I decided to start early today for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted some quiet time to reflect on what I've experienced and what is to come. I also wanted to do a little photography in early morning light.
Well, no great weather for photography. It was windy and overcast. I've looked at my shots and they're blah. But it was a great time to slow down and have quiet reflection in preparation for a busy schedule. I'll share a couple just because it still gives an impression of the area.
Today we were starting at Caesarea by the Sea( or Caesarea Maritima, still known as Caesarea today), followed by Mt. Carmel and Nazareth and then overnighting in Tiberius on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Caesarea was built by Herod and the ruins are fantastic. We primarily looked at the amphitheater,
hippodrome, and what is known as the Pilate Stone. The Pilate Stone is the only ancient item that mentions the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate besides the Bible.
We also ran into a huge group of tourists following some guy named Max Lucado around the Holy Land. I heard some part-time singer named Matt Maher is doing the music too. We've got Reggie Weems and ... yea, never mind.
Good and bad about this little turn of events, mostly bad for us as they have about 350 people and they seem to be following the same schedule as our group. We ran into the "masses" a few times today.
Anyway, as a result we got run out of the amphitheater where our guide was going over the scriptural background for Ceasarea. Oh, and I was going to sing in the amphitheater too. It was a great location. That didn't happen (big sigh, but how many can say they got bumped by Matt Maher?) and our guide was really miffed when she was told they had the place "reserved". How can you reserve a free and open space in a national park she argued. To no avail obviously.
Back to Caesarea. It is mentioned many times in Acts and was visited by Paul on numerous occasions. And so we stood on the ruins of the Roman empire and considered all of those who had gone before us and sang these words:
Nazareth is very hilly and, at least in March, lush with green grass and wild flowers in abundance. But it IS really hilly and rocky. In fact, Hela pointed out the mostly likely route that Jesus would have taken from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee and it wasn't easy. A road trip back then was an entirely different adventure my friend.
Well, no great weather for photography. It was windy and overcast. I've looked at my shots and they're blah. But it was a great time to slow down and have quiet reflection in preparation for a busy schedule. I'll share a couple just because it still gives an impression of the area.
 |
| Just across the street from our hotel |
 |
| View down the cliff to the Med. |
 |
| The Pilate Stone |
hippodrome, and what is known as the Pilate Stone. The Pilate Stone is the only ancient item that mentions the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate besides the Bible.
We also ran into a huge group of tourists following some guy named Max Lucado around the Holy Land. I heard some part-time singer named Matt Maher is doing the music too. We've got Reggie Weems and ... yea, never mind.
 |
| The Roman amphitheater with 350 Lucado fans |
Anyway, as a result we got run out of the amphitheater where our guide was going over the scriptural background for Ceasarea. Oh, and I was going to sing in the amphitheater too. It was a great location. That didn't happen (big sigh, but how many can say they got bumped by Matt Maher?) and our guide was really miffed when she was told they had the place "reserved". How can you reserve a free and open space in a national park she argued. To no avail obviously.
Back to Caesarea. It is mentioned many times in Acts and was visited by Paul on numerous occasions. And so we stood on the ruins of the Roman empire and considered all of those who had gone before us and sang these words:
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Here is a clip from the first part of the song:
It was a good theme for the day as we began following in the footsteps of Christ.
One can almost imagine how magnificent Herod's palace was next to the sea along with the nearby entertainment venues, the hippodrome and amphitheater. Here are a few shots from the grounds.
Leaving this specific area, we headed down to see the nearby ruins of the Roman aquaduct. Very nice also.
It was a good theme for the day as we began following in the footsteps of Christ.
One can almost imagine how magnificent Herod's palace was next to the sea along with the nearby entertainment venues, the hippodrome and amphitheater. Here are a few shots from the grounds.
 |
| View looking down the hippodrome from near Herod's palace |
 |
| The front of the palace |
 |
| The end of the hippodrome where the chariots have to make the tight turn. Remember the movie Ben Hur? Herod's palace is in the background towards the sea. Part of the ruins are underwater. He had a nice breeze. |
 |
| More ruins next to the hippodrome. Didn't read what they were. |
Leaving this specific area, we headed down to see the nearby ruins of the Roman aquaduct. Very nice also.
Modern Caesarea is once again the residence of the local authorities as Israel's prime minister has a home here and this entire area on the coast of the Mediterranean is well maintained with beautiful landscaping and flowers in abundance.
From the aquaduct we headed up to Mt. Carmel. Fairly significant traffic but manageable.
Mt. Carmel was super busy and to be honest didn't do much for me. We read the scriptures in I Kings that describes Elijah's challenge to the prophets of Baal and what occurred on the mountain but the busy-ness took all of the joy out of it for me. Just being honest. The view was pretty good but hazy. All the wildflowers around the mountain were probably the highlight for me. Ha ha.
Next we stopped for lunch before heading to Megiddo. Another good lunch. The restaurant is owned by a Druze family. I have never heard of this people group but they consider themselves descendants of Jethro. Info on them.
Megiddo is a tel or artificial hill made from the remains of past civilizations and it overlooks the Jezreel valley. The Greek name for Megiddo is Armageddon. Archaeologists have found the remains of 20 discreet civilizations here. We had very little time here because we had to keep an appointment in Nazareth to see a carpenter. Just kidding, but we did have an appointment. Here is Megiddo. It was cool to see some really, really old remains but that got dwarfed on Day 5. Yes, that's a teaser. I'm a tease. A few pics from Armageddon.
 |
| View from Mt. Carmel |
Next we stopped for lunch before heading to Megiddo. Another good lunch. The restaurant is owned by a Druze family. I have never heard of this people group but they consider themselves descendants of Jethro. Info on them.
Megiddo is a tel or artificial hill made from the remains of past civilizations and it overlooks the Jezreel valley. The Greek name for Megiddo is Armageddon. Archaeologists have found the remains of 20 discreet civilizations here. We had very little time here because we had to keep an appointment in Nazareth to see a carpenter. Just kidding, but we did have an appointment. Here is Megiddo. It was cool to see some really, really old remains but that got dwarfed on Day 5. Yes, that's a teaser. I'm a tease. A few pics from Armageddon.
 |
| Layers of civilization |
 |
| The Jezreel Valley in the distance |
 |
| Late Bronze Age city gate |
Ok. Across the Jezreel Valley to Nazareth. Nazareth was not what I expected. For some reason I had imagined Jesus growing up in this dusty, little village that was in a semi-arid and flat topography. Not so, my friend.
 |
| Shepherd at Nazareth |
We went to Nazareth Village which is an authentic recreation of life in the time of Jesus. They use similar materials to make the buildings and practice the skills that were common, such as weaving, carpentry, and tending a flock. Our guide was excellent. The time of Christ came alive and many parables and object lessons were made clearer simply by seeing and touching and hearing.
Probably my favorite part was seeing the vineyard. They have uncovered a
wine press and terraces on the property that date to the time of Christ along with nearby ruins of a watchtower. What? A vineyard maybe 15 minutes from where Jesus grew up? What are the odds that it was this particular vineyard that Jesus describes in Matthew 21:33 -
"There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower ..."
I think the odds are good.
A long day, but a good day. Last stop was the hotel in Tiberius, next to the Sea of Galilee.
Until next time,
Randy
Probably my favorite part was seeing the vineyard. They have uncovered a
 |
| Top Lt, watchtower, middle is the wine press and wine flowed through the notch into a small cistern at the bottom |
"There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower ..."
I think the odds are good.
A long day, but a good day. Last stop was the hotel in Tiberius, next to the Sea of Galilee.
 |
| Tiberius |
Randy
No comments:
Post a Comment