Final Day

Today was our final day and we are all very sad.  Mom has to go back to work, Meghan has to go to school, and Grandma has to go back to the cold of Wisconsin.  The first thing we did today was go to a boat that could possibly be the boat that Jesus used.  It was carbon dated and is approximately two thousand years old.

Views of the boat from two different angles^^^

Next we went to Cana.  It was the place where Jesus performed his first miracle.  Now there is a church there in memory.

Outside of it^^^

Building next to it^^^

Original rock^^^

Inside^^^

After that we went to Nazareth, Jesus' boyhood home.  There is a church there called the Church of the Annunciation.  It rests upon a cave where Mary supposedly had the archangel Gabriel announce to her that she would give birth to Jesus.

Outside of the church^^^

A cool confessional^^^

On the inside^^^

Closer up^^^

There is a bottom level and when we got there, a priest was giving Mass^^^

The cave where the Annunciation supposedly took place^^^

Me with the stature of Mary^^^

Then we went to Mount Carmel, where there is a Franciscan monastery.  There is also a church.

Outside of the church^^^

Inside of the church^^^

Then we went to Megiddo, an old city-state that was abandoned in the 4th century.  We didn't get any pictures because it was really hot and we had to hike a little.  We went into a water tunnel that channeled water from a spring to the people in the city.

After that, we went to Caesarea, an old port city built by Herod, and then conquered by many people. In general the order was: Romans, Byzantines, Turks, and then the Crusaders.  It is on the Mediterranean, and it is beautiful.

Me next to it^^^

The beautiful view of the sun setting^^^

Tomorrow, we leave for our respective states.  We have to get up at 2 am, and our flight leaves at 6. We have had the most amazing time and we will genuinely miss Israel and Jordan.

 

Meghan

Galilee Day 1

First, we went to the Mount of the Beatitudes.  The church is owned and ran by the Franciscans.  It is supposedly where Jesus preached the Beatitudes (hence the name).  Some people disagree to where exactly he preached because of the differences in the descriptions in the Gospels.

From the outside^^^

On the inside^^^

A picture of what it might've been like^^^

The top^^^

Cool fountain^^^

Bible verse^^^

Beatitudes^^^

After that we went to the Church of Multiplication.  It is where Jesus supposedly performed the miracle of multiplying the bread and the fish.

The inside of it; we couldn't get any good pictures because if was crowded and people were pushy.^^^

Mosaic of the two fish and five loaves^^^

After visiting that church, we went on a boat ride in the Sea of Galilee.

The view^^^

Panorama view^^^

Another view^^^

My grandma and I^^^

After the boat ride, we went to the town of Capernaum.  It was the headquarters of Jesus' ministry.

Map of important biblical things on a rock^^^

Sign when you walk in^^^

Synagogue built in 4th century, but it was built on a synagogue that was around during Jesus' time^^^

Original ruins of the buildings^^^

Peter's house^^^

After that, we traveled to Caesarea Philippi, the place where Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was and Peter thus received the keys of heaven because of his answer.

Temple for Emperor Augustus that was built by King Herod^^^

A grotto for the god Pan^^^

After that we went to Golan Heights.  That is the area that Israel and Syria still fight about and that Israel won in 1967.  The view is amazing and you could see Syria on one side and Lebanon on the other. 

Panoramic view.  Keep in mind that some of what you are seeing is the land of Syria.^^^

Old military blockade^^^

After I went swimming in the Sea of Galilee.  I went in about 150 feet and it didn't even reach my waist.  It was also very rocky, so my feet started to hurt. 

A grainy picture because it was already dark (it was 5 o'clock).

Tomorrow we go to Nazareth, Cana, and the Mediterranean.

 

Meghan

Dead Sea Scrolls and the River Jordan

Today we left Jerusalem via a beautiful panoramic view of the city from the top of The Mount of Olives. After that we traveled to the countryside where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd boy.  These parchment documents were preserved about 2000 years in caves, and were written by the Essenes, a sect of Judaism that had established a community east of Jerusalem.  These are the oldest transcripts of the Bible and other religious writings.  The ipad mini, our technology of choice, was temporarily on the fritz so no photos right now.

After this we traveled north to a city named Beit She'an, a city with an archeological site, a Roman style city.  The first phot below is the theatre.

Next we have Main Street....

And last but not least, the latrines.....

And in case you were curious, you sit between the slabs of stone that are protruding from the wall and do what needs to be done.  There is a stream of water that flows out, keeping the area clean and odor free (ha ha). Another clean stream of water flows for washing purposes.  As you can see it's not private but it's ok because your gowns are keeping you covered.  There was no hurry to leave as it was actually a place to socialize. 

Our next stop was the Jordan River....we opted to forgo a baptism of any sort but did put our big toe in the water.  

We arrived at Tiberius, a town on the Sea of Galilee.  For some reason my image of the this body of water was that of a small calm northern Wisconsin lake.  However, its large and crossing this lake in a row boat as Jesus and his disciple did would be no small feat.

Another interesting fact is the distance between Nazareth and Jerusalem is about 100 miles...quite a walk!

We are staying at a kibbutz type resort.  The kibbutz lifestyle was fascinating (read about it on the internet).  There are about 150 kibbutzs in Israel, but only 12-15 still operate according to the initial ideology.

 

Karen

Day 4 in Jerusalem

Our first stop this morning was to the Israel Museum which houses the Dead Sea scrolls.   Obviously photos were not allowed!  Tomorrow we go to the sight of the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls so will provide more information after that excursion.

Our next stop was the Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum.  The name means 'a place and a name,' and was given to provide just that to the 6 million Jews who lost their life during this terrible chapter of world history.  The location of the museum is beautiful - on a hill with nice gardens.  The exhibits are very impactful and moving, with videos of survivors telling their stories, amongst other media that tell the story as a whole.  Again, no photos in the actual museum but there is an outdoor exhibit called of the Garden of the Righteous among the Nations, which has trees planted in honor of Gentiles who risked their lives to help Jews during the Holocaust.  Oskar Schindler is the most well known of these to most Americans and his tree is below.

Below is part of the children's memorial and the symbolism as explained to us by the guide is multidimensional so I will do my best to explain a few things.  The white stone statues are jagged on the edge to represent the unfinished lives of the children.  Cyprus trees which were the same height when planted are now taller than the statues, symbolizing the children's lives which were truncated.  The last symbolism is on the rock on the bottom right - you can see metal rods sticking up (they kind of look like branches).  This is a typical way to build a house or structure here, to leave the rods visible for future expansion.  But since the rods represent the children, this structure will never be able to expand, since the children are dead.  1.5 million children died in the Holocaust.

After the museum we went to the Old City Jewish Quarter.

This photo above is a depiction of what the market place in the temple looked like.  Recall from the Bible that this is where Jesus drove out the money changers, merchants etc who were dishonest.  

This is a view of Jerusalem city skyline including a Muslim monument (the gold dome) that honors Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac.  

To end the day, we spent some time at the Jerusalem Archeological Museum  and these steps are the original steps outside the city wall by the temple that Jesus actually walked on....as our guide told us, many of the sites we have seen are the 'traditional' sites but these steps are original!

Karen