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Israel In-Depth Study Tour - North Coast
January 13-22, 2017
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A once in a lifetime opportunity
This morning we bid a heavy-hearted farewell to our beloved kibbutz, and made our way back toward Jerusalem. Of course we got some insanely awesome sites along the way! Here are today's highlights:
Beth She'an- A short walk up to Tel Beth She'an was the perfect start to another great day here in the Holy Land. The valley and spring of this region is most notably known for the story of Gideon! The site was actually quite beautiful, and below it was the ancient city Scythopolis, the capital city of the Roman cities known as the Decapolis. We were in AWE of how gorgeous the ruins were, it's easy to see why people were drawn to it. Our favorite part: we sang Cornerstone a-cappella in the theater to our thousands of adoring fans! Ok, it was just to Ned, but it was lovely.
Beth Shean
Located 17 miles (27 km) south of the Sea of Galilee, Beth Shean is situated at the strategic junction of the Harod and Jordan Valleys. The fertility of the land and the abundance of water led the Jewish sages to say, “If the Garden of Eden is in the land of Israel, then its gate is Beth Shean.” It is no surprise then that the site has been almost continuously settled from the Chalcolithic period to the present.
Meggido- Considered the most important tel in Israel, Meggido was the site of 26 civilizations, including Kings Saul and Ahab. The crowning jewel of the ruins, in my humble opinion, was the incredibly well persevered city gate! Seeing how important it was from a social aspect truly puts stories about city gates from the Bible into perspective. Meggido was also in many ways the most important city in Israel, and the entire region. It was the crossroads of the world. Here's our favorite, mind melting fact of the city though: you probably know it better as Armageddon. Yeah, our brains exploded too.
Megiddo
From the earliest times (EB) to the earliest historical records of the area (Thutmose III) to the future (Revelation 16), Megiddo assumes a prominent role. This is largely owing to its strategic location astride the Megiddo Pass (Wadi Ara) and inside the busy Jezreel Valley.
Mt. Carmel- They call it the evergreen mountain for a reason. It was absolutely gorgeous! Imagine any park in Washington, and you have Mt. Carmel. We had a our lunch stop here on the mountain, and sitting under the trees, it felt very much like a slice of home. Mt. Carmel, as you might've guessed, is where Elijah sacrificed the cow on the altar to God and defeated the prophets of Baal. Some pretty intense stuff went down in a pretty gorgeous place.
Mt. Carmel
Biblically, Mt. Carmel is referenced most often as a symbol of beauty and fertility. To be given the “splendor of Carmel” was to be blessed indeed (Isa 35:2). Solomon praised his beloved: “your head crowns you like Mount Carmel” (Song 7:5). But for Carmel to wither was a sign of devastating judgment (Nahum 1:4).
Caesarea Maritima- Easily everyone's favorite stop of the day, Caesarea was beautiful. Right on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea is the city Caesarea, built by Herod the Great. I could go on and on about the history of the spot, but for times sake (it's late as I'm writing this) I'll let you do the research. It was a large Greco-Roman city, with many incredible pieces of historical value found there! There is a theater, a palace, a harbor, and a stadium! In the stadium, Ronen helped our imaginations by having Garrett and Zack demonstrate some athleticism for us! They raced for glory but in the end there could only be one winner, and Zack reigned victorious! Right before we left the park, we walked down to the shore to collect some shells and dip our feet in the sea. A large possibility that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. A sweet end to our day.
We made it to our hotel here in Jerusalem, and tomorrow is a jam packed day, so we are heading to bed. Goodnight from Jerusalem!
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.
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