Trekking: Israel (Day 8)

4/10/08 We drove up the coast to Caesarea and saw the ancient remains. There was Herod’s palace, the hippodrome, theater, and quite a bit of other stuff. I think the hippodrome is where they held the horse or chariot races and later where Christians were put to fight animals. From there we drove up and saw the aqueduct that brought water from Mt. Carmel to the city. We went up to the top of Mt. Carmel where we had a commanding view of the Jezreel Valley. While looking out, we saw several F16’s fly overhead. We also were able to see Nazareth and Mt. Tabor. We drove down to Megiddo and saw the ruins of many civilizations. From here you could see Jenin, the site or much conflict only a few years ago. We saw the Valley of Megiddo, the site of many battles in the past and one to come. Leaving there we drove to Nazareth, a Jewish and Arab city. In Nazareth Village, a 1st century recreation, our guide, an Arab believer, explained to us many of the parables that Jesus would have shared. They had many recreations of what He referred to in the parables. There was a wild little donkey tied to a tree that made me think of that children’s song, “there once was a wild little donkey, who had to be tied to a tree.” We drove past Cana on the way to Tiberias where we would spend the night. It was interesting to drive 200 meters below sea level. That evening, I was able to walk along the Sea of Galilee. I also had the chance to visit with a fellow tourist about Christianity, faith, logic, the reliability of the Bible. It was also that night that we figured out our guide was a Jewish believer, when she prayed in Jesus name.

Caesarea along the Mediterranean Sea, where the Gentiles first heard the gospel from Peter. This is the hippodrome beside the amphitheatre and aqueduct.

Looking out across the Jezreel Valley from Mt. Carmel, where Elijah hid from King Ahab. Notice the runways where the F-16s flew out and then over our heads.