A beautiful day in the land of Israel

What a beautiful day we had!  It was sunny and warm...well, actually hot at times...and some of the clearest, cleanest air!  Visibility was great, so this was a major-photo day.  If you have been disappointed in the lack of photos up to today, this is your day.  

In the daylight this morning we discovered that our hotel rooms had beautiful views of the Mediterranean Sea.  Since we arrived after dark, up to the time we looked out of our windows, we thought the big advantage of this hotel was that they offered FOX news...in ENGLISH!

Gus has found out that we appreciate his humor, so he tried out several good lines on us today.  Instead of telling us to hurry, he just reminded us that the "sun doesn't stand still".  He also told us that Israel was the land of "milk and honey" and now is the land of "tourists and money".  He described a lady who had an area set aside by the road to cook and serve food as "no hygiene, no problem". But, other than his sense of humor, Gus is a well-educated and extremelywell-informed guide. This morning on the drive to Caesarea he explained how a kibbutz (cooperative community) operates.  He also explained that because of all of the valuable archaeological items that can be found in Israel, any items that are in the ground you own are not really yours.  If you discover a historical item like old coins or pottery as you dig for a flower bed in your yard, the Bureau of Antiquities must be contacted to come and investigate before any more digging takes place.

We arrived at Caesarea, and the weather was beautiful for photos.  We walked through the theater, the area of the royal palace, the traditional place where the apostle Paul was imprisoned, and visited the hippodrome and the Crusader-era ruins.  Barry or Gus described the areas as we viewed them.

From the ruins of Caesarea we drove slightly north to view the aqueduct that brought water to the ancient city.  The photo of Dan and me is to prove that we are both on the tour and so far we have managed to spend time together with no incidents.  We remarked this morning that our Aunt Norine would have been pleased that we were taking this trip together.

Adam (KB) and Joe and Sandra posed for photos also, and at one point there were no tourists at the aqueduct, so I had to take an "un-manned" photo.  It was so beautiful!

Then there was Norm, who, with this outstanding example of historical antiquity directly behind him, chose to use some of his 10-minute-off-bus time to shop from a local who was hawking scarves to tourists.

After lunch we drove to Mount Carmel, the scene of the famous contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal.  As we stood in the shade of a carob tree, Barry read the acccount to us from the Bible.

Following the reading, we went on top of the building to view he actual sites mentioned in the verses.

After lunch we drove down the Jezreel Valley to the ruins of Megeddo, which was first inhabited over 7000 years ago.  We were reminded that after having seen the Jezreel Valley and Megeddo, they would be real places to us when we read the Bible now, not just "red dots on a map."  The group walked up the tell to view the ruins.

Jeremy and Anna posed for a photo-op near the area of Solomon's stables on Megeddo.

We walked through the tunnel Ahab built to bring water into the city. (182 steps down, if anyone is counting!)  There is no water in the tunnel now, but Barry reminded us that this tunnel was built by King Ahab.  He said this proved that Ahab could be remembered for building this tunnel...not just for his bad taste in women.  I walked behind Dan going through the tunnel.

Our last stop of the day was a visit to Nazareth Village, a reconstructed village as it would have looked during the time of Christ.  People dressed in period costumes wandered around the area, along with some Biblical animals.  Paul (C) and Shawn made friends with one of the donkeys. 

At one point we had the opportunity to go into a tomb with a rolling stone.  The opening was not very tall and Marci demonstrated that it was not easy to get out of the tomb, but she made it, and I suppose getting out of a tomb at all is a big accomplishment.  

Tonight we are spending the first of three nights at a hotel in Tiberias that is right on the Sea of Galilee. Several of us are planning to get up early in the morning to see the sunrise over the Sea of Galilee.  That will make our time to get up a little earlier than usual, so in order to make that schedule I need to put myself to bed soon.

Hopefully your day is as beautiful, interesting and fun-filled as ours was.