April 30th – Coast to Mountain Tops

Note: For more bible based information on our trip, visit http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com. For an entertaining look at our trip through the eyes of a real writer visit http://journeyswithjane.blogspot.com.


Our 6:00 am wake-up call seemed to come in the middle of the night – oh wait…those of you back home were just thinking about going to bed so it was the middle of the night. The weather was very overcast and hazy, but we hoped it would burn off. And it’s hard to complain when you have a view that overlooks the Mediterranean. We couldn’t figure out how the air worked, so we just opened the door and listened to the sound of waves crashing on the beach. Early in the morning, some people were strolling on the beach. I did good to stroll down to breakfast. We packed our bags and were off again by 8:00 am.
   
We drove along the coast passing bush after bush of oleander and bougainvillea. Elie, our guide, tells us that we have come at a good time. They have very cool and rainy winters and their summers are brutal. I’ve been here in August and he’s not kidding. Our first stop today is Caesarea. The area got its start when Herod the Great built a harbor to honor Augustus Caesar, who appointed him. It is called Caesar Maritima. It was a tremendous technological feat at the time, and since there were no other harbors along the coast, it soon became the center of trade, religion, and in Elie’s words, the center of the Roman universe.

This is the south breakwater that still remains today.

The harbor and its structures have experienced numerous disasters, both man-made and natural. The harbor and its buildings were destroyed by the Muslim invasion, then was rebuilt by the crusaders, then destroyed again by a tsunami. Some sections remain today and many of the original buildings have been restored so you get a real feel for the size of the complex.  We sat in a Roman theater, saw a hippodrome, viewed the remnants of a fresh water pool Herod had built right on the ocean and you can just imagine the opulence of this massive compound.

Can’t you just imagine this pool surrounded by servants and tropical plants?

Because the access to fresh water was limited here, Herod built a series of aqueducts to bring water from a region 8 miles away.
.

One of three aqueducts built by Herod

Just to prove I was there…

Leaving Caesarea, we headed long the coast a few more miles before turning inland and north toward Mount Carmel. We stopped for lunch at the top of the mountain and had a wonderful falafel sandwich and salad buffet. The vegetables here are so fresh and plentiful. This is such a nice change from last year in Egypt. We had to go 2 weeks without eating fruit or vegetables because everything is washed in water that is not purified or processed. The best viewing point is located at the Carmelite monastery. From there you can see the valley of Megiddo, the tel of Joknecam, the brook of Kishon, Mount Tabor, and in theory Caesarea and the sea. The weather wasn’t cooperating, so we had to take some of the on faith.

The next stop was Megiddo, an ancient town at the head of the Jezreel valley.  Biblical references to this city date back to 1468 BC. This was the scene of many battles in ancient times and is the area referred to in Revelation as Armageddon which derives from the Hebrew “Har Megedon” or mountain of Megiddo. Excavations have found 24 layers of construction. The city was built to be a fortification to protect the ancient highway which was the gateway of commerce between African and Asia. In addition, the city is located along a fault line and also experienced destruction from shifting plates. We started on the lowest (oldest) layer, observing gates, walls, a temple, massive grain silo, stables, and sacrificial alters.

One of the many layers of ruins at Megiddo. This area contained sacrificial alters.

Finally we climbed 184 stairs down a shaft that was drilled to provide access to natural springs and back up another 80. They had to continue to dig tunnels to “follow the water” as it moved when there were shifts in the plates. The views of the valley below are amazing!

We load the bus again and head to the Nazareth Village. We took a tour of a terraced (not terrorist as some people thought Ferrell was saying) hill side where we got a glimpse of what it would have been like to live in a Galilean village 2000 years ago – a Jewish village under Roman occupation.

  Woman and her son at Nazareth Village (top)

Replica of oil lamp at Nazareth Village (bottom) Thank goodness for electricity!

There are demonstrations of sheep herding, spinning and weaving wool thread, carpentry, a watch tower, olive press, and we ended the day by singing “Our God, He is Alive” in a replica of a synagogue. Finally, we load the bus and drive through Cana (now called Kefr Kanna). This is where Jesus performed some of his first miracles.  Our driver Fawsy was nice enough to drive to a nice overlook to get out first glimpse of the sea of Galilee. We head down the Rift valley into Tiberias and pull into our hotel about 7:10 pm local time. 

View of the Sea of Galilee from our hotel room.

What a day it has been. Dinner is served buffet style again and we try a little of everything…since we aren’t really sure of what most things are. No one lingers… jet lag is hitting us pretty hard today. Hope you had a good day. We did!