Jan 14, 2020 | Nancy’s Holy Land Trip 2019-20
Our flight left at 6:15am from Tel Aviv. Last glimpses of Israel from the air. We boarded the bus for the airport at midnight and rode for around 2 hours to get there. We went through line after line after line to get through customs and immigration and checking our bags, and blah blah blah. It all went smoothly enough though and we were on time for our boarding.
When we arrived in Vienna we stepped off the plane and immediately into another line to go through another security checkpoint. We waited and waited and managed to get everyone through the checkpoint in time to get directly onto the next plane to Chicago. No bathroom break, no food, just the checkpoint and get on the next plane. Made for a very long flight, and 2 hours longer than on the way to Vienna because we were not having the benefit of the jet stream.
We landed in Chicago and had to leave to get to another terminal, which meant going through security yet again after being received into the country through line after line after line of waiting. It was exhausting. We got to the new terminal and finally got our bags checked and through security. There was enough time between the flights that we got to get some food. We landed back in Indy around 8:30pm, having gained 7 hours on the way.
It was surreal to be back home. I love my own bed! Evan and I slept pretty hard and are now back on our normal sleep schedule OK. I keep dreaming about touring places and I’m confused when I wake up! Tomorrow is back to work. I feel rested and ready and I’m looking forward to it!
A few things that travelers to the Holy Land may want to consider bringing because we found them quite helpful.
- An extra backpack for the day trips
- 2 26oz. Collapsible water bottles each that can clip to you somehow so your hands can be free if needed.
- a wallet you can wear around your neck that holds money, passport, phone, and your room key. Can wear it under your shirt to avoid pickpockets.
- walking sticks for the hiking
- sink formulated tide packets for laundry
- Israel electric plug adapters, not converters.
- snacks for in-between times, in airports or while touring.
- blister remedies and any meds you might need like NyQuil and Advil and tums etc. Several in our crew had tummy issues with the food.
Those are the ones I can think of right off hand. And now, one last thing that I want to remember and the crew that went with me will totally understand….Mike-isms.
- Are you with me?
- Are you with me so far?
- I’m going to give you a prize.
- Good morning America!
- Come on down!
- and not from Mike, but the street vendors, “6 for $20”
Ok, that about wraps it up! If you have questions or comments, please let me know, I’m happy to chat about the trip when I can. Thanks all, for your interest in reading and for all the prayers. Signing off! Peace, or should I say…Shalom. : )
Jan 13, 2020 | Nancy’s Holy Land Trip 2019-20
Last stop on the tour train is Bet She’an. It is the world class in terms of it’s examples of Roman ruins/cities. The city here really is something to see. Pretty amazing. Here is the model of the area.
There is a theatre and a couple of hippodromes just like we saw at Caesarea Maritime. One of the first things we saw was the bathhouse.
These were like pillars that held up a marble floor. A fire was started under the floor so the air could be circulated underneath and the marble floor would warm and ultimately heat the water and cause sauna effects. The slaves tasked with keeping the fire going would enter and exit here.
Quite the sizable bath house and undertaking to run it! Next was the Main Street of the city.
Mosaic tiles near the Main Street beginning.
The pillars have been reset as they were toppled in the 749AD earthquake. The street had been filled with water a day previous from all the rain, but the ancient drainage system had handled it nicely all these years later. The street was higher in the middle than the edges, moving the water to the curbs, into drainage, back to the middle under the street, and then down to the end of the street, all just using gravity to move it. The street was dry.
We could also see the ancient ruins of the time of Saul and Jonathan on top of this green hill.
Some of our crew made the trek up to see it, I did not. All those steps looked like a sure fire way to contract pneumonia to me. Nevertheless, this is where their bodies would have been displayed as it talks about in Scripture.
The folks that excavated this site decided to leave some of the pillars as they were found. These were knocked over in the earthquake.
It was kinda neat to see everything up close and get to touch it.
Column tops and building trim. Such workmanship and artistry.
This would have basically been the main square of town.
Not sure if these would have been entrances to shops or homes. So well preserved.
Pretty impressive.
The fact that all of this tile survives for that many years is crazy.
Very cool.
Original marble.
The gate into the theatre, can see the seating in the back.
All in all, a very interesting and more intact place than any that we saw. Pretty cool. We ate lunch and loaded up the bus to head back to the kibbutz for packing and sleeping, at least for me. Here marks the end of the tour! Thanks all for reading! One more post to put a bow on top…
Jan 13, 2020 | Nancy’s Holy Land Trip 2019-20
You may remember me mentioning Mt Gilboa when we visited Gideon’s Spring. Mt Gilboa is nearby to the spring. This is the mountain above the valley where Saul and David met Goliath and the Philistines. The exact place is not known, but Gideon’s Spring is still there, and so is the mountain. Nearby in Bet She’an where we will go next is where Saul and Jonathan’s bodies were displayed when they were killed. (Ref. 1 Sam 31: 8-10). They were killed on Mt Gilboa.
Eitan said that when David learned of the death of Saul and Jonathan, he cursed the mountain. To this day it is rocky terrain, receives little rain, and struggles to grow even hearty plants and trees. One of our crew caught this picture on the mountain.
It was raining the day we were there, and very windy. One of our crew said something to Eitan about the weather, and he said that according to the curse of David, we must be righteous folks because of the blessing of rain on the mountain while we were there. On the way up the mountain, we saw yet another rainbow.
This was part of the green trail…
And we took a group picture where people go to jump off the mountain with parachutes.
Wow again with the view.
Here is Mt Gilboa. The weather was crummy, but it was worth the ride.
Last stop, Bet She’an.
Jan 13, 2020 | Nancy’s Holy Land Trip 2019-20
What a God-thing. We only got to go to Mt Tabor because of the rain. It really ended up being a special trip. We left on the bus and could see the mountain as we approached.
We drove through a Bedouin town on the way up. Eitan tells us that this particular town is known for something obscure, and he wasn’t kidding. This town has the most Volvo trucks per capita than any other town in the world. OK then. Would not have guessed that one!
The bus was unable to make the turns of the snake trail road to the top of the mountain, so we had to take two van/taxis to the top.
The church to honor where Jesus showed his divinity to Peter, James and John is really cool. In the story, Jesus meets Elijah and Moses there, and there are chapels on either side of the main sanctuary to honor these two pillars of the faith.
The side of the church has an area where you can overlook the valley below. Neat view.
It was cold and rainy, but the view was still pretty spectacular.
Inside above the altar area tells the story. They were having a service so we didn’t get very close but only stayed in the back of the church.
On either side were places to honor Moses and Elijah, and in the back, chapels to honor them as well.
Moses.
And Elijah.
Jerusalem/pilgrim crosses on the beams near the ceiling.
Beautiful columns.
Very cool architecture by Antonio Barluzzi again. He also designed other churches we visited like Dominus Flevit and The Shepherd’s Field etc.
Here’s a commemoration of Barluzzi.
Love the gate ironwork.
There were ruins nearby here, too.
A highlight was a surprise vow remembrance for one of the couples that traveled with us. The hubby conspired with pastor to make it happen in the Elijah chapel. So nice to be a part of a special day for the 20th anniversary of good friends!
Next up, a drive down south to Mt Gilboa.
Jan 13, 2020 | Nancy’s Holy Land Trip 2019-20
This is our last day of touring, and whoa what a doozy! We went to another place pastor had never been before. First thing in the morning we went to the place I wanted to go to the second most. The place I wanted to go to the most was Jacob’s well, but that is currently in the middle of a Palestinian refugee camp, and is not particularly the safest place to be, so we didn’t get to go there. But because of the rain, we were able to go to Mt Tabor, the Mount of Transfiguration! Whoa cool. We had been seeing it from all sides while we were there, and I was hoping and wishing to see it. We also went to the top of Mt Gilboa, the valley of which is where Saul and David met the Philistines and Goliath. Then lastly, we went to Bet She’an. Remember when we went to Kursi and I talked about that? Today is the day we got to see it.
We were finished touring around 2pm after eating lunch at Bet She’an, and yes, there was a kitty there and Evan loved it. I didn’t get a picture. It was rainy but a pleasant enough day. Afterwards we went back to our rooms at the kibbutz. We packed and weighed our bags to make sure they would fly without extra weight charges. After a little jockeying, we got everyone’s bags under the right weight. I then went directly to bed, at like 4:30pm, not a problem for me to sleep because I still wasn’t feeling 100%. I decided to sleep through our last supper there, and ultimately I’m glad I did. I would have suffered even more with our 28 hours of straight travel starting at 11:30pm. So I got some good rest. Evan played cards with the crew and went to supper, I slept.
I found out later that pastor had asked everyone at supper that last night to share their highs, lows, and aha’s or haha’s moments with the group, which of course I missed. He asked me on the plane to share mine with him for his journal. For highs, I chose the Southern steps of the Temple and Magdala, although there are so many more. Really, how do I pick? For my low, I said walking up any hill when I was sick. That really was a bummer because I couldn’t breathe. In fact, as I type this like 4-5 days later, I am still coughing and not able to breathe all the way right. I’m sure a visit to the doctor is in my near future. Good news is that I feel pretty good, just the cough yet.
For my aha or haha, I told him that I would have to tell him later. I knew that if I told him right there on the plane that I would start crying, and that is not a good idea to cry and be congested when you’re about to climb to 40.000 feet for 10 hours, if you get my drift. I gave him a hint though, because I had already told him a few days before that and started crying, and he remembered it, so I didn’t have to say it again.
Since I’m not about to fly and I have kleenexes on hand, I’ll tell you what it was. My big “aha moment” of the trip was more like a series of aha’s repeated over and over again. I’ve mentioned it already in my blogs. It was an over-arching feeling of not being alone. To see all the people in this region who love God and believe in Him, to see the importance they have placed on knowing Him and remembering what He did. To know that there are so many people I will never know personally who believe what I do…I am not alone. At Shepherd’s Field with the man who recognized the song we were singing, but not the language. He’s my brother. The woman praying at the Western Wall. She’s my sister. The culture, the language, the location…none of it mattered. These are my people and I love them all. Juxtapose that global kind of agape and phileo love for my brothers and sisters in Christ with the very personal and intimate love I felt between just me and Jesus at Magdala. Or the Mount of Beatitudes. The awe kind of love I felt at the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized and His people enter the Promised Land. The sorrow-filled love at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher I felt when I saw the Stone of Flagellation or the Stone of Anointment or powerful love to see the crack in the mountain under the site of the crucifixion. Then there is the other side of it with horror stories of human sacrifice and Herod’s genocide, the gates of hell and the current oppression of Christians in Bethlehem and Palestine. All the rainbows we saw, what, like 5 or 6? A reminder of God’s promises. Pastor said I would not return the same person as I left. He was right. Something deep healed in me.
For me, all of it hinges on the humility to receive His grace, and not deny it or turn it away. It is where my peace comes from. Hence the tattoo, which has been a long time coming. It’s healing nicely by the way.
A little red yet, but coming along nicely. And I never showed you the ring I got, either. It also says grace, in Hebrew.
Well, let me tell you my stories about Mt Tabor, Mt Gilboa, and Bet She’an before I wrap up my Holy Land trip story with a big bow on top. Thanks for joining me!
Jan 13, 2020 | Nancy’s Holy Land Trip 2019-20
This area is where my screen-shot of my map was taken…way up north in the Golan Heights, almost to Lebanon and Syria. This place was a place of massive pagan worship to the Roman gods, particularly the Roman god Pan. So Pan had himself a bit of a fetish, he liked to pinch the bottoms of young girls. Given the stories I heard throughout the day about Pan, I feel pretty comfortable labeling him a pedophile. This from a person who is not a fan of labels, but if the shoe fits…in this case, I’m gonna call it like I see it.
So Caesarea Phillipi was a Roman-run city, by Herod’s son Phillip. There were places to worship several Roman gods, and like I said, Pan in particular. This area also is the second of three headwaters of the Jordan River. Where the spring/headwater is here is a site of Roman lore. It was thought that this was the place where the river Styx, the passage to hell, met the living world. As such, it was a place of pagan sacrifice, particularly to Pan. Little girls that would hopefully appease Pan were thrown into the headwaters which bubbled up and then went underground and appeared again a short distance away. If the sacrifice were acceptable to Pan, they would see no blood in the water where it re-exited the stone. If blood from the sacrifice was seen, it was not accepted, and they would sacrifice another little girl. Not really a feel good kind of story, huh. So sad.
Here is where it went down.
We arrive to these gentle falls, a short series of them. To the right is the gift shop and rest room area where they had the fuzzy socks and Bambas. Mmm.
The large hole in the mountain is where the spring used to exit the mountain, that’s the River Styx place. The smaller hole next to it was a place to worship the Roman god Zeus, and there were places to worship other gods up there, too.
This is near where the spring/headwater now exits the mountain, just below.
Here’s where they would sacrifice to Pan, in the spring that was here. So this was basically believed to be the Gates of Hell.
Here’s a closer up picture of the worship site for Zeus.
There were sites to worship 20+ Roman gods here…this is the ruins of that area.
Looking at it from the other side.
So, shift gears for one second…Pastor had pointed out in the Garden Tomb tour an olive tree with new shoots coming from the dead stump. I looked back at the Garden Tomb blog, I did not include it, so I will here…This picture is from the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem:
The sign next to it is difficult to read, it says, “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” Isaiah 11:7. This picture from Caesarea Phillipi reminded me of the same thing…check this out…right below the River Styx place…
This large trunk looked completely dead, yet there was life, live shoots, coming from it. Jesus is the life that comes from death. Even at the gates of hell. No forgetting. : )
Next began our about 2 hour hike down to Banias Falls. This is a path Jesus and the apostles would have walked for certain…this path has been there for that long. I asked Eitan why there were no orange dots on the trail marker.
He said all of those trails with the orange markers are down closer to Nazareth, but that this would have been the path that they took. Just think…Caesarea Phillipi, a huge center for pagan worship, was the place where Peter first proclaimed Jesus’ identity. (Ref. Matthew 16: 13-20). Remarkable.
We also saw a Roman flour mill. This was pretty cool engineering. Of course they used the power of the flowing water to grind their flour.
Very cool to see how this was done.
Pretty impressive that all of this stuff still stands. With some modern material help, but the grinding stuff itself was from the period.
This was a swimming pool built by the Syrian army, I want to say around 400-500AD, but don’t quote me on that. Old for sure. Only the officers of the Syrian army were allowed to swim in it. It had fish in it that were quite hungry. The powers that be took down some of the wall to keep it more empty so it would not be dangerous for hikers, etc.
As we are walking along, Eitan stops and says, “Look at this plant along the path.” It looks like bamboo, and is in the bamboo family. So the story goes like this. Pan was getting quite the reputation of pinching girls, so the girls would stay away from him. So here is the story from Eitan…
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Cool huh? I mean, not that it happened like that, but I had no idea that was the story behind the word “panic.” I’ll never think of that the same again!
This really was quite the incredible hike. Muddy from all the rain, but beautiful.
This bush is the kind of bush that Jesus crown of thorns was made from. It is definitely a wicked, pokey plant.
We stop along the way and Eitan points out that back in the day, Mark Twain came to visit Israel. He was not a fan, and called it the most ugly country in the world (not a quote, but you get the idea.). He also said that the Muslim fortress on top of this mountain was the most beautiful place on earth.
Unfortunately we were not able to go there to see it, but there it is. A cool story.
Once again, Eitan stops and points and says, “There’s our bus, but how will we get there?”
There is a massive ravine between us and the bus. We can hear the falls from here. The way to the bus is down the ravine and back up again. Oh boy. I will say, it was not as bad as I thought it would be, and my walking sticks were a GODSEND for this bit!
So we go down down down into the ravine, and here are the falls. Eitan says he has only seen them this high maybe one or two other times in his life. They were some angry falls!
Here is the tourist shot. Would you look at how much taller that boy is than me??? Sakes. I’m going to try to add a clip of them roaring…
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Hopefully those are working. Next we make the climb out of the ravine, and at the top we see an old Jeep.
Eitan says that this was once a border back in about 1967, and likely this Jeep got off the path a bit and it hasn’t been moved since. He said there is also an upside down tank from the same era at the bottom of the ravine, same fate.
We exited the hiking path and then stopped at the much needed shoe washing station. Hasim was most grateful we were not tracking all that mud into his bus.
So that’s the story of Caesarea Phillipi. Tomorrow is our last day of touring before we head for home. Whew! Stay with me, tomorrow’s destination is AWESOME.
