Well I have been pretty sick... THE GALILEE

Well I did it again, another weekend, another field study. I wish I could say that I was totally thrilled about leaving for four days, but I have to admit I was weary of spending so much time away from work and having the prospect of missing my registration (After some convincing I arranged the registrar to register for me!). So Here I am back at school and praising God for a wonderful weekend. I was in good spirits as we left, mainly because I decided on furthering my education at grad school. Yes that is right, me at grad school. So things were looking up. I need to start writing about my trip now because I don’t want to waste Cindy’s time on my personal life. Here we go…

In General

On this trip we headed north into the Galilee, the Jezreel Valley, and some of the coastal plains. This land is important because of its rich agricultural contributions. As we are learning the rules of rain fall here are north, high, and west… so we should have known that this was going to be a very wet weekend, but more on that later. This was truly a beautiful land, I could believe that if I drove a few hours south I would hit a dessert. I guess that’s due to all of the mountain ranges. Anyway I love it, it was beautiful.

Day #1

Due to recent vitamin taking, I started his day with a lot of energy, however, my first thing in my notes, was that I was feeling nauseous. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a lovely 72 hour stomach virus. No worries, I kept in good spirits. We began the day orienting ourselves around the rift valley. That’s the one that runs the length of the Jordan. Which really isn’t that mighty after all. We got to see the the fence border between Israel and Jordan and I wrote down to tell you that there is a road right next to it for patrol cars. Between the road and the fence there is a dirt space that the soldiers comb out and check for foot prints. I thought that was pretty cool. Warning: I am about to start using City names, and I know I will butcher all of the spelling. Thank you.

Bet She’an/ Skytopolis

This was quite possibly my favorite spot of the weekend. I was hesitant to say so, because it was our first real stop, but the ruins were awesome. This roman city was HUGE. It had everything including a theatre, a bath house, and some sweet ancient public bathrooms. That was the new testament city, the old testament city had a governors house from an Egyptians were that found hieroglyphs carved into a stone. There is also a ton of columns still standing. Supposedly the city was destroyed in the great earthquake of 769 a.d.? This seemed to be a theme among all the ruins we visited. The city lies in the Jezreel Valley. Its sister city is Rahov, which was famous for its honey.

On Top of Mt. Gilboa

Mt. Gilboa is actually in reference to the entire mountain range. The Actual mountain range is at the elbow of the right angle shape of this ridge. We couldn’t see very clearly from the top of the mountain, but we could make out Mt. Carmel and the Hills of Moreh. While on top we talked of how King Saul and his sons came to this mountain to flee the Midianites, and was unsuccessful. We also discussed the story of Gideon, and how he was called to be a judge. His battle took place in the Jezreel Valley, which we were looking over at the time. Gideon’s army was stationed at the base of Mt. Gilboa.

Zippori

Our next stop was Zippori, this huge city was home to a ton of mosaics, so we were happy to finally see some art work. At least I was. There was a roman villa there that had been restored and on the floor was a woman they call the Mona Lisa of the Galilee. Actually I thought that she was much prettier. This city was very much a mixture of Hellenism and Judaism, as is evident but the mosaic on the floor of their synagogue, which displays both a zodiac and the history of the Jews. On our way to the kibbutz that night we tried to climb down the cliffs of Arbel, but they told us it was closed so we had to go on Monday.

The Diggs

I would like to say a few things about the place we stayed. I forgot to take a picture but it was a pleasure. It was this resort kind of thing run by a kibbutz on the shore of the Galilee and we got to stay in these lovely little apartment like house. The food was an absolute pleasure. It’s in En Gev, and I would suggest it to anyone.

Day #2 Approaches to the Sea of Galilee

We set off in the rain and got to see bananas and mango growing on either side of the road. I thought that was pretty neat. I was starting to wonder why Galilee wasn’t the whole chosen land.

Hazor

I couldn’t remember Hazor, and now I know why. It started to rain here. That and my stomach felt like someone was ripping it out. It sits in the Hulah basin, and kinda looked a lot like other tells we had been to. It did have a solomonic gate which I am getting really good at picking out. David, Solomon, and Ahab all rebuilt Hazor at one time or another. Cindy told us this cool story about how a kid found a clay tablet there recently while he kicked around in the dirt. So we all kicked around in the dirt while she was talking. There was a neat olive press there, where we learned that the first press of the olives is going to make your best oil. When Cindy gave us some free time it started to pour and we ran for shelter.

Tel Dan

Jennilee and I both loved Dan because it is one of the only places in Israel that has fall. To get to the tell you have to go on this amazing nature walk along the spring of Dan. It was so beautiful and reminded us all of the states. We really enjoyed our time there. It had stopped raining some and we got to the part of the tel where Jeroboam built his huge alter to idols. We sat on the steps of temple while we discussed what we thought the sin of Jeroboam actually way. Then we headed over to the gate complex and I SAW A REAL LIVE SCORPION. I thought all of these bug like things grew in pet stores, but I guess I was wrong. First a tarantula and now a scorpion. It was really small, and black. But Cindy told us that we should only worry about the yellow ones. Personally I don’t care if its pink, it just needs to stay out of my area. I screamed and almost cussed under my breath. I think I will stick to cats. There was also an old Canaanite mud gate there that we crawled all over. It is the only one of its kind left, because they covered it over for some reason. They are still in the middle of uncovering it.

Banias

I really enjoyed this stop in the trip, but I didn’t take notes or take pictures because I thought it was a stop to just look at something (crazy right? ) Anyway we stopped to have lunch and then we and looked at the sight of all these ancient pagan temples. There was a cave there that they used to throw human sacrifices down and if bold came up they thought that Pan had not accepted the sacrifice. This place was neat in that it was a huge rock face that gave an abundance of water. They used to refer to this at the gates of Hell which is why they think this is where Jesus anointed Peter as the head of the Church. It would be a good place to point at all of the rocks as an illustration to that story. I am starting to think that Jesus taught a lot in object lessons or things really relevant to people in the area that they were in. He was pretty awesome not going to lie.

Golan Heights

I figure I can lump this all in together. The end of the day was so cool. We drove to the top of a huge mountain, which ended up being Nimrod, the site of a crusader castle. Well actually two castles. This site doesn’t really have any biblical connotations, but it was just pretty darn cool. From here we could see a colony of Druze people. These are a strange group of about 500 families that have lived in their own community for hundreds of years. You can only marry other druze people and if you leave the colony they will find you and kill you. As you get older you move up ranks and they let you in on more of their secrets. Their religion is based in Muslim but only part way. They believe that one day the messiah will one day the messiah will be born to a man, and the elders where these low sagging pants in anticipation. I am not lying. Next stop was to the volcano cones in the upper Golan Heights. We were right on the border looking into Lebanon. It was lovely to watch as the sun went down and look into the no-mans land that buffers the borders.

Day #3 Galilee Day!

This is the day I sucked it up and bought an umbrella. Best 23 sheks I ever spent.

Hippus the Decapolis City

Hippus was neat in that it was right neat En Gev where we were staying, and that it was built completely from Basalt, which is black volcanic rock. We piled out in the rain and walked up this long path way all the way to the top of the hill. On our way we passed some very nice barbed wire patches with signs warning us about land mines. Nothing makes my morning like nothing I could blow up at any moment. What struck me when I first entered the city was the length of their Cardo (main road). It was not as wide as others that I had seen, but its wet black pavers gave off a dead feeling. It was like being in Europe, if I had ever been there. It was a wealthy city on a hill. A good example of letting your light shine out. The worst part of this site was me not being to the bus on time because I misunderstood the directions to where we were supposed to meet. I felt like an idiot.

BOAT RIDE!

Ok other awesome part of this day. We drove past the tel of Apphex and Hopped unto a Jesus Boat and road across the Sea of Galilee! Hooray! I do not really remember what we talked about, but I think it had to do with different types of fished. Cindy told us that the sea is as low as it has been in forever, so if you look on the shore you can find net weights and stone anchors. Well I looked everywhere and found nothing. Leah goes and finds a TON of them. Oh well. So we all hung off the side and enjoyed ourselves. It is nice to be in Israel.

Korazim

Korazim was another tel with a pretty sweet synagogue. It still had some of its pillars and again some pagan carving which is always strange. Plenty of theories there I assure you. The whole city is made from basalt. We talked about the homes of New Testament in that you would generally live in a multigenerational home (AKA. in my fathers house there are many rooms).

Out in Some Field Somewhere

So along the shore we walked out into a wheat field in the area were Jesus gave his sermon on the Mount. We lay on the ground and read it aloud. It was quite pleasant. Then we walked down by the water and sat on the rocks that are usually covered by the waves. Another Highlight I thought.

Caesarea Philippi

This next stop was pretty neat. When we got there it seemed fine and we sat under some trees in the midst of the ruins. Then it started to rain. I had left my umbrella on the bus but was hoping it wouldn’t get so bad. It did. It poured cats and dogs, (welcome to Israeli winter) so we ran into this spaceship shaped church that is built over Peter’s house. We waited out the downpour and went exploring. There is the remains of a great white synagogue there, but it is built on the foundations of a basalt synagogue which is the one Jesus would have been in. (I think I am starting to sound lame, I think I need a nap). So we got back on the bus to do our hike!

The Cliffs of Arbel

The idea of this hike terrified me, but I was going to do it anyway. I mean who wouldn’t want to use ropes and staples to hang off of a rock face that drops hundreds of feet to the floor below? I know I didn’t want to miss it. Actually while I was scared out of my wits it was really a nice feeling to get down to the bottom; Another self-confidence booster. And everyone in my group is really supportive and helps me a lot. I am really grateful about that.

Day #4 The Jezreel Valley and the Coast

Four days is too much to write about. I have no more adjectives to describe things, and will probably describe everything with awesome, cool, and neat. Ugh. So we woke up for our last day of the field study. I went out at 5:30 in the morning to look for net weights along the shore, no luck. I was feeling so much better though, and this day ended up being AWESOME.

Megiddo

It rained. I wish that was all that I had to say. It seems to only rain after we are 1,000 feet from the bus or without proper shelter. So we walked through the tel gate and walked to an overlook were you can see the ancient round prayer alter there. There was some shelter here but it was pouring and it didn’t really help. Guess what? My umbrella was on the bus. I spent this whole day with wet and cold feet. I am not complaining it’s just I didn’t want to get sick this week. There was a really AWESOME water system there that we walked down inside. It was like a huge tunnel that ran out of the city down to where the water was. They built it that way so they would be able to survive under siege. Supposedly this city has been leveled a zillion times, so it’s a pretty interesting tel.

My favorite part about this site was talking about Armageddon. The rain was actually pretty fitting when it starting to thunder over head. City went into some Hebrew grammar stuff on the bus and I thought that was pretty COOL.

LUNCH – was AWESOME. We stopped at this Druze restaurant and got to choose between snitzel or falafel. I had the chicken and the hot sauce. It tasted AMAZING. I got some coke to go with it, and decided I really don’t like coke at all anymore. After lunch was supposed to be a stop near a church were Elijah had God pour on the alter. Well it was pouring on us so we went out, looked into the fog, and got right back on the bus.

Caesarea Maritime

So we drove for a good 45 minutes and got to Herod’s unnatural harbor. It started to rain when we got there but thank the Lord it eventually stopped and the sun actually came out for the rest of our day! This city is so beautiful. Just the splendor that it must have been as ships approached it in its glory days is too much to think about. It was home to two theatres, two horse tracks, a huge bath house, and a great temple to Caesarea. Herod built a harbor that stretched out hundreds of feet into the ocean out of this cement that dried underwater. He built his palace on this offshoot of rock so that he would be surrounded on three sides with salt water. Inside his palace was a fresh water pool. The water came in on these huge aqueducts that you can still go and see (which we did, in the rain). We went exploring, first out to the palace where you can still see some of the foundation. The first part of the palace is the praetorian, the exact one where they kept Paul for so long. So that was pretty COOL. My favorite part of the site was at the theatre. I wanted to see how it would sound so I sang a line. Then the tourists about shouted for more, so I sang for them and they all clapped! It was actually kind of embarrassing. It was also impressive to see so many of the marble floors still intact there.

Over all I had a great time on this field study. I really did enjoy myself, even if going meant I had to write this terrible piece of literature and force my teacher to read it. But God is really changing my heart, and I am enjoying it.

PICTURE LINKS COMING SOON!