Monday, July 11, 2011
We get on the bus with our driver Akel and guide, Ghada Boulos. He is a fine driver and Ghada is fun and very knowledgeable. Not only has she done extensive study, she grew up in Nazareth. She is a Greek Catholic Malchite Christian.
Our first stop was to Caesarea Maritima. This was a town built by Herod the Great. It is on the Mediterranean Sea. It had a theater, a hippodrome for chariot races, and a palace. After Herod died, the palace would be occupied by Roman procurators including Pontius Pilate. The Apostle Paul was held here for two years following his arrest in Jerusalem. The city served as the capitol of Palestine for nearly 600 years.
This shows the theater. It could seat 4,000 people.
This a view of the ruins of the palace with the Mediterranean Sea in the background.
Here I am with two others from our group. It was fun being at the beach. The Roman aqueduct is in the background. When built, it ran for 10 kilometers bringing water to the city.
After we left Caesarea Maritima, we drove to the ruins of the Sepphoris. This was a Roman town which served as an imperial administrative center not far from Nazareth. Because of this, there was much wealth in the town.
This is a mosaic from a villa in Sepphoris. I am sure you will agree that it is a beautiful piece of art. It also demonstrates the affluence of the city.
After this, we drove up to Mt. Carmel. This is the mountain on which the prophet Elijah had his contest with the priests of Baal. (1 Kings 18).
The following link is to a video which I took from the top of Mt. Carmel.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
We began the day by going to the Basilica of the Annunciation. It commerates the announcement by the Angel Gabriel to Mary that she would bear the Messiah. (Luke 1:26-38) The basilica is in Nazareth and is the largest church in the Middle East.
The following link is to a video I took just following a worship service in the grotto of the basilica.
This is a photo of a statue of Mary in the courtyard of the basilica. You may be able to make out that she is standing on a snake. This refers to the comment in Genesis 3 about overcoming the tempter.
After that, we went to a YMCA site which recreates, as best as they are able to ascertain, what first century Nazareth looked like. It was an interesting place with a number of volunteers working in grain harvest, carpentry, and weaving.
This is a picture of thrashing grain using a donkey to walk on the wheat and so to break it down.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
We left Nazareth and made our way to Tiberias which is on the Sea of Galilee.
This was our first opportunity to get to the Sea of Galilee that day.
We spent a good amount of time at Capernaum. This is the seaside village which Jesus spent time in as an adult.
The following link is to a video which shows the ruins of a family's housing complex in first century Capernaum.
Later, we went to a kibutz which housed a unique find. In the 1980's when the Sea of Galilee was low due to a drought, a fisherman found an ancient fishing boat. It was preserved and was found to be from the first century. It would have been a boat like this that some of the first disciples would have used.
This is a view of the remains of the boat.
This is an artists rendering of what the boat may have looked like.
We left the kibutz and walked to a boat which took us on an hour ride on the Sea of Galilee.
The link is to a video from the Sea.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Today we drove to the far northeast corner of Israel. Our first stop was to the ancient city of Dan. This is one of the centers which Jeroboam strengthened when he led the northern tribes of Israel to split from Judah in the south. As a way to keep the country independent from the south, he set up two worship places to be in competition with the temple in Jerusalem.
This is the actual site of the "high place" set up by Jeroboam. The metal stand in the middle is a re-creation of the size the altar is thought to have been.
After leaving Dan, we went to see the Syrian border on the Golan Heights. The link is to a video of that visit. It was very interesting to be in that area after having read about it for a number of years.
We then went toured the ruins of a fortress called Nimrod's Fortress. This was built by Saladin as a way to block the Crusaders from going to Damascus. It was quite large and still impressive.
The photo shows some of the ruins. The "castle keep" is in the background.
Friday, July 15, 2011
We left Tiberias and then stopped just done the road at a kibutz which offers Christians the opportunity to get baptized in the Jordan. The river is large enough at that point to provide a good opportunity for this.
This is the Jordan close to Tiberias.
This photo shows some of the areas for baptisms.
We would then go to the ruins of a large town called Beit She'an. It was a Roman town and was quite large.
This is a view of the main street.
This shows the distruction that an earthquake caused in 749 AD.
After this, our last stop was to Mt. Tabor which has traditionally been thought to be the place of the transfiguration.
We went to the top and visited the Church of the Transfiguration on the top of the mountain.
After that, we took a two hour drive back to Jerusalem. We followed the road on the east of the country. The link is to a video which shows some of the Judean wilderness and the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. At that point, you will see that the country is arid and dangerous if one is not prepared.
Saturday, July 17, 2011
This was a special trip which I had wanted to do and several others wanted to come as well. I am also glad that the director, Tim Lowe, was with us. We went to the city of Hebron which is about 35 kilometers south of Jerusalem. It is a hotspot in friction between Israelis and Palestinians because of the Tomb of the Patriarchs is there. Traditionally, it is believed that Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah are buried in caves in Hebron. The Mosque of Abraham is on that site. This has been a source of conflict for years. In 1994, an Israeli settler went into the mosque and killed 29 people and wounded 125. Also, 500 Israeli settlers have moved in next to the old city where the mosque is. To protect them, 1,500 Israeli soldiers are stationed there. The following photos document some of our experience there.
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This is part of old town and it used to be a thriving area. Now because of intimidation by settlers and soldiers, it is close to being a ghost town.
This is a view of inside the Mosque of Abraham.
These are Israeli settlers returning from worship. Please note the automatic weapon.
This photo shows one of many soldiers we saw in the old city.
These then are some comments about the past week. I did not share about all of the sites we visited. That will be for another time. Also, we ate at some very interested places- a Druze village and a Circassian village.
It has been a rich time. I look forward to the coming week.
God bless.
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteI'm looking to get in touch regarding the use of one of your photographs for a television documentary. Replies can be sent to evlively@gmail.com - thank you
Thank you for sharing this journey. I have longed to go for many years, so your photos and videos are most welcome.
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