17April2008
Let the Wandering Begin, Day 1-2
Posted by hank under: General; Travels About.
Hello Campers,
On March 26th through April 8th of this year I traveled with as intrepid a group of pilgrims as you will find anywhere to Israel and Jordan. I will attempt to narrate each day in the sequence traveled and in picture order.
The annotated map provided is for reference only, I couldn’t catch all the twists and turns as Doodoo navigated through Israel and I went off the map somewhere in Jordan when we went from the Kings Highway to the Desert Highway and back.
Well, as all good journey’s can be expected to, mine began with frustration. My first flight was cancelled on the tarmac in Little Rock, so all the travelers (at least those not similarly marooned by Delta and the FAA) left the US and began their adventure in Tel Aviv/Yafo.
I managed to catch the group on day 2 following their ramblings: walking by the Mediterranean Sea and trips to Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Nazareth, and Sea of Galilee, at the Caesar Hotel in Tiberias.
Friday March 28th (Touring Day 2) Map (Click to Expand, twice for largest, route marked in green) See pictures here: Tiberias to Golan and Back
We began our day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee where Marv Rosenthal shared about all the events in in around the sea during the ministry of Yeshua. We ended the boat ride at the North end of the sea where we joined our buses for the days ride.
Next we traveled to the site of the Biblical city of Capernaum. What was once a thriving city of merchants, farmers and fishermen is today an archaeological site and two monasteries.
The prosperity of this Jewish community is apparent from the remains of it’s synagogue which dates from the 4th - 5th century. It is believed to have been built upon the remains of a synagogue that dates to the time of Jesus.
Also on this site is the remains of a Byzantine basilica believed to be built over the remains of the house of Peter, Jesus’s disciple and where Jesus stayed at times during His ministry.
Our journey continued next North to the Golan Heights where we were able to view the border with Syria and traveled on through sever towns until we reached Banias at the foot of Mt. Hermon
It is thought that the name derives from an Arabic corruption of the Greek Panias which was given to the area in the 4th century. Herod the Great’s son Phillip changed the city’s name to Caesarea Phillipi to distinguish it from Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast.
There are remains of numerous pagan temple remains and archaeological here in this area that saw numerous towns and villages that flourished from the 4th century B.C until the 1967 war when it was taken by the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) and its inhabitants fled.
Our travels then continued South through the fertile fields of the Hula Valley to the Mt. of Beatitudes where we were treated with great views of the Sea of Galilee. Our tour day ended with a tour of the Museum at Ginosar where we saw the oldest fresh water boat ever found. Tagged the “Jesus” boat, it actually dates from the time of Jesus and his disciples and represents what is thought a probable example of the type of fishing boat they would have used.
That evening was topped off with a great night time boat ride, Hora (Israeli folk dance) lessons on board and a 5 course Middle Eastern Barbecue at Decks in Tiberias. All in all it was a great day with more come.
