Our E.O. ( Educational Opportunity) people were waiting for us at baggage, and all bags arrived, and of course my suitcase lost its handle en route (at least it arrived).
What I wasn't expecting was the 2 hour bus ride to Tiberias, our home base for the next few days complete with Israeli rush hour and summer road construction. The land is rich in agriculture. The have already harvested wheat in many areas and have acre after acre of fields, orchards and green houses.
The above was written under pure exhaustion...we just finished day 1 of our tour of the Holy Land, and all I can say is WOW! And every stop just keeps getting better and better!
First let me say we are staying the first few days in Tiberias, right next to the Sea Galillee. Our pilgrimage began this morning at Caesarea, along the Mediterranean Sea, which is the most beautiful shade of blue. King Herod the Great developed this area into a magnificent harbor. Pontius Pilate used Caesarea as his headquarters, and the Apostle Paul was tried and imprisoned here for 2 years.
Our next stop was my most favorite thus far, and the most scenic --Tel Megiddo, found in the book of Revelation. This place is also known as Armegeddon,the site for a future battle between the forces of good and evil. The word "Tel" means city, and there are layers of cites built here dating back to 3500 B.C. Wow!! And the cities are literally built on top of one another. We saw the ruins of this archeological site, including a grain bin, stables for Solomon's 450 horses, including original feed troughs. Did you know the word "manger" means "to feed" and the manger Jesus was born in, is likely limestone like the one shown here, and not wooden, like it is represented in many Nativity scenes.
The views from atop Tel Megiddo were fabulous! It overlooks such rich agricultural fields in the valley. Like my one new friend Noma said, "reminds you of Kansas, doesn't it?"
The final stop for today was in the city of Nazareth. There we experienced the places of the Annunciation, where the angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her she would give birth to a son. Our first stop was at the church of the Annunciation, a beautiful Catholic Church built over what was believed to be Mary's home. The church is so pretty, both inside and out.
The top inscription: An angel appeared to The Virgin Mary
Bottom: the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Nazareth means flower, and many of the light fixtures were flowers of some type. Even the domed ceiling is believed to be an upside down flower, with the roots going up to Heaven. Our second stop was at the Springs, where it was believed Gabriel appeared to Mary initially, but she was afraid, and ran home from gathering water. We didn't get to go into the church built over the springs due to a funeral, but it was beautiful.
The top three industries in Israel are
1) tourism
2) agriculture
3) diamond cutting
I'm about to experience number three as our evening adventure (optional) is touring a diamond cutting factory!
What an amazing trip, Sheila! Love that you're sharing with us through your blog.
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