We headed through the checkpoint and went a few miles north toward Jerusalem, and then headed west on Hwy 1 to the western coast. This gave us our first daylight view of real countryside. There is a good deal of agriculture in modern Israel. They need to it feed the 9.5 million residents. When I was first in Israel studying here as a seminarian in the fall of 1990, there were only about 4.1 million, and 400,000 of them had arrived as immigrants that year - primarily from Russia as the USSR was breaking up.
Along the way we passed Abu Ghosh, which is a favored site for Emmaus to where the Risen Christ walked with two pilgrims explaining why it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die. (Luke 24:13-25). Abu Ghosh was a 19th century tribal leader strong enough to defy Turkish rule, but not seen as a real threat to the Ottoman Empire. His name replaced that of the traditional and Biblical name, Qiryat Yearim, which is found in the OT quite often. It was the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant for the 20 years between its return by the Philistines (1 Samuel 6:21 -7:2) and its removal to Jerusalem by David.
We continued to Tel Aviv, the largest metro area in Israel, an turned north on Hwy 2 to Ceasaria Maritime. This city of Caesarea was built by Herod the Great a few decades before the birth of Christ. It was an amazing accomplishment because it required the building of a harbor - it was to be the commercial center of his kingdom - and it had no water supply. An aqueduct was built to bring water in from about 20 miles away. He built a theater, a palace with both freshwater and salt water swimming pools, a hippodrome for horse races, a lighthouse and much more. It became the seat of government for the Romans - Pontius Pilate ruled from there. Biblically it was where Paul was imprisoned for two years before appealing to Rome for a decision. Peter was summoned there by
Cornelius (acts 10) and it was that Peter baptized his first non-Jews after the "Gentile Pentecost"
when Cornelius and his household experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
when Cornelius and his household experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
While we visiting it was extremely windy, but it wasn't really raining. The waves in the Mediterranean Sea were wild crashing ashore. The tour began with a movie of the history of the place to present time. (It became a center for learning, especially for Christians, but others, too. People lived in harmony, for the most part. It declined in importance, however. It was taken by the Moselms in the 600s, and evenually became a Crusader holding. Its moat and other fortifications were not effective though, and it was lost again. It went into obscurity and about a century ago the land was purchased and it is now a very elite community. It is the home of the only golf course in Israel, and I'm told the least expensive living place there costs two million dollars.
From there we continued north to Haifa, and stopped at Stella Maris on Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel is a large mountain, about 25 kM long. It was here the Carmelite order began and it is the site of the great battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal during the time of Queen Jezebel and King Ahab. We also visited a cave Elijah is said to have lived in. We missed our slot for Mass, so we
made plans to do it at the hotel in Tiberius after we checked in.
We had lunch at a restaurant with a striking view of the Mediterranean Sea. This day our choices were fish chicken steak or lamb/beef kabobs. It came with the usual many side dishes as is the norm for our meals.
Haifa is also the world headquarters of the Ba`hai religion, which broke off from the Shiite Muslims in the 1800s. They have some beautiful gardens there. Haifa is also the technological center for Israel, the Israeli Silicon Valley.
We continued north to Acre (aka Acco). This is an ancient site with the earliest mention in history during the 19th century BC when it was an Egyptian commercial outpost. It remained in Phoenician hands during the Israelite conquest, and became a Canaanite city. Eventually it became an important Greek town, and then Roman. Today it is most remembered for its years as a Crusader stronghold.
It was the last place to fall to the Muslims, and its fall ended the Latin Kingdom (Crusader kingdoms) in this part of the world. Knights Templars, Knights Hospitallers, and the various European powers
who occupied the place did not really plan or work together, and it fell from internal strife as much as threat from the outside.
The people who visited Acre over the years is incredible. It included Julius Caesar, Marco Polo, Francis of Assisi, Richard the Lionhearted. Napoleon attacked it in1799, but it held; he went to Egypt after than instead.
What we visited was the Crusader history. Almost all of what we saw had been underground after years of disuse - filling with sand, trash, etc. This has now been excavated and is interesting for those who are interested in the Crusader period (1099-1291). Again, its fall in 1291 ended the presence of the Latin Kingdom in this part of the world. During that last siege they held out two months during which 30,000 to 40,000 people managed to escape to Cyprus.
After that visit we stopped in at a store where they create bronze items. We saw the owner's son, the fifth generation in this business, quickly create a simple wrist band which he gave to one of our pilgrims. The artist/owner is David Miro, who came to Israel from Iraq in1950.
We came to Tiberius where we checked into the Caesar Hotel - a nice place directly on the Sea of Galilee. I received a surprise when I learned I was upgraded to a room on the top floor. I was amazed when I actually saw it. A master bath with a jacuzzi; a living room/dining room of great size, and a balcony overlooking the Sea of Galilee which must have been well over 400 square feet. I decided we needed to have a mid-trip party there the next night. More on that on Sunday's blog (eventually).
We did have Mass in a room provided by the hotel, and then to dinner and after dinner people had discussions, played cards or got some rest.
made plans to do it at the hotel in Tiberius after we checked in.
We had lunch at a restaurant with a striking view of the Mediterranean Sea. This day our choices were fish chicken steak or lamb/beef kabobs. It came with the usual many side dishes as is the norm for our meals.
Haifa is also the world headquarters of the Ba`hai religion, which broke off from the Shiite Muslims in the 1800s. They have some beautiful gardens there. Haifa is also the technological center for Israel, the Israeli Silicon Valley.
We continued north to Acre (aka Acco). This is an ancient site with the earliest mention in history during the 19th century BC when it was an Egyptian commercial outpost. It remained in Phoenician hands during the Israelite conquest, and became a Canaanite city. Eventually it became an important Greek town, and then Roman. Today it is most remembered for its years as a Crusader stronghold.
It was the last place to fall to the Muslims, and its fall ended the Latin Kingdom (Crusader kingdoms) in this part of the world. Knights Templars, Knights Hospitallers, and the various European powers
who occupied the place did not really plan or work together, and it fell from internal strife as much as threat from the outside.
The people who visited Acre over the years is incredible. It included Julius Caesar, Marco Polo, Francis of Assisi, Richard the Lionhearted. Napoleon attacked it in1799, but it held; he went to Egypt after than instead.
What we visited was the Crusader history. Almost all of what we saw had been underground after years of disuse - filling with sand, trash, etc. This has now been excavated and is interesting for those who are interested in the Crusader period (1099-1291). Again, its fall in 1291 ended the presence of the Latin Kingdom in this part of the world. During that last siege they held out two months during which 30,000 to 40,000 people managed to escape to Cyprus.
After that visit we stopped in at a store where they create bronze items. We saw the owner's son, the fifth generation in this business, quickly create a simple wrist band which he gave to one of our pilgrims. The artist/owner is David Miro, who came to Israel from Iraq in1950.
We came to Tiberius where we checked into the Caesar Hotel - a nice place directly on the Sea of Galilee. I received a surprise when I learned I was upgraded to a room on the top floor. I was amazed when I actually saw it. A master bath with a jacuzzi; a living room/dining room of great size, and a balcony overlooking the Sea of Galilee which must have been well over 400 square feet. I decided we needed to have a mid-trip party there the next night. More on that on Sunday's blog (eventually).
We did have Mass in a room provided by the hotel, and then to dinner and after dinner people had discussions, played cards or got some rest.
Cornelius
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