(Arrive from Athens, Caesarea, Haifa, Tiberias)
Tel Aviv
We landed in Israel at 4:15 am, were greeted by our new Tour Guide, Mr. Rimon G. Makhlouf, with a big ‘Welcome Home’ and transferred to our hotel. On past trips, the group has checked into the hotel to get some rest and started touring about 2:00 in the afternoon. We arrived at the Renaissance Hotel in Tel Aviv close to 6:00 in the morning. We all talked it over and decided that we would forego the rest period, have our buffet
breakfast at 6:30, do a little sightseeing around the hotel, and begin touring about 9:00.
The Renaissance Hotel appeared to be a very nice hotel in a great location. This property has a beautiful private beach, swimming pool and a magnificent view of the sea. The hotel is ideally located in the heart of Tel Aviv, along the Mediterranean shore, a short walk away from the City center, the shopping and entertainment areas.
We enjoyed a very nice buffet breakfast as we watched many people walk on the beach and swim in the Mediterranean Sea. The buffet consisted of many different pastries, pancakes with chocolate syrup (very popular in Israel), raw fish and lots of fruit - you could even squeeze your own orange juice if you wanted. After breakfast, Shannon and Cathy walked into the sea just to say that had. The beach was made of the softest sand and the water was not cold. We were not here long but we did enjoy the brief time that we had. At 9:00 we all boarded the bus to head to Caesarea to tour the amphitheater and the ruins of this coastal city, from where Paul wrote his prison letters. Pastor Rick offered a prayer for our safety and God’s blessing and we were on our way.
For no extra charge, Rimon provided a few more fun facts that will help give you a better picture of Israel... The nation of Israel occupies approximately 18,000 square miles – it’s about the size of New Jersey. Fifty-one percent of the land is desert. Tel Aviv is on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea. Israel is bordered by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Sixty-five percent of the population lives on the coast. Eighty percent of the income comes from high-tech industries.
We learned almost immediately that the printed tour brochure is subject to change. Our agenda called for us to first tour Jaffa, the setting for the story of Jonah and the whale and where the Apostle Paul had his vision. Instead, we drove to Caesarea to tour the amphitheater and the ruins of this coastal city, from where Paul wrote his prison letters. The decision on what to see and when is left to Pastor Rick, but mostly the tour guide Rimon, because he is keenly aware of what is going on in Israel on any given day. He wants to insure that we get the ‘biggest bang for the buck’ in what we see and maybe he simply is tired of Jaffa. Off to Caesarea we go.
Tel Aviv
We landed in Israel at 4:15 am, were greeted by our new Tour Guide, Mr. Rimon G. Makhlouf, with a big ‘Welcome Home’ and transferred to our hotel. On past trips, the group has checked into the hotel to get some rest and started touring about 2:00 in the afternoon. We arrived at the Renaissance Hotel in Tel Aviv close to 6:00 in the morning. We all talked it over and decided that we would forego the rest period, have our buffet
breakfast at 6:30, do a little sightseeing around the hotel, and begin touring about 9:00.The Renaissance Hotel appeared to be a very nice hotel in a great location. This property has a beautiful private beach, swimming pool and a magnificent view of the sea. The hotel is ideally located in the heart of Tel Aviv, along the Mediterranean shore, a short walk away from the City center, the shopping and entertainment areas.
We enjoyed a very nice buffet breakfast as we watched many people walk on the beach and swim in the Mediterranean Sea. The buffet consisted of many different pastries, pancakes with chocolate syrup (very popular in Israel), raw fish and lots of fruit - you could even squeeze your own orange juice if you wanted. After breakfast, Shannon and Cathy walked into the sea just to say that had. The beach was made of the softest sand and the water was not cold. We were not here long but we did enjoy the brief time that we had. At 9:00 we all boarded the bus to head to Caesarea to tour the amphitheater and the ruins of this coastal city, from where Paul wrote his prison letters. Pastor Rick offered a prayer for our safety and God’s blessing and we were on our way.
For no extra charge, Rimon provided a few more fun facts that will help give you a better picture of Israel... The nation of Israel occupies approximately 18,000 square miles – it’s about the size of New Jersey. Fifty-one percent of the land is desert. Tel Aviv is on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea. Israel is bordered by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Sixty-five percent of the population lives on the coast. Eighty percent of the income comes from high-tech industries.We learned almost immediately that the printed tour brochure is subject to change. Our agenda called for us to first tour Jaffa, the setting for the story of Jonah and the whale and where the Apostle Paul had his vision. Instead, we drove to Caesarea to tour the amphitheater and the ruins of this coastal city, from where Paul wrote his prison letters. The decision on what to see and when is left to Pastor Rick, but mostly the tour guide Rimon, because he is keenly aware of what is going on in Israel on any given day. He wants to insure that we get the ‘biggest bang for the buck’ in what we see and maybe he simply is tired of Jaffa. Off to Caesarea we go.
Caesarea
The following history lesson was provided by our tour guide - Rimon. Once the site of a Phoenician port, over the course of 12 years Herod built Caesarea into the grandest city other than Jerusalem in Palestine, with a deep sea harbor, aqueduct, hippodrome and magnificent amphitheater that
remain standing today. Herod renamed the city Caesarea in honor of the emperor. Caesarea is an important site in Christian history. It was the place where Pontius Pilate governed during the time of Jesus. This was where Simon Peter converted the Roman, Cornelius, the first non-Jew to believe in Jesus. Paul was also imprisoned for two years in Caesarea. During the 3rd century, Caesarea was a center of Christian learning. In the 4th century, the site converted to Christianity and became a major center of the Christian Roman Empire. In 640 CE, Caesarea was the last Palestinian city to fall to the Muslim invaders. After the Muslims swept out of Arabia and across the Middle East, driving out the Romans, Palestine was largely neglected.
Today, the amphitheater is not only a spectacular relic of the past, but a modern performing venue where concerts are frequently held. Inside the gate of the theater is a plaque with a replica (the original is in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem) of the inscription found during excavations in 1959-63 with the words "TIBERIVM" and "TIVS PILATUS," references to Emperor Tiberius and Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea at the time of Jesus. This was an important find because it is the only
archaeological evidence of Pilate's existence. We were informed that the entrances to the theater are known as vomitoria. The name does not come from the reaction of patrons to a show, but is simply a word meaning vaulted passageway. The inside of the theater is not only impressive as a remnant of the glory days of Rome, but for its spectacular view of the Mediterranean. What a beautiful view.
We completed the tour of the remaining excavations as we walked along a 1 ½ mile stretch of the Mediterranean. Since it was a very hot day we were glad that the tour bus was waiting for us at the end of the tour and we would not have to back-track to where we began. Words cannot describe how awesome these sites are. Off to Mt. Carmel with a quick stop at the remains of the aqueduct that brought water from the mountains to Caesarea
Aqueduct to Caesarea
The old city Caesarea required a steady flow of running water. Initially its waters came from the local wells. However, as the population grew to several hundred thousand people, a large scale aqueduct was required to bring the water from a distance. The first aqueduct was built by Herod (37BC to 4BC), at the time the new city was founded and dedicated to the Roman, Caesar Augustus. It brought the water from the southern side of Mount Carmel, at Shummi, about 6 miles to the north east of the city. The water flowed on a single raised canal, and in one section it is dug into the rock (at Jiser-e-zarka, an Arab village north of Caesarea).
Since even this was not sufficient, a second "lower" aqueduct was built by the Legions of the Emperor Hadrian (2nd C AD). It brought water from the Tanninim River, farther from Shummi. This section, with a tunnel of about 3 miles long, was tapped into the older aqueduct, and doubled its capacity. This new source of water was added to the right of the first canal, and the aqueduct was thus doubled in width. The builders used the same building materials and style, so it is hard to see that the pair of tunnels was built in different ages.
The aqueduct continued to supply water for 1200 years. During the ages it was repaired several times. In the marsh lands east of Jiser-E-Zarka a bypass canal was built to overcome the damages. After that time the aqueduct was beyond repair. So, in the Crusaders period (12th C AD), a third, smaller, canal was built that replaced the first two. At that time the City was smaller and required less water, so the third smaller canal was sufficient. That is all I ever wanted to know about the aqueduct that carried water to Caesarea. We boarded the bus and we continued on to Haifa and ascended Mt. Carmel where Elijah had his contest with the prophets of Baal.
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel is actually a mountain range which juts into the Mediterranean Sea, splitting the coastal plain of Israel into two parts: the Plain of Sharon to the south and the Plain of Akko to the north. The range extends southeast for 14 miles, with a width of up to 6 miles, and reaches a maximum elevation of 1,792 feet. Its northeast slopes are steep, while those on the southwest are more gradual. In the Bible, Mount Carmel is frequently mentioned as a place of great beauty and fertility.
The religious significance attached to it during Biblical times is indicated by the account in 1 Kings 18:19-40 where it is the scene of a contest between the prophet Elijah and the priests of the Phoenician storm god, Baal and his consort Asherah.
Something that we noticed about the places we visited in Israel is this – if there is some religious and Biblical significance to the site, there is a church, monastery or cathedral that has been constructed on the site. As you might expect, there is a monastery at the top of Mt. Carmel. A
Catholic religious order was founded on Mount Carmel in the 12th century. A Carmelite monastery was founded at the site shortly after the order itself was created. In 1821 the surviving structure was destroyed by the Govenor of Damascus. A new monastery was later constructed directly over a nearby cave, after funds were collected by the Carmelite order for restoration of the monastery, the cave, which now forms the crypt of the monastic church, is termed Elijah's grotto by the monks.
Tourist are allowed to take the stairs to the top of the monastery and enjoy a panoramic view of Israel. In many ways, the valley below reminds us of the central valley in California – lots of agricultural crops planted with little housing or buildings. After everyone had taken their photographs, we boarded the bus and headed to the city of Tiberias – our rest stop for the night.
Tiberias
The city of Tiberias has a population of approximately 40,100. Today, Tiberias is Israel's most popular holiday resort in the northern half of the country and is located on Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee), at 689 ft. below sea level - it is one of the lowest-lying towns in the world. It was founded c. AD 20 by Herod Antipas and named for the Roman emperor Tiberius. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70, it became a center of Jewish learning and later the seat of the Sanhedrin and rabbinical schools. The Talmud was edited there in the 3rd – 6th centuries. Saladin took the town from the Crusaders in 1187. The modern town was refounded under the British mandate in 1922 and became part of independent Israel in 1948.
We arrived at our hotel late in the afternoon. The hotel brochure in the room provided the following description of our hotel – the Sheraton Moriah in Tiberias:
Set on the promenade on the shores of Lake Tiberias, the Sheraton Moriah Tiberias is a modern, ten-storey resort hotel situated 100 meters from the Sea of Galilee and four kilometers from the Tiberias hot springs. Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport is 150 kilometers away, with an approximate driving time of 120 minutes.
The Sheraton Moriah Tiberias houses a fitness centre complete with a sauna, steam room and spa tub. A range of pampering massage treatments and hairdressing services are also available on request. The heated outdoor pool is surrounded by a sun terrace that overlooks the Lake Tiberias promenade, and the kids' club offers a range of activities for younger guests. Complimentary walking tours of Tiberias are organized by the hotel and the concierge is on hand to offer advice on sightseeing opportunities in the area. Wireless Internet access is available in the lobby (surcharge).
The hotel houses a large buffet restaurant that offers a wide range of international and regional dishes. Children's menus and vegetarian options are also available.
After a long day of touring, we got cleaned up and came down for a group dinner at 6:30. Our tablemates were Pastor Randy Cole, his wife Joanne, their daughters Brittan and Caitland, and another couple, Paul and Jackie Dennis. We learned that Randy and Joanne have four children; Caleb, Luke, Brittan and Caitland. Caleb is a youth pastor on the east coast and loves his job. Luke, a former marine, is finishing college in Texas and has a girlfriend that everyone is crazy about. Brittan graduates in 1 semester from Vanguard College, majoring in religion with a minor in English. Caitland is in nursing school in Washington. We all shared family stories, laughed a lot, and enjoyed the food – it was good!
After dinner, we toured the hotel and then went to bed on the early side. We have been playing catch-up with sleep since the trip started. We have another early start tomorrow so any chance of getting a little more sleep won’t be wasted. Tomorrow, the itinerary shows that we are scheduled to begin our day with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee from Tiberias to Capernaum where we will see an ancient synagogue and St. Peter’s house which was later converted into a church. Next, we are supposed to stop at Tabgha and see the Church of Peter Primacy and ancient mosaic of the Loaves and Fishes. If all goes as planned, we will continue on to the Mt. of Beatitudes where the Sermon on the Mount is remembered and the excavations at Tei Hazor. The final stop should be the city of Banias, formerly Caesarea Philippi, where peter said “Thou art the Christ.” On the way back to the hotel, the tour bus should travel along the Golan Heights and then back to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
The following history lesson was provided by our tour guide - Rimon. Once the site of a Phoenician port, over the course of 12 years Herod built Caesarea into the grandest city other than Jerusalem in Palestine, with a deep sea harbor, aqueduct, hippodrome and magnificent amphitheater that
remain standing today. Herod renamed the city Caesarea in honor of the emperor. Caesarea is an important site in Christian history. It was the place where Pontius Pilate governed during the time of Jesus. This was where Simon Peter converted the Roman, Cornelius, the first non-Jew to believe in Jesus. Paul was also imprisoned for two years in Caesarea. During the 3rd century, Caesarea was a center of Christian learning. In the 4th century, the site converted to Christianity and became a major center of the Christian Roman Empire. In 640 CE, Caesarea was the last Palestinian city to fall to the Muslim invaders. After the Muslims swept out of Arabia and across the Middle East, driving out the Romans, Palestine was largely neglected.Today, the amphitheater is not only a spectacular relic of the past, but a modern performing venue where concerts are frequently held. Inside the gate of the theater is a plaque with a replica (the original is in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem) of the inscription found during excavations in 1959-63 with the words "TIBERIVM" and "TIVS PILATUS," references to Emperor Tiberius and Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea at the time of Jesus. This was an important find because it is the only
archaeological evidence of Pilate's existence. We were informed that the entrances to the theater are known as vomitoria. The name does not come from the reaction of patrons to a show, but is simply a word meaning vaulted passageway. The inside of the theater is not only impressive as a remnant of the glory days of Rome, but for its spectacular view of the Mediterranean. What a beautiful view.We completed the tour of the remaining excavations as we walked along a 1 ½ mile stretch of the Mediterranean. Since it was a very hot day we were glad that the tour bus was waiting for us at the end of the tour and we would not have to back-track to where we began. Words cannot describe how awesome these sites are. Off to Mt. Carmel with a quick stop at the remains of the aqueduct that brought water from the mountains to Caesarea
Aqueduct to Caesarea
The old city Caesarea required a steady flow of running water. Initially its waters came from the local wells. However, as the population grew to several hundred thousand people, a large scale aqueduct was required to bring the water from a distance. The first aqueduct was built by Herod (37BC to 4BC), at the time the new city was founded and dedicated to the Roman, Caesar Augustus. It brought the water from the southern side of Mount Carmel, at Shummi, about 6 miles to the north east of the city. The water flowed on a single raised canal, and in one section it is dug into the rock (at Jiser-e-zarka, an Arab village north of Caesarea).Since even this was not sufficient, a second "lower" aqueduct was built by the Legions of the Emperor Hadrian (2nd C AD). It brought water from the Tanninim River, farther from Shummi. This section, with a tunnel of about 3 miles long, was tapped into the older aqueduct, and doubled its capacity. This new source of water was added to the right of the first canal, and the aqueduct was thus doubled in width. The builders used the same building materials and style, so it is hard to see that the pair of tunnels was built in different ages.
The aqueduct continued to supply water for 1200 years. During the ages it was repaired several times. In the marsh lands east of Jiser-E-Zarka a bypass canal was built to overcome the damages. After that time the aqueduct was beyond repair. So, in the Crusaders period (12th C AD), a third, smaller, canal was built that replaced the first two. At that time the City was smaller and required less water, so the third smaller canal was sufficient. That is all I ever wanted to know about the aqueduct that carried water to Caesarea. We boarded the bus and we continued on to Haifa and ascended Mt. Carmel where Elijah had his contest with the prophets of Baal.
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel is actually a mountain range which juts into the Mediterranean Sea, splitting the coastal plain of Israel into two parts: the Plain of Sharon to the south and the Plain of Akko to the north. The range extends southeast for 14 miles, with a width of up to 6 miles, and reaches a maximum elevation of 1,792 feet. Its northeast slopes are steep, while those on the southwest are more gradual. In the Bible, Mount Carmel is frequently mentioned as a place of great beauty and fertility.
The religious significance attached to it during Biblical times is indicated by the account in 1 Kings 18:19-40 where it is the scene of a contest between the prophet Elijah and the priests of the Phoenician storm god, Baal and his consort Asherah.
Something that we noticed about the places we visited in Israel is this – if there is some religious and Biblical significance to the site, there is a church, monastery or cathedral that has been constructed on the site. As you might expect, there is a monastery at the top of Mt. Carmel. A
Catholic religious order was founded on Mount Carmel in the 12th century. A Carmelite monastery was founded at the site shortly after the order itself was created. In 1821 the surviving structure was destroyed by the Govenor of Damascus. A new monastery was later constructed directly over a nearby cave, after funds were collected by the Carmelite order for restoration of the monastery, the cave, which now forms the crypt of the monastic church, is termed Elijah's grotto by the monks.Tourist are allowed to take the stairs to the top of the monastery and enjoy a panoramic view of Israel. In many ways, the valley below reminds us of the central valley in California – lots of agricultural crops planted with little housing or buildings. After everyone had taken their photographs, we boarded the bus and headed to the city of Tiberias – our rest stop for the night.
Tiberias
The city of Tiberias has a population of approximately 40,100. Today, Tiberias is Israel's most popular holiday resort in the northern half of the country and is located on Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee), at 689 ft. below sea level - it is one of the lowest-lying towns in the world. It was founded c. AD 20 by Herod Antipas and named for the Roman emperor Tiberius. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70, it became a center of Jewish learning and later the seat of the Sanhedrin and rabbinical schools. The Talmud was edited there in the 3rd – 6th centuries. Saladin took the town from the Crusaders in 1187. The modern town was refounded under the British mandate in 1922 and became part of independent Israel in 1948.
We arrived at our hotel late in the afternoon. The hotel brochure in the room provided the following description of our hotel – the Sheraton Moriah in Tiberias:
Set on the promenade on the shores of Lake Tiberias, the Sheraton Moriah Tiberias is a modern, ten-storey resort hotel situated 100 meters from the Sea of Galilee and four kilometers from the Tiberias hot springs. Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport is 150 kilometers away, with an approximate driving time of 120 minutes.The Sheraton Moriah Tiberias houses a fitness centre complete with a sauna, steam room and spa tub. A range of pampering massage treatments and hairdressing services are also available on request. The heated outdoor pool is surrounded by a sun terrace that overlooks the Lake Tiberias promenade, and the kids' club offers a range of activities for younger guests. Complimentary walking tours of Tiberias are organized by the hotel and the concierge is on hand to offer advice on sightseeing opportunities in the area. Wireless Internet access is available in the lobby (surcharge).
The hotel houses a large buffet restaurant that offers a wide range of international and regional dishes. Children's menus and vegetarian options are also available.
After a long day of touring, we got cleaned up and came down for a group dinner at 6:30. Our tablemates were Pastor Randy Cole, his wife Joanne, their daughters Brittan and Caitland, and another couple, Paul and Jackie Dennis. We learned that Randy and Joanne have four children; Caleb, Luke, Brittan and Caitland. Caleb is a youth pastor on the east coast and loves his job. Luke, a former marine, is finishing college in Texas and has a girlfriend that everyone is crazy about. Brittan graduates in 1 semester from Vanguard College, majoring in religion with a minor in English. Caitland is in nursing school in Washington. We all shared family stories, laughed a lot, and enjoyed the food – it was good!
After dinner, we toured the hotel and then went to bed on the early side. We have been playing catch-up with sleep since the trip started. We have another early start tomorrow so any chance of getting a little more sleep won’t be wasted. Tomorrow, the itinerary shows that we are scheduled to begin our day with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee from Tiberias to Capernaum where we will see an ancient synagogue and St. Peter’s house which was later converted into a church. Next, we are supposed to stop at Tabgha and see the Church of Peter Primacy and ancient mosaic of the Loaves and Fishes. If all goes as planned, we will continue on to the Mt. of Beatitudes where the Sermon on the Mount is remembered and the excavations at Tei Hazor. The final stop should be the city of Banias, formerly Caesarea Philippi, where peter said “Thou art the Christ.” On the way back to the hotel, the tour bus should travel along the Golan Heights and then back to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
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