Israel Day 12 - Coastal Plain & Last Day

It's only right that our last day of the trip was rainy and windy! I've also now officially determined that my rain jacket is actually a windbreaker...classic. Anyway, this day was still incredible and a fantastic way to end our journey around Israel!

Our first stop took us to Megiddo, the city that has been destroyed and rebuilt 25 times! That means it's arguably the most complicated and interesting archaeological site in Israel. It sits the Valley of Armageddon, a key location for farming and trade, which is why people are constantly fighting over its control throughout history. It was an incredible depiction of a tell! When we started at the bottom, we were at the 2nd(ish) century, and by the time we reached the top, we had spanned a thousand years!

A sacrificial altar from the Late Bronze Age (before King David)

Feeding trough (manger) for animals in the storehouse

This is probably the same type of manger Jesus was born in

For lunch, we went to the Druze village of Daliat El-Carmel for a traditional falafel and schnitzel meal. Falafel is basically ground chickpeas and spices rolled into a ball and fried (very good), and schnitzel ~seems~ like ground chicken breaded and fried (less good IMHO). I also tried Druze coffee which someone on the trip compared to Turkish coffee. It was very thick and very strong so they put it in espresso cups. By day 12, I needed any pick-me-up I could get! The Druze people are a unique ethnic and religious group that incorporates aspects of Islam, Hinduism, and Greek philosophy into their belief system. The group started as an Islamic sect before breaking off into their own religion around 1000CE.

Our last stop was Caesarea, the Vegas of the ancient world. I was really bummed because it was POURING when we got there, so we didn't get to explore much. That said, we still learned a lot about its history and why its such an important place in the history of Israel. It was the first man made port in the area built by Herod to provide a place for ships to dock in the Mediterranean. Knowing that sailors would need a place to stay during the winter "off-season," Herod built a city full of fun and games to keep them entertained. Because of this port, Herod's sailors are able to load their boats more efficiently with items to trade, so they arrive at the market a full month before the competition. That means they get to set the prices! This port was a huge accomplishment and ingenious way to keep the land of Israel at the forefront at the time! Caesarea also become the location where Cornelius, the first non-Jew to become a Christian, professed his faith in Christ - a turning point in Christianity as well.

The rain let up just long enough to get this picture on the coast of the Mediterranean!

The national park is reconstructing the port entrance! 

Guess I'll have to come back to see it all finished!

And that's all! We all made it home safely and now get to process the massive overload of info from an amazing trip of a lifetime! I will never look at my Bible the same way again, and I'm so thankful to have walked where Jesus and His bloodline walked. 

Israel Day 11 - The Valleys Area

Today was full of amazing views and taking in the sights! We started off the morning at Mount Arbel to take in the view of the entire Galilee area. I may have mentioned I don't enjoy standing on the edges of cliffs so I got GREAT pictures from the well-worn path. Enjoy

Next, we got to explore the city of Sepphoris, which was the capital of Galilee in Jesus' day. It's likely that this is where Joseph worked as a stonemason (the Greek writings of the NT describe Joseph as a craftsman, so he probably worked with stone in either mosaic laying or carving. There's just not a lot of wood here, so the chances that Joseph was a wood carpenter are slim). Sepphoris is about an hour walk from Nazareth and even shorter on a donkey, so it's appropriate to conclude that Jesus' family lived in the small town of Nazareth and worked in Sepphoris. We were able to see a secret symbol in Christianity (shown below) that Christians would draw in the sand to let people know it was a safe place for Christians. We also got to see a mosaic floor showroom! This is where people could choose what mosaic they'd like to purchase so it showcased many popular patterns and showed how the mosaics were created! It's important to remind myself that the people who lived in these cities were just like me - they wanted their homes to be beautiful and provide work for their community! We can only assume what other stores contained because they didn't have products that could survive centuries. At least we know what one of them was for!

A variation of the ichthys secret symbol displayed on a Roman sidewalk

Floor from the mosaic showroom

Each square or diamond is a separate pattern to choose from

This shows how mosaics were laid:

1) very coarse layer with larger rocks and plaster

2) course layer with uneven stones and plaster

3) fine layer of plaster

4) very fine and sticky layer of plaster used to draw the design

5) colored stones are laid in a "paint-by-number" method

We finished the day at the Mount of Precipice, which again had a gorgeous view of the surrounding area. We were able to see Nazareth on one side and the Valley of Armageddon on the other!

Nazareth from afar

Valley of Armageddon on the right and Mount Hermon, the traditional site of the transfiguration, on the left in background

Last full day is tomorrow! We leave the Sea of Galilee and head towards Tel-Aviv, making several stops along the way. We head home early on Thursday morning!

Israel Day 10 - The Sea of Galilee

Written yesterday but didn't post:

We started off our rainy day by sailing across the Sea of Galilee! I actually liked that it was raining – it helped me picture what it would have been like for Jesus and his disciples on a stormy day. I was picturing a torrential downpour and huge waves in Matthew 8:23-27 when Jesus calms the storm, but actually, it would have taken only three- to four-foot waves to rock the fishing boats they were likely on. They found a fishing boat in the early 1980’s and have worked to preserve the fragile waterlogged wood so that we can see it today!

View of Tiberias from the Sea of Galilee

Flat Raina made it out of my backpack! (Sry Ray)

Next, we went to the Magdala Synagogue. Only eight of this kind of first century synagogue have been found, and we can, with a fair amount of confidence, say that Jesus was in this synagogue. It's appropriate to say that this is where Jesus would have met Mary Magdalene (of Magdala). Interestingly, this synagogue was not destroyed when the Romans came because the people of Magdala actually disassembled and covered it themselves. Therefore, the floor and foundation is still pretty intact! This site also held a shrine/chapel for women. The inscription around the ceiling read, "Hoc loco sancto sanctissimae trinitati ecclesia grates rependit pro mysterio mulieris pro unaquaque mulierum pro aeterna earum dignitate proque magnalibus a deo in humanarum aetatum historia in ipsis peractis," which translates to, "In this holy place, the Church desires to give thanks to the Most Holy Trinity for the mystery of woman and for every woman - for that which constitutes the eternal measure of her feminine dignity, for the great works of God, which throughout human history have been accomplished in and through her." So that was pretty cool! Below the shrine was the foundation of another synagogue or meeting place and depicted a beautiful image of Jesus healing the bleeding woman from Mark 5:25-34.

The Magdala Synagogue

Painting of Mark 5:25-34 - look at the detail!

Then we stopped at the site traditionally believed to be where Jesus met Peter after being risen from the dead (John 21:15-19). We know that we were on the beach where it happened, but can't say exactly where on the beach this incident occurred.

Next, we stopped at Capernaum where Jesus performed many miracles and spent much of His ministry. We saw a fourth century synagogue that was built over a first century synagogue that Jesus likely frequented. We also saw a house believed to be Peter's home! If so, Jesus would have spent a lot of time there. It was really cool to just wander around the city Jesus spent so much of His time in!

You're probably used to looking at synagogues but here's another one

Peter's house!

We finished the day at the traditional site of the Beatitudes (the Mount of Beatitudes). It probably wasn't the site that Jesus proclaimed the Sermon on the Mount but we were at least on a mountain in the same region! The Mount of Beatitudes was this lush garden following a pathway that led to a small chapel.

I loved that this day was filled with Scripture and wandering where Jesus walked (even on water!). We've seen so many amazing things that I have to remind myself to be in awe. Kinda funny, right? Here's to two more awe-filled days!

Israel Day 9 - Area of the Tribe of Dan

We started off the morning at the Dan Nature Reserve in Northern Israel. There, we took a beautiful and short hike along the Jordan river up to the temple built by Jeroboam in Dan. One of the great things about the Bible is that it doesn't edit out the less-than-flattering parts of our heritage, and this temple is one example. It's in Dan that Jeroboam decided to build a temple to distract or discourage the Israelites from going to Jerusalem to worship as God had commanded. Background - Jerusalem was in Judah and Dan was in Israel, so if the Israelites went to worship in Jerusalem, Jeroboam would have lost some power/control over his constituents. This site reminds us of the divided kingdom of Israel, the religious power that we so often hand over to our politicians, and our selfish nature that seeks power over goodness. We read parts of Psalm 1, Psalm 42, Judges 17-18, and 1 Kings 12 during our hike and at the site of Jeroboam's temple. We continued our hike to see the oldest city gates of its kind in the world! They're Canaanite gates made of dried mud bricks and from the time of Abraham! Finally, we saw some of the most intact excavated city gates from the 8th century BCE. This was also the site that an inscription on a rock was found that referred to the "House of David" - the first and only extra-biblical mention of King David. We read 2 Kings 23 here!

Walking along the Jordan River

City gate from the time of Abraham!

The little square in the middle of the picture is the throne of the King at the City Gates

Next, we went to Caesarea Philippi which was the site of pagan worship of the gods Pan, Nemesis, Echo, and the gates of Hades, among others. It was also potentially the site where Peter professed Jesus' divinity in Matthew 16. The site was below a huge cliff, which made envisioning Jesus's response to Peter, "On this rock, I will build my church," even more interesting. This was a site of pagan worship and even pagan wrongdoing (Hades the god of the underworld/Hell, Nemesis the god of revenge) and Jesus uses it to announce His deity. Again, it may not be the exact spot that the events in Matthew occur, but it added some complexity to the passage by understanding people's worship of Roman gods.

The gates of Hades

Finally, we visited the tel of Hazor which contains remnants of both an ancient Canaanite city from the Late Bronze Age and a city from the time of King Solomon. The Canaanite city was the largest one ever discovered, although it has not been completely excavated yet. We were able to see a large palace made out of sun dried mud bricks (same as the Canaanite gates we saw today). They have to keep the structures under protective roofs because they can disintegrate so quickly. We also saw a water system, olive oil press, and four-room home from the time of the Israelites. Four-room homes are designed with one long room across the back for storage and three parallel rooms to fill the rest of the house. Two are separated by columns (not a wall) while the other rooms have walls. It's also believed that they'd have a second floor for living quarters because remnants have been found that suggests another story. A second story has never been excavated intact so artists' renditions change depending on their thoughts! It was interesting to learn how people from King Solomon's time would have lived their daily lives! 

The oil press! 

The olives would have been placed in the black basket and pressed until the oil came out.

The two of the three front rooms of a four-room house

These two rooms are only separated by columns instead of a full wall. This is where animals would have been kept! 

Tomorrow, we're off to explore the Sea of Galilee! We even get to sail around for a few hours! So excited!

UPDATED 1/13/19 11:51AM CST
An earlier version said Jewish people instead of the Israelites during the time of Jeroboam. This distinction was not made until after the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. Thankful for our guide who knows much more than me and can make sure I'm getting an accurate picture of the sites we get to see!

Israel Day 8 - Jordan Valley

Today we said goodbye to the Dead Sea and headed toward Tiberias, making several awesome stops along the way!

First, we stopped at Qumran to see the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found! They found between 600 – 800 scrolls within 11 caves. There’s the gap in the number because some of them are so fragmented that they haven’t quite been pieced together and it’s possible they could have fragments from the same scrolls or different ones. The discovery story goes a little something like this: a shepherd was herding and pasturing his flock, a somewhat boring job when all is well. He threw a rock into a cave (maybe he was playing a game to see if he could make the cave on the cliff? We don’t really know) and heard pottery crashing. When he went to investigate, he found several scrolls. Not knowing their worth, he showed them off to friends and family until they finally ended up with an antique dealer who could see they were valuable. It’s possible that other scrolls were found during this time and ended up on the black market. Again, we don’t really know. What we do know is the important stuff. When these scrolls were found, they became the earliest manuscripts of the Old Testament by about 1000 years from what had been discovered previously. Even more astonishing is the fact that our current Old Testament is almost entirely the same as it was 2000 years ago. There are some minor differences, which are often noted in current Biblical texts to provide the reader with as much information as possible. Still, knowing that our texts are 99.5% the same as they were 2000 years ago is pretty remarkable.

Also discovered near the caves was a monastic society where the Essenes (a Jewish sect) lived. They were mostly unmarried men, although there was evidence of several families found there. They spent their days as scribes, writing the Torah on scrolls made of kosher animal skin sewn together. They also had strict writing rules where each letter had to be separated (not cursive) which explains why the Old Testament has been so well preserved until now!

These are the pottery jars that preserved some of the scrolls

Replica of what a Hebrew scroll may have looked like

Next, we took a quick tour of Jericho and stopped at the mountain traditionally (which means there's little or no archaeological evidence) where Jesus was tempted in the desert. Jericho is also considered the oldest city in the world – it’s been around for more than 10,000 years!

The mountain where Jesus was tempted - there's now a monastery on the top!

Then, we got to see the Jordan River, likely the area that John the Baptist baptized Jesus! We saw several people get baptized there as well!

Jordan River

Finally, we went to Bet She’an which has the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Scythopolis. This was a great stop to learn about the culture of Roman life because the remains were pretty intact. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 749C.E. (I’ve been saying AD – it’s CE now…sorry!). It was also mentioned in the Gospels and 1 Samuel 31! We got some awesome pictures of the site. I wish I could capture how massive and grand the Roman cities are, but these pictures will have to do.

Our guide demonstrating how to use an ancient toilet

Original Roman Road

View of the city from the Temple - if you zoom in, you can see the modern city surrounding the ruins. It's a great example of how the tel buried the city and they built a modern city on top!

We arrived at the Sea of Galilee in the evening. Tomorrow, we’re off to explore the northern part of Israel!

Israel Day 7 - Dead Sea Area

We've reached the halfway point of our trip! I can't believe it's gone by so fast, but it's also incredible to look back at how much we've done in only a week!

Our first stop today was at Ein Gedi, a beautiful Israeli park where it's believed David cut off Saul's skirt (1 Samuel 24) and wrote some of the Psalms! We were able to hike up to see the cave where David met Saul, which is now a really cool waterfall. It probably had water back then since David and Saul both had substantial armies with them at the time, but the landscape would have been a bit different. We also learned that the spring at Ein Gedi is sourced from rainfall that has seeped down deep into the earth instead of flowing out to the Mediterranean or Dead Seas.

Waterfall by the cave David and Saul supposedly met in!

What's left of the cave

Our next stop took us to the ruins of Masada. It was built in the time of Herod so it's a massive fortress on top of a hill in the middle of the desert. It was a beautiful day out today at 70ish degrees, but it can get up to 140/150 up there in the summertime! So, glad we're not here in July. Actually, the mountain is the most visited tourist site in Israel because it's the site of the Zealots' stand against Rome, and it's often used for bar/bat mitzvahs.
The Zealot's stand against Rome was documented by Josephus in the 1st century AD. Basically, the Romans seized the mountain where refugee Jews (or rebels if you're Rome) from the Roman empire were living. They did so by building a wall and then ramp up to the city over several months until they could finally break through the city wall. The massive army surrounded the mountain providing cover fire to anyone working on the ramp below, and those working below were likely Jewish slaves. To kill a slave working on the ramp/wall would be killing one of their own. Here's where the story gets a little crazy. The Romans were notorious for their cruelty towards captured people (I'm talking crucifixion, skinning men alive, raping women to death, enslaving children...seriously evil things). First century Jews also hold ritual purity as one of the highest values in their society. And here's the deal. There's only ONE ending to this story - Roman capture. The full-forced brutality of an entire empire. You're on a mountain surrounded by cliffs and the Roman army. There's no escape. So, rather than succumb to the terrible (and impure) fate at the hands of the Romans, the leading Jewish general convinced his army to destroy any supplies they had, kill their families and then themselves. When the Romans finally broke through the city walls, they found a city already pillaged. So not exactly a victory, but it was a somewhat honorable death in Roman society's view (which doesn't make the Romans look very good). Ultimately, it took the victory away from the Romans and was recounted as an act of heroism for many centuries.

The view from Masada! 

Sorry for the railing, but I prefer to be several feet from any cliff edges

thanks @ my fear of heights

Ok, enough with the war and destruction. I swam in the Dead Sea today! It was awesome! It's technically winter here so the water was cold but what's a little chill, ya know? I was amazed by how easy it was to float! It was such a relaxing way to end the day, and a good breather at the halfway point.

Just floatin'

Tomorrow, we're off to the Jordan Valley!

Israel Day 6 - Philistine Country & Beersheba

Today, we made our way from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. On a map, the two are fairly close to each other, but since we stayed in Israel, we made a big half loop around the southern portion of the country as we stopped at various sites.

Our first stop was the site of David and Goliath's face-off in Elah Valley between the mountains Sokoh and Azekah. We read 1 Samuel 17 as we stood in the brook that David crossed as he went to meet Goliath. We're reading the Bible with our feet!

The Valley of Elah

Our second stop took us to Beersheba, where Abraham made a covenant with Abimelek from Genesis 21. They've excavated an almost entirely intact city center from the 9th/8th century BCE! It's debated but archaeologists believe the city is from the time of either Hezekiah or Josiah before the Assyrian conquest. The area we saw included storehouses for grain and supplies, residential homes (about 75!), governor's palace, water source, and city wall to name a few. This city center lined the perimeter with four-room homes (diagram shown below) and used the back walls as the city wall. If there were invaders coming, they'd fill the homes on the side of the invasion with rubble to create a thicker protective structure. This was so they could make use of that space when they weren't under attack. Also, because people at that time didn't sleep for eight hours straight like we do today, there would have always been several people awake to be on guard for an attack. It was a very efficient system! Unfortunately, the Assyrian army eventually overtook the band of armed farmers, but their city was successful for quite some time! 

The Four Room House, a typical residential home at this time

Our final stop was in Tel'Arad where, in the span of two hills and about a five minute walk, we were able to see a fortress from the 8th century BCE (time of kingdom of Judah) and a Canaanite city from the early third millennium BCE (Early Bronze Age)! That's 2000 years apart! The fortress was similar to Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem where they had a temple, sacrificial altar, water source, administrative offices and military buildings. At first glance, this doesn't seem like a big deal, but the Israelites were not supposed to make sacrifices anywhere except the Jerusalem Temple once per year. Building another temple for sacrifices was a big no-no, but it was likely used until King Hezekiah later enforced that law. The Canaanite city was harder to see since many of the walls were so low to the ground. I can say it was well-planned with temples, a large surrounding wall, a substantially sized palace, residential areas, and a well for the city. The fact that any remains from the city exist is still astonishing to me!

Picture of the Temple Area

The sacrificial altar is in the center surrounded by a courtyard

The wall to the left of the altar marks the holy place (only priests allowed)

The wall to the left of that marks the Holy of Holies (only the high priest once per year)

I also finally got a decent picture of a water cistern! We've seen at least one per day but they're usually dark and difficult to see. They're basically giant pits carved into the ground, usually covered with hydrophobic plaster, where a city will store its water. It's different than a well because it doesn't have its own natural source of water - it has to be brought in from somewhere else. They'd also have to mix the water with wine to make it safe to drink (because water sitting in a cool dark place = mold and gunk). It's the third water source choice after a river/lake and well/spring, but many communities used them well.

Water cistern

Finally, we arrived at the Dead Sea after winding through the desert. Tomorrow, we'll go to Masada for a half day and then return for time to swim (float) in the Dead Sea! 

Just a pretty desert picture from our drive to the Dead Sea

Israel Day 5 - Jerusalem's Christian Sites

Today was 35 degrees and rainy all day, so we ended the day a little shorter than planned. But that's okay! We still had a full day and time for a sauna trip too!

We started off on the Temple Mount. There are a lot of political and religious tensions surrounding this area - our guide called it "Israel's biggest powder keg." The Temple Mount is currently under Muslim control and the Muslim shrine is built over the Foundation Rock (where Abraham bound Isaac) and the site of the Holy of Holies...so you can see why it's complicated. We weren't allowed to bring our Bibles with us and even crosses, prayer books, or any religious paraphernalia other than Islamic items are strictly prohibited. Non-Muslims are only allowed to go in a single entrance, and everyone has to go through security. If a group looks Jewish, they are given a police escort to ensure the status quo is maintained - only Muslims can worship on the Temple Mount. That's not to say it was scary or noticeable tense when we were walking around, but they took several precautions to make sure that everyone has access to the area. The Muslim shrine was absolutely beautiful. Of course, we could only see the outside but that was enough. It was the first grand Islamic structure built. Prior to its construction, Muslims were a nomadic group that built modest shrines relatively quickly. We were informed that the marble stones used on the outside were likely stones from the previous Jewish Second Temple floor. They like reusing stones here. I didn't realize this but Muslims do not have any images of people, plants, or animals in their places of worship to strictly adhere to the idolatry laws in the Quran, so their decorative style is almost exclusively patterns.

Muslim shrine on Temple Mount

Picture taken before our legs went numb

Some of the patterns used to decorate the outside of the shrine

After the Temple Mount, we walked the stations of the cross (Via Dolorosa) to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We even got to see a recently excavated portion of the road from Jesus' time! The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is believed to be the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. It's currently under "joint custody" of the Roman Catholic, Armenian, Greek Orthodox, and Coptic religious groups. Unlike the Church of the Nativity that we saw yesterday, this one isn't as neatly portioned off for each faith. They each take their own bits and pieces of the important places. I would try to describe it but I don't think I could do it well. My biggest takeaways were that these four faiths have (mostly) peacefully agreed that this site is worth sharing. We were able to see the spot where they believed Jesus' cross was stuck in the ground and stood about ten feet from it. That was...surreal? Humbling? Awe-inspiring? It was a lot of things. Then, we got to see the spot believed to be Jesus' burial cave, although it's now a giant marble building. We went into a preserved cave that would have been the same as the one Jesus was buried in though! Also surreal and humbling and awe-inspiring.

Original road from Jesus' time

Rocks from what's believed to be Golgotha

The marble shrine built over what's believed to be Jesus' burial site

Finally, we went to the Garden Tomb. This is also a place suggested for the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus but has less archaeological and traditional evidence than the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Doesn't mean it's not though! It was this beautiful, lush, green garden with flowers and trees everywhere you turned. I think I'm missing Missouri the teeny tiniest bit. There's a lot of stone and marble here! We had a short communion service as a group and took a moment to reflect on the day - we had just seen where Jesus defeated death! After rushing around for the past few days, it was a needed moment of reflection.

I just like these pictures

We were supposed to have the afternoon free to roam around Jaffa but the freezing rain convinced us to choose the indoors instead. I think we're going to try the Jerusalem marketplace tonight if it's not too cold! During the day, it's a grocery/farmer's market type place but after 6pm, it's a popular nightlife scene. Should be fun! Tomorrow, we leave Jerusalem and head to the Dead Sea!