 |
| light frost on the road |
When we woke up the next day, we found out that the north of
Israel had a sudden snowfall overnight and all the roads were blocked/closed…
we had to cancel our plans to go to the north of Israel to Dan. Israel doesn’t
get much snow, so they don’t have the experience and machinery to deal with
sudden large snowfalls. We heard that Jerusalem was also covered in snow –
which I think would have been a beautiful sight but when we made our way there
about four days later most of the snow had melted already.
So instead we visited more cities/towns around the Sea of
Galilee.
Jesus left home when he was old enough and went around
performing miracles and spreading the Gospel. The first town he went to is
Capharnaum. Here we saw the ruins of the small town - the little “houses” were
very close together and the town’s synagogue was right in the centre.
Then we went up a mountain to the Mount of Beatitudes. This
is a place dedicated to the eight beatitudes that Jesus taught. It is really
beautiful here, with lots of outdoor spots to sit and just reflect. There’s
also a great view of the Sea of Galilee below.
 |
| Sea of Galilee from the Mount of Beatitudes |
Afterwards, we went down to the place where Jesus feed the
multitudes with just two fishes and five loaves of bread. In the church that commemorates
this miracle, there is a mosaic on the floor right in front of the altar. In
the mosaic there are only four loaves because the fifth loaf is broken at the
altar when you receive communion.
We got a lot done that morning, we also went to the Church
of the Primacy of St. Peter. This is where Jesus cooked grilled fish for the
apostles after catching them from the Sea of Galilee, it’s also the place where
Jesus kind of assigned Peter as the leader of the 12 apostles. Just a few steps
from the church is the Sea of Galilee.
Although there were a few patches of rain that morning, we
were very lucky and the rain would stop whenever we were outdoors and even the
sun started to come out. We sailed on the Sea of Galilee and it brings to mind
when Jesus went out on a fishing boat with his disciples to fish and he fell
asleep and a storm started to brew. His apostles were very scared as it was a
big storm, but Jesus called the wind and rain to stop and calmed the storm.
After sailing, we went for lunch and had some yummy fried/grilled fish.
Then we went to the east side of the Sea of Galilee to the
tel of Kursi. This is the place where Jesus went to after the storm and here he
met a man possessed by spirits, he sent those spirits into a group of pigs who ran
over the cliff and into the sea.
 |
| see the rainbow on the middle left of this photo? |
As the roads north still remain closed due to the snow, we
continued to go around the Sea of Galilee. Next we visited the town of Magdala.
This is a place that is still being excavated and we had one of the volunteers from
Mexico show us around.
 |
| the fish market of the old city of magdala |
 |
| this black dog walked into the church foyer and laid down on the carpet in front of the door... reminds me of Sirius Black from the Harry Potter books |
This trip happened over the Chinese New Year holiday, and
this year is the year of the Ram/Sheep/Goat… and on this excavation site they
have animals like chicken, horse and goats! And they just had a new born goat
that was 3 days old!
 |
| newborn baby goat on the left |
 |
| we found a pretty street and decided to try out a panorama shot with at least 3 of ourselves in the photo.... unfortunately it kept cutting off when there was only 2.... have to keep trying! |
Day 4 - Meggido > Caesarea > Mount Carmel > Dead Sea
Early the next morning we started to make our way to the
Dead Sea. On the way, our first stop was at the tel of Meggido (tel is a place
that is built on top of another city over centuries and it becomes a mound or
hill). This place is mentioned in the bible as the place of the final battle
between good and evil – so it’s also know as the place of Armageddon.
left: entrance to the water tunnel
right: the steps down from the city to the entrance of the water tunnel
Then we drove west towards the Mediterranean Sea to the city
of Caesarea. This was a city built during the period when the Roman Empire was
at its strongest, and it was an important port city. There are many remains
from that period, and like a lot of other places it also has remnants of other
periods that followed – the Byzantium Empire and also when the Crusaders
invaded.
 |
| city gate built in the crusader's style |
 |
| model and photoshoot on location! |
 |
| the MEDITERRANEAN! |
We continued on our journey to the top of Mount Carmel.
After lunch we made the longest part of the journey to the
Dead Sea – about 3 hours on the road. We made one rest stop and got ice cream.
As we neared the Dead Sea, we were driving on a mountain
range – or so it seemed, but actually it’s because the dead sea is the lowest
point on earth at 429 meters below sea level.
The salt content in the water is about 39%. We couldn’t go
into the dead sea when we arrived as it was already starting to get dark, but
our hotel had a pool with water from the dead sea – and it was heated!
Floating in the water is really like you’re lying on a water
bed or floaty, it’s actually difficult to swim in the water because you float
so well.….. and the water was so salty it was bitter. But the water is rich in
minerals and other good stuff and lots of people with skin problems will visit
the dead sea area and stay for a few months as therapy.
No comments:
Post a Comment