Day 06 - Definitely a “WOW” Moment…

We started the morning off with a hike up the back side of a beautiful hill, only to be surprised by what Dan said would be a “wow” moment. He was definitely right! We crested the hill and sprawling out before us was the most amazing, excavated Roman city. And only about 5% of the entire city has been unearthed so far! It had pillars and an amphitheater, with rows of shops and marble everywhere. One highlight was a well preserved Roman public latrine. No description would do justice to this experience. Suffice it to say that I would love to have my own paid “seat warmer” too. Quite the contrast to the humble village life in Katzrin yesterday.

We journeyed toward the sea and landed at Megiddo, an ancient fortress overlooking the Jezreel valley—arguable the most important and strategic valley, in the most important land in the world. The history of battles here is staggering…culminating in the last battle, Armageddon.

We ended our day in Caesarea Maritima. The city and harbor were built under Herod the Great during c. 22–10 BC. The city features a theater, hippodrome (stadium where they held horse races), a large harbor, and one of Herod’s many palaces. And an added bonus was that just two weeks ago, they discovered an intricate system of tunnels directly underneath an area that has been open to the public for many years! This concluded our journeys in the Galilee. We now will spend the rest of our trip up in Jerusalem.

Please continue to pray and follow our updates!

Sammy & Jeff