Our amazing trip to Israel

My apologies for not posting daily as was my plan. We have had little down time to process and be able to put in to words the sheer magnitude of this trip. It has been amazing, exciting, adventurous and fun. We have laughed, cried, coughed, sniffed, talked, met people from all over the world, tried foods that we would never have tried and learned different ways of life. We have all experienced a peace and understanding of many things. Reading the Bible and studying in classes, I never could grasp some of the locations. Your mental perception is far from the actual reality of the situation and the actual reality is awe inspiring.

We began our excursions at the Roman Aqueduct (aquaduct). The aqueduct brought running water to the city of Caesarea. It was built by Herod the great between 22-19BC and later expanded by the Romans when the population grew and a larger supply of water was needed. The ruins are large and beautiful, and such detail was put in to their design.­­­­­­ Putting my feet in the Mediterranean Sea, which was quite chilly. The second picture is 19 of the 21 people in our group. 

We checked in to the Leonardo Tiberias for the first two nights. It was a very nice hotel and all our meals were included in our stay. Meals were very different than the buffets we are used to in America. Butter is only available at breakfast and they refuse to serve it at lunch or dinner. You are expected to eat hummus on your pitas at those meals. Coffee is not available Friday night at sundown to Saturday night at sundown in Israel to observe Shabbat. On Shabbat, there is no buying, selling or working on their Sabbath so all shops are closed down. It is forbidden to turn on/off electricity on the Sabbath so the elevators run and open at every floor so no buttons have to be pushed. We had the most magnificent view of the Sea of Galilee when the sun came up every morning. We enjoyed our stay at this hotel, learning much about the cultures since we were here for Shabbat.

Our next adventure found us heading for Tel Dan, the high place built by Jeroboam (1 Kings 12). Dan was the northern center for worship of the fertility gods. Dan marked the northern boundary of Israel. Golden calves were placed at Bethel and Dan. Tel Dan was an impressive place that overlooks the land. There are two gate complexes at Dan. Sampson, who was known for his strength associated with his long hair was from Dan. This is Jim Bob typing: Tel Dan has been by far my favorite place on the trip. Over the past two years I have taught my middle school class about 1 and 2 Kings and Joshua and Judges. Here in front of me were places that I taught about. The Canaanite city of Laish, The High Place altar that Jeroboam set up to keep his people from the pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. The Israelite city of Dan, itself. All where I could see feel hear and smell. It was absolutely wonderful. It was also the headwaters of the Jordan River. So much occurred in those waters from the Israelites crossing into the promised land to Jesus’ baptism. It all started here. Now back to Stacy.

The Jordan River is a sight to see. We have seen many of the banks of the Jordan River, but getting in or touching the waters of the Jordan River and knowing these were the waters that baptized my Lord and Savior, is a very humbling experience. We had lunch in a little café and our table as within a hands reach of the Jordan River. We ate falafel (which is very good!) and shwarma. Falafel is a chickpea based fried into balls and served with fresh tomato, cucumber and lettuce in a pita bread pocket. Shwarma is served with the same veggies and is a chicken instead of the chickpea. Falafel is considered the vegetarian meal. Much fresh produce is consumed here. Jim Bob and I really liked the falafel and plan to make it upon our return to the states. Every meal is served with hummus and pita bread. Hummus is a huge staple in Israel. Jim Bob stated his dislike for hummus from the beginning, but now will eat hummus over many sandwiches or other options. There is hope, my friends, there is hope.

This was our falafel that we share (tried) that day. Need to have one before I leave.

Banias was a few kilometers from Dan and was a major center for idolatry much like most of the region. Its main feature is a cave known as Pan's Grotto in the Temple of Pan. Also there are foundation stones from the Temple of Zeus as well. Across the road from there is the northern palace built by Herod Philip known as Caesarea Phillipi. The area itself is beautiful but my favorite thing about it was the little Lebanese restaurant outside of the park. They had some great Shawrma and Falafel. All while sitting next to the Stream of Hermon which is one of the Jordan's headwaters.

Olive Press for pressing out olive oil.

Pan's Grotto

JB and I standing in an idol niche.

The Sea of Galilee has many stories in its Biblical past. It is humbling to know that the waters you are standing IN, are the very waters that Jesus walked ON and called Peter to Him. Jesus earthly ministry centered around the Sea of Galilee where he gave much of His parables and performed most of His miracles.

Capernaum was a very surreal place as it was the chosen home place of Jesus. The house of Peter has been excavated at Capernaum, and Andrew, James, John and Matthew all lived there as well. The sanctuary is a beautiful site and the ruins help you to see how magnificent the sanctuary was in its glory days. Many scholars claim that the Sermon on the Mount was at Capernaum but it is not certain where that occurred. Other scholars point to different mountains as well.

Randy preaching a WAY TOO SHORT sermon at Capernaum. This is a very emotional place for Randy.

Foundation of Peter's house.

Ruins of the city of Capernaum

Synagogue columns

Then ONLY pay toilets we found but I HAD TO GO!!!!!

Bethsaida was the site that the 5,000 were fed. It was also suggested to be the birthplace of Simon Peter, Andrew James and John. The ruins had wonderful examples of the entrance gates. There were many large rocks with information to follow there and I enjoyed reading about the ancient town. The ruins themselves were very well defined and we wandered down an original rock road from the city gates.

 The view from Bethsaida

 Trail between the buildings approaching the city gates.

 At the city gate of Bethsaida

 This standing stone to the right is called a stele. It was dedicated to the god that they were worshiping at the time. This was probably a fertility god. (I can privately tell you why this was assumed but not publicly online.) Randy and Debbie Daw checking it out.

 The old city street that entered the city.

Qumran had some beautiful ruins and a cave area you could hike up the mountain to. Being terrified of heights, I only went about half way as the trails were way too close to the edge with a significant drop off. They expect you to use your common sense here and pay attention. They are not over protective and lawsuit terrified. Play at your own risk and know yourself. Jim Bob went all the way up into one of the caves with several from our group. A little history about Qumran is that a splinter sect of Judaism known as the Essenes built and maintained a compound here. They believed that the end of the world was near and set about to write down all known scripture. These scrolls are the most well known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were found in one of the caves by a young shepherd somewhere in thee 1930’s.

We stayed at the Leonardo at the Dead Sea for one night. It was a less luxurious accommodation than the Tiberias, but it suited our needs. We still had a wonderful balcony view of the Dead Sea.

 Ritchie Thompson and Jim Bob being their normal crazy selves.

 Dead Sea Scroll

 Dead Seas Scroll table

 This is a ritual bath

 Climbing up to the caves

 The caves at Qumran

 From inside the caves

 The strong that made it up

Ein Gadi was one of my favorite places. We hiked up a mountain trail to David’s waterfall. All along the way were smaller streams and waterfalls. The trail was a little bit challenging in places but I know that 5 years ago, I never would have gotten half way up the trail. I felt very accomplished and happy to make the climb up and back down. The sights of the beautiful scenery was breathtaking. I love the story of the friendship of David and Jonathon. Ein Gadi is the place that David hid from King Saul. It is also the place that David could have killed King Saul in his sleep but chose compassion as “the man after God’s own heart.” Looking at the caves we passed made us wonder if that was the cave that King Saul slept in although none of the small caves we saw would have been sized enough for the presence of a king. While hiking we saw many small rodent animals called Hyrax. The Hyrax is also known as a Coney in some translations of the Bible.

This little guy is a Rock Hyrax. One of the many animals mentioned in the Bible.

 Squeezing into a cave like David hiding from King Saul.

 Hiking with Randy and Debbie

 You don't dare him to do anything!

 Loved getting in the waters

 At the David Waterfall.

Will Reese pointing out rock formations

Masada is an enormous fortress on the top of a mountain. I did make it to the top of the mountain via air tram but after eating lunch, the heights got the best of me. I was unable to view the ruins but JB did go through, photographed and enjoyed the adventure. Herod the Great built himself a palace fortress on top of the mountain at Masada. Jim Bob again: Masada is a fascinating with an equally fascinating story. As Stacy said King Herod built Masada as a hideaway. It consisted of three levels. The Upper, middle and lower palaces. In his time, it must have been not only beautifully extravagant but impressive as well. The ruins are very well preserved and have a lot of Roman design.

It was here at Masada that Zealot Jews hid out following the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD and defended it from the Romans for 3 years until 73AD. The Romans had the mountain surrounded and built a siege ramp all the way up to the gates. Approximately 1300 feet. It is such a marvel of engineering that it stands to this day. From the top you can also see the walls of the Roman camps in which that lived. There were six found around the base of the mountain.

Upon realizing that the Romans were going to take the mountain, 960 jews committed suicide rather than allow themselves and their families to be taken as slaves. 10 men were chosen to kill all the rest. They killed everyone and then cast lots to determine who would kill the rest and then fall on his sword. Only 6 are said to have survived. When the Romans entered the city, they entered to a very quiet compound.

The Israeli’s view this site as we do Pearl Harbor. It is a hallowed ground that is part of their national identity. Back to Stacy.

The brown stripe running through the middle is a reconstruction line. Anything below it is original to the ruin and above has been reconstructed.

Heating system in the Roman bath house in Masada. It had a raised floor and the heat ran below the floor and up through the tubes. Think of this room being like the sauna at a gym and you have the idea.

Roman camp at the base of Masada

The lower palace floor.

The middle palace.

The back wall of the lower palace

A side view of the Roman's siege ramp that allowed them to get up to the fortress gates.

This guy is an Ibex. He was at the base looking for handouts when we got down.

The Dead Sea was an interesting site. To see salt floating like ice would in Alaska was very odd. Jim Bob went down and got in the Dead Sea as did most of the group. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, considering I was not sure when I would be able to shower or rinse my clothes out. It ended up being a very late night getting to Tel Tamar due to some misunderstandings and getting a later than planned start out. The commercial shops around the Dead Sea are numerous. I have yet to hit any of that as I am waiting to get to Jerusalem to do my shopping. There is a coffee shop that we stop at often called Café Aroma. It is the Isaeli stop sign and is very strong but very good. Their café aroma consists of coffee with heavy whipping cream on top and you drop a chocolate bar in the bottom of the hot coffee and stir. It is very tasty and is the most popular coffee in Israel.

Jim Bob enjoyed floating in the Dead Sea. No such thing as swimming here at all. The water is so dense that all you can do is float.

Tel Tamar is where we stayed for 3 nights in the Negav Desert at the Biblical Tamar excavation site. On the first day we reconstructed a Roman bathhouse. This entailed using pics to get all the old sand out of the ruins. Olga, who was in charge of the reconstruction project said it was like being a dentist. It was tedious work. Once all the sand was out, which also dropped many small rocks out of the structures, we had to wash the ruins and place the small stones back in properly and add mortar where the loose sand had accumulated. It was tough, tedious work but very refreshing once the finished product could be admired. Jim Bob even uncovered 4 chair type seats. The wind was very high this day and made it very hard if you wear contacts or have dust allergies. I cut off working at half a day to save myself the risk of a sinus infection. After two sinus surgeries, I am pretty careful with self-imposed actions that can cause problems. Jim Bob here: Tel Tamar itself is the largest Solomonic fortress found that no one has heard about. The findings have yet to be published but it is one of the outlying fortresses that bordered Biblical Israel and Edom with its sister fortress in Moa and now sits 8 miles from the Jordanian border. Tamar has always been of great strategic importance. It is mentioned in the memiors of T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and was used by the British during World War 2. Today it is a historic site that is fascinating and worth the 40km trip from Ein Bokek on the Dead Sea. Oh and concerning the work that we did, the IAA (Israel Antiquities Authority) Manager Yorem said that the work looked as if it had been professionally done. Great compliment for a bunch of diggers from Texas.

 Stacy doing "dental work" on the wall

 Chris and Frank

 The team

 Bath house chairs

 A Roman arch

 When not in the USA this is acceptable.

 This shows the different ages of the wall based on the way the stones are cut. Roman stone masons were more precise. I did not see any reconstruction lines on this wall so I am left to assume that this is original wall.

Horvat Ramon near Lahov is the site where we actually got to do some digging. Stacy's allergies were giving her fits from the previous days work, so she stayed behind at Tel Tamar. This was an amazing day even though it was very windy most of the day. The objective of the dig was more for cleanup of the site. During the dig we found a few significant things. First, Lewis Smith dug up a support column. Then myself Ritchie Thompson and Donovan Davis found the base of the column about 2 feet away. Our leader, Dr. Mark Shipp and his team uncovered a wall that completed a room. Two days of hard work now done it is time to move to Jerusalem. 

 Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would find a sign like this.

 This is one of the roads to Horvat Ramon.

 Ritual bath

 The ruins of a Byzantine Synagogue from the 3rd century.

 Synagogue floor with the Holy of Holies in the front. Facing this way the worshipper was facing Jerusalem.

 Legendary Israeli archaeologist Yigal Israel. Amazing guy.

On the way back to Tel Tamar, we took the shortcut known as the Aqquibim Ascent or Scorpions Ascent. When you reach the summit it is absolutely breathtaking. I got to mark "seeing something truly majestic" off the bucket list. Once we reached the summit the Arabah Region of the Negev Desert opened up in all its glory. God has given us some amazing things to see. The original Roman road called the Spice route was still visible along with some Roman outposts.

 The Roman road still visible on the Aqquibim Ascent.

 Pictures do not do justice to the Aqquibim Ascent and the Negev Desert but these are a feeble attempt. It is absolutely majestic in its beauty. I marked "see something majestic" off the bucket list.

We are now in Jerusalem but we made stops along the way. 

Our first stop was Arod. The Arod site has two distinct features. First, it has a Canaanite city that is very well laid out and impressive and second, it has a beautifully preserved fortress with a temple inside that predates the Temple of Solomon. 

 Canaanite city of Arod

 Cistern at the Canaanite city

 This guy was getting a little sun.

 View up to the Israelite fortress

 View from the fortress

 Fortress gates

 Inside the fortress

 The fort had a temple inside. I am standing in the area known as the holy of holies.

 Inside the fortress cistern. Basically is was a carved out well that collected water for the fortress.

More of the ruins at Arod

Our second stop was at Beersheba. This city is considered to be the home of Abraham. This is a really neat site because of the way that the excavations have exposed much of the city's houses and when you look at it from above it is laid out like a wagon wheel. The most outstanding feature at Beersheba is the water works. The cistern (reservoir) was multi room and huge. We had to climb down about 3 stories to the bottom. The limestone was carved out smooth and you can tell how high the water level got inside there. 

 The city of Beersheba was laid out in what looks like a wagon wheel. Very well defined ruins that have been dug down to the strata level that corresponds with the time of David and Solomon.

 Down into the Beersheba's depths to see the water works. (Cistern)

Inside the cistern

And so now we are staying at a convent and will be able to view all of Jerusalem with much individual time. We are looking forward to the many sites and shopping that this amazing city has to offer. Jim Bob is especially looking forward to the Israel Museum. 

Our trip has exceeded all of my expectations. My experiences and the sights I have seen have been incredible, life changing and amazing. Jim Bob has had the time of his life and has taken in and experienced much more than I have due to his love of history and his extensive study of the Bible. He began studying Israel as soon as we decided to make this trip and was well prepared and equipped to understand all of the locations and Biblical context. He says that it has been an experience that he will never forget and looks forward to discussions about the trip and places that we have seen when we get home.

Jim Bob: 

After our time in the wilderness we have now entered the land of milk and honey. We believe that we now understand the concept that this analogy given in Scripture means. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and when they crossed into the land that was promised to them it IS a good land. The land is fertile and green and absolutely stunning. 

I am convinced that the Israeli's understand completely the concept of stewardship. They take care of and cultivate that which God has provided for them. If only we as Americans could show the same regard for what we have been given. 

This is the kind of trip I would recommend to anyone. It is a once in a lifetime thing so enjoy and breathe it all in. 

Until next time: Shalom!