Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Nazareth, Cana and Megiddo

I will try to think of a snappier title, but currently my brain has reached max capacity with all the info that was shoved into it today.  We made a whirlwind tour of Israel, and yes, there are many things left to see, but we sure packed in a lot today.

We were awoken at 6:30 am, after my solid two hours of sleep but I did shoot out of bed because Gershon had warned us "strongly" that we needed to be at the breakfast table by 7 and the bus all packed up by 8 am in order to make our full schedule.  I am a rule follower so I followed.  Breakfast was an eating adventure:  fish, yogurt, sweet breads, salads, cereal and milk...no coffee.  There's really not a lot to say about it, this is not a gourmet galavant.

Caesarea Ampitheater

We got on the bus and headed to Caesarea which is further north yet still on the Mediterranean and is the location in Acts 10 where Peter meets Cornelius and introduces him to the gospel.  The amphitheater there is from the first century AD and was built by Herod the Great.  It was interesting walking around all of the area and seeing sculpture, sarcophagi and mosaic from 2,000 years ago...mind blowing.  Herod's palace was built right on the shoreline and included a pool.  It was here that one of the many fascinating facts I have learned from Jeff was confirmed:  we stood in the vomitorium, which is the area that the people flooded out of the amphitheatre with such force.  Hence, we vomit today instead of exit when we get the stomach flu.  Although, we probably do both.

a foot that makes me look even shorter:  Caesarea

At the aqueduct and part of our group on our way to Mt. Carmel

From Caesarea we went up high to Mt. Carmel and read I Kings 18.  This is the area that Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to rain down fire on the altar.  It has a beautiful monastery on the top Mt. Carmel and from this vantage point you overlook Megiddo (Armageddon) and can see clearly to Jordan and Syria.  Israel is only 350ish miles north to south and at its widest point is only 56 miles wide.  So, from Carmel it is a beautiful vantage point over Northern Israel.  It has rained here for the first time in 6 years (not just while we've been here) so the valley of Meggido is so green and lovely.  I have to admit, I envisioned a dry barren land, and perhaps we will encounter that later on, but so far, it is lovely.

A stone sculpture at Mt. Carmel Monastery

We went to Megiddo next and that was really my favorite spot.  The ruins there are amazing.  An archaeologist named Schumacher (Clark may be related!), dug here in the 1930s (?? I'll have to check that) and the Northern Palace of King Solomon was uncovered.  It is really a remarkable place with the highlight being the amazing tunnel that was ingeniously built 3000 years ago without obviously any technology at all leading directly to the only available well.  Since the tunnel is underground, it was protected from being captured by any enemies and therefore protected the city which drew its water.  We went down down down 187 steps and through a long tunnel and to the well, still there with clear water that has been bubbling up since the beginning of time.

We went to lunch at a small roadside cafe and had falafel and salad and it was a riot of color, that's the only way I can describe it.

a colorful salad and my roommate's diet coke

Next, we drove to Nazareth, which was a quick stop only to see a Greek Orthodox church in the old part of the city.  There was a beautiful baby girl being baptized at the church when we entered and the family turned and looked at us not with disdain which is what I would expect from a family who had been interrupted by 33 women walking through, but rather with joy written all over their faces.  They seemed happy to see us as we gaped.  We didn't stay long in the city, but it is built up into a hill and the buildings are all white/creme and crowded closely together in a mishmash that makes little sense to me.

In the old portion of Nazareth on our way to the Greek Orthodox church

The happy baby and family in church

Finally, we went to Cana and saw a church dedicated to the location where in John 2 Jesus turned water into wine.  You can imagine what a popular wedding spot it is and we stumbled upon a group of Ethiopians who were baptizing a child there.  Inside the church dedicated to the location, there is an excavation of another church from the time of Jesus, which had suffered destruction by earthquake (we are on the 2nd largest fault line in the world, apparently).

Our minds were stuffed to the brink of being permanently broken so thankfully, we then headed up to the Sea of Galilee to settle into our Kibbutz Resort for the night, it is beautiful here, overlooking the Sea of Galilee and we will spend the day tomorrow in this vicinity.

I am tired and have a lot to try to download in my brain, I look forward to hopefully a better night's sleep tonight.