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Israel Study Tour - Cornerstone
January 2-12, 2017
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Crossroads
The written summary for yesterday has been posted. Go check it out.
At Mount Carmel today we were able to stand there and look around and see how important the land was from the Mediterranean Sea through the Jezreel Valley. We were able to see into the valley where many battles and events took place.
One of our final stops of the day was to Caesarea Maritima. This was an incredible city located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. At this location Paul would have been kept while waiting to be sent to Rome. This city was also a place where early Christians lost their lives for the enjoyment of the people in the city. It was sobering to stand where people gave up their lives for following Christ. We also got to see the aqueducts that were made to transport water to the city. They were very large and clearly took a lot of time and man power to build.
--Jimmy Murray
Caesarea Maritima
The city and harbor were built under Herod the Great during c. 22–10 BC near the site of a former Phoenician naval station known as Stratonos pyrgos (Στράτωνος πύργος).[2] It later became the provincial capital of Roman Judea, Roman Syria Palaestina and Byzantine Palaestina Prima provinces. The city was populated throughout the 1st to 6th centuries CE and became an important early center of Christianity during the Byzantine period, but was mostly abandoned following the Muslim conquest of 640. It was re-fortified by the Crusaders, and finally slighted by the Mamluks in 1265.
It has been incredible to experience with all my senses and mind the sites that we have visited. Converging together geography, history, theology, and sight have brought Megiddo alive for me. Israel stood at the Crossroads of the trade and power of the day. Even more pointed than that, the Jezreel Valley was the spoke of that crossroad. And even more than that, Megiddo was the linchpin that functioned as a major pass. I will never read these things the same after hearing the stories and pondering the significance as I saw the valley standing on the ruins the strongholds of a once dominating and key city.
--Nick Loveberry
Jezreel Valley
The spacious Jezreel Valley spreads out to the north and east from Mount Carmel, providing convenient passage for international travelers in ancient times. The fertile alluvial soil makes this the country’s breadbasket as well. The Bible speaks of the gathering of armies in this valley at the place of Armageddon.
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