We Made It

WE MADE IT!!
Well we made it safe and sound. The flight was very long and uncomfortable, but we have settled in and are enjoying the trip. It is amazing how hilly and how rocky this region is, almost impossible to build in from a westerners view point, but it is quite populated with new construction happening almost every where you look. Our first night was spent on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Lisa and I walked down and I had to take my shoes off and walk in the surf just to say I had. It was cold and the sand was nice, although there was an amazing abundance of sea shells and rocks in certain places, only telling me that sea life is abounding in that area.


     Our first day started off with an amazing breakfast spread of fruit, vegetables cheeses and breads. I loved the fresh cottage cheese and the tuna/vegi salad they had. Our first stop of the day was Caesarea by the Sea.

Caesarea by the Sea

What a wonderful place. Located right on the Mediterranean Sea, It was built by King Herod the Great who ruled the land from 37 to 4 B.C. Herod created a wonderful, yet seemingly impossible port in honor of Caesar Augustus, it was also functional in  which to accept boats for trading and goods. We stood in the Theater that had a seating capacity of 3500 and is the same place that Acts 12 records the death of Herod Agrippa. We also saw the Hippodrome where they would hold horse and chariot races, Gladiators would fight and they would have foot races. The Promontory Palace is also located in this same place. A wonderful view of the sea and centrally located in all of the other places mentioned. Herod built an olympic sized pool that was filled by the sea daily and then would drain out daily refreshing the water. I (chris) stood out in the stone that comprised this pool, and it was amazing how something like that could be built using hand tools. It was truly amazing to think of what it must have looked like in the day. I have a feeling I will be saying that a lot through out this trip. The feats of engineering they accomplished is simply astounding. 

Roman Road 

Our next stop of the day was a quick 2 minute stop to see a recently uncovered Roman road. You could see the marble floor that they had used to cover the road, there were also two wonderfully preserved Roman statues that were larger than life. 

Roman Aqua Ducts 

This was also a short stop, as we didn’t actually stop. We drove through the parking lot slowly to get a glimpse of another of Herod’s great inventions and that was of the Aqua-duct. It measures some 12 miles long and was built to bring fresh water to Caesarea by the Sea because there was only salt water there. Varying the size of the water flow channel on top of the duct would create pressure allowing for further distances to be traveled by the water.

Mount Carmel

Mt. Carmel over looks the Valley of Armageddon and give you a spectacular understanding of why this valley is such an important place. This is the same mountain that Elijah called down fire from heaven to prove that God is the true God. Here we ate lunch, and I (chris) had my first taste of a Falafal which which is chic peas that are deep fried into balls and put into a pita bread. Lisa had deep fried chicken stuff in a pita bread. There two tables loaded with all kind of vegetables and a wonderful sunny porch to eat on. It was a very peaceful lunch.

Megiddo 

One of the most important Tel’s in the land as it is called the doorway to the valley. It used to be a military base that stored the likes of Solomon's horse stables, and is also the place where one of the most cruelest sacrifice practices took place. People used to sacrifice their children to appease the fertility gods hoping that by doing so, it would bring them fortune in their crops. A very humbling place to stand as you think about how mighty this place was in terms of protecting the valley and who traveled through it, and also in terms of how many young lives were ended in hopes for good and plentiful food.  Megiddo was also home to a very interesting water tunnel that was dug from the inside of the fortress under ground through solid rock to the outside of the protective walls that enabled the inhabitants of Megiddo to get fresh water from a spring. The vertical shaft is 60 meters straight down and the tunnel itself is about 120 meters long. It is about 6 feet wide and about 8 feet tall. As you walk through it, you can’t help but imagine how hard it must have been to make this happen. it is almost perfectly straight and how they accomplished it is beyond me.

Nazareth

The home town of Jesus. At the time of Jesus, there were only about 30-40 families (approximately 200 people) that inhabited the area. Nazareth sits on top of a large hill and also over looks the valley of Armageddon. Today the mountain is covered with a large population of people, approx. 60,000 in all. Standing on Mt. Precipice gave one an amazing view of not only Nazareth but also the valley. This is the point they believe that Jesus as going to be tossed off the cliff because of what he had preached to his home town. Our trip to Nazareth was short, but while there we did see the only spring for the town that was an original spring from His day. It now has a Greek orthodox church built over it, (which is common for most, if not all of the holly sites) but we were still able to see the running spring and marvel at the art of the old church.

Scotts Hotel 

This our home for the next three nights. Located on the Sea of Galilee we will be able to spend three full days here in Galilee seeing the various places that Jesus taught and spent time. We will take a boat ride tomorrow on the sea and spend time talking about Jesus’s ministry.