and Hannah, temple custodians, weren’t exactly poor either. Flight into Egypt a difficult and hectic 310-mile trip Not long after the birth of Jesus, his parents were warned to leave the country, to avoid him being killed by soldiers of King Herod of Judea.
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