Looking Back at Israel - Caesarea Maritime & Jezreel

Caesarea Maritime - Hippodrome

Caesarea Maritime is on the coast of the Mediterranean. It is a city and harbor built by Herod. While there, we saw ruins of a theater, the hippodrome, Herod's palace, a temple to Zeus, an aquaduct and other antiquities. The question is....what does any of it matter to us?

Theatre at Caesarea (the throne would have sat right in the middle of the stadium)

Besides being historical and amazing to think they built all this without machines, this area is mentioned in Scripture twice. Acts 12:20-23 describes the death of Herod after the people called him a god. Because Herod did not give God the glory, he was eaten by worms and died. This event is placed either in the theatre or in the hippodrome; because of what the historian Josephus writes, it most likely is in the theatre.

Aquaduct

But in Acts 10, we learn the story of Cornelius who was in Caesarea. Peter travels there after a vision and he witnesses the Holy Spirit fall onto Gentiles. This is the first time Peter sees this happen without a Gentile having to conform to the Jewish traditions. We took some time to just think over the importance of this passage and the greatness of God in bringing the gospel to the Gentiles.

* * *

We experienced the Jezreel Valley from every side: from the northwest at Mt. Carmel, from the west from Megiddo, from the south at Mr. Gilboa, and from the east at Nazareth. The Jezreel Valley is the only way anyone could travel between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Controlling this valley often meant controll of the trade routes and the regions surrounding it. At each of those spots where we viewed the beautiful Jezreel Valley, we also thought of the other historical events that occurred.

Jezreel Valley from Mt. Carmel: Mt. Carmel was also the place where Elijah contested with the prophets of Baal and Asherah (1 Kings 18).

Jezreel Valley from Megiddo. Megiddo is an important spot in past history and future. There are 18 layers of civilizations here and Solomon fortified this city when he was king (1 Kings 9:15-16).  We saw excavated stables and even a manger (which would have been made of stone, not wood). Of course, Megiddo is where the armies will gather for the battle of Armegeddon (Revelation 16:12-16).

Jezreel Valley from Mt. Gilboa. Mt Gilboa is where Saul took his life (1 Samuel 31). The spring of Harod is on Mt. Gilboa and is where Gideon chose 300 men to fight against the Midianites (Judges 7).

Jezreel Valley from Nazareth. Nazareth is behind Hubs, who is taking the picture and we actually did not go into Nazareth besides driving through. Obviously, it is Jesus' boyhood home and where he was rejected twice during his ministry (Luke 4:16-30; Mark 6:1-6, Matthew 13:53-58). However, besides churches and monuments, there didn't seem to be much that would interest us.


We saw all of these sites (and more) in one day. Hopefully that gives perspective on how small Israel is compared to most countries and also how much we accomplished in our days. I also hope that you see how diverse the landscape is. Sometimes I know we think that it is dry, dusty and dessert-ish. However, it is a very fertile area, green and rocky.

Looking Back at Israel - Preparedness, Companions & Accomodations

I promise to get to the sites, but first I want to describe the trip.

Our flights were nice. We were able to fly directly from Newark to Tel Aviv. Although it was a long plane ride, I preferred it to stopping in Europe and having another layover. Hubs and I are moderately well-traveled and knew to wear comfy clothes, dress in layers and bring along toiletries. It is nice to take a break on the flight to brush teeth, remove/replace contacts and refresh. For, when arriving in the morning, after flying all night, the fun starts immediately.

Our trip was fast paced; we fit a lot of things into a little amount of time. It was designed that way to keep costs & time-away down. To prepare, most of the group got together 4 times before the trip. We were briefed on the places we would visit and why, on what to expect and on what to pack. This was an extreme benefit in all ways. We could read over our notes each morning and know what the day would entail and I think we packed extremely well.

The group sitting on all that is left of the Temple.

We were a large group of mostly familiar faces from our church. We also had some new faces and were able to get to know each other well. For spending all day together, we got along very well. Hubs and I were among the youngest travelers and were very happy to have our cousins along to bring the median age lower.

Cousins headed home

We stayed at a variety of hotels. Our first night was at a Jewish hotel on the coast of the Mediterranean in Netanya. It was a very nice, clean hotel where it seemed many people would come for the weekend to get away.

Outside of the Blue Bay Hotel, Netanya

The next two nights were spent at a Jewish Kibbutz, or collective community, on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

The front of the Kibbutz Kenneret hotel with our bus driver, Joel.

Our fourth night was in a youth hostel at the foot of Masada. This was my least favorite spot and fortunately we spent very little time there. The rooms left much to be desired, but it was in a very convenient location to hike Masada the next morning.

Looking down at the Masada Hostel as we begin the trek up Masada.

Our last nights were spent at a hotel inside the old walls of Jerusalem. This hotel had a medieval feel and was a favorite of mine. We were situated on the wall of Old Jerusalem and could peep out of the slits in the wall to see the rest of the city. Once we arrived in Jerusalem, we walked everywhere. Our location was very situated for that, and for visiting the local shops.

The Knight's Palace in Old Jerusalem.

Our accommodations all had a western feel. There was nothing more unusual than dealing with the electrical outlets. It was all excellently planned and we never had to worry about our trip arrangements.

Now that I have the particulars out of the way, I can focus on the sites in the upcoming posts!

Looking Back at Israel - Food

Again, I am finding it very hard to write about Israel. There is so much. So, let me begin with something incredibly simple. The food.

When you are a picky particular eater, traveling to a foreign country is bound to introduce you to new, unknown foods. One might need to be daring, but even then, there is no guarantee the food will be good. The mediterranean diet is full of great food, however there are two essential things you need to like: olives & chickpeas. Neither does Hubs like.

So, our suitcases were filled with snacks. The breakfasts and dinners were buffets at our hotels and always had a large enough variety for us to fill up on. Picture giant bowls of fruits and veggies, pasta salads and cheeses. All except the final hotel were certified Kosher. So, meat and dairy could not be served together. There was no butter for your rolls in the evening. There was no meat in the morning to go with your eggs. Not really a huge deal for me, but others found it rough. The last hotel we stayed in was by far everyone's favorite, mainly because it was a great mixture of the foods we liked of Israel and the foods we were used to in the States.

Lunches were an entirely different matter. We ate local, which means we ate falafel or schwarma. I happen to like both, but Hubs suffered through the loads of hummus inside the pita bread. In one Arab town, we got to have schnitzel - chicken breaded in sesame seeds and wrapped in a pita. And one day we ate at the most expensive McDonald's ever.

One amazing opportunity we had was to be invited to our bus driver's home for lunch. He is a beduin Arab by descent, as well as a Christian. His wife and family cooked an amazing meal and invited us into their home. We at in stages:

Stage 1: Coffee. Not normal coffee, but coffee brewed with cardamon. And they believed Americans to prefer coffee with sugar (gag), so they also brewed it with sugar. It was very hard, but we all chugged it down.

Stage 2: Pastry. A pastry pocket filled with fruit and nuts - dates, apples, spices and nuts. It was very good.

Stage 3: The main course. Fall-off-the-bone chicken in delicious seasonings, pita bread (more like naan) covered in olive oil and onions, a very sour cheese and tomatoes. I loved the pita and I loved the chicken and tomatoes. And I am one of those people who usually insists on swallowing anything somebody makes for you, however I could not. Our poor pita was drenched in oil and after eating 1/4 of my plate, I started to have the gag reflex. Maybe my body wasn't used to the spices and oil, maybe it was because I had been awake for over 24 hours, but this food was not going down my throat.

Stage 4: Fruit. We got to pick a piece a fresh fruit. This was delightful. Israel grows much produce and much of what is eaten there is grown there

Stage 5: Tea. A nice cup of sweetened tea with mint. It was a refreshing end the meal.

In Old Jerusalem, we were free to eat wherever we chose. Hubs & I chose pizza quite frequently and at one pizzeria had this frozen lemonade with mint leaves that was delicious. [And I'm pretty sure I can duplicate it.]

I think we could have had a lot worse to deal with than Kosher standards and chickpeas!

Looking Back One Year

One year ago today, Hubs and I woke up before any human should after a mere 4 hours of sleep. We were running behind and our ride showed up promptly as we threw everything together, triple-checked that we had our passports, and ran out the door. Eleven hours later, we landed in one of the most coveted pieces of land in the world. Israel.

When people told us that we needed to see Israel, I believed them, but I didn’t really understand why. Now I agree wholeheartedly, but I can’t completely explain to you why. It is more than being able to put landscapes with the stories and it is more than knowing the distances between towns and the different terrains. But if given the opportunity, you should make sacrifices in order to go. I would, to go again.

And, I dare say that the experience Hubs and I had was completely different than what a person would get if you just signed up for any ol’ tour of Israel. Don’t do that. Hubs and I went on a study trip. We didn’t just carry around our cameras; we had notebooks and maps and Bibles and booklets of information. We didn’t just sleep on the bus rides; we were being taught and were taking notes. It was as if I was in college again, except this time learning things that really matter and trying to absorb and meditate on the abundance of truth imparted to us each day.

So, if you are going to spend all that money to get there, do it only if you have a teacher who can delve into the truths of the gospel. Sure, you can be impressed with a church structure that was built to commemorate a possible location in the Bible. Or, you can be interested in learning about the history of the current nation of Israel. And you can even be entranced in the different cultures. But, you won’t be nearly as edified as going with someone who has made it his life’s aim to know Jesus deeply and intimately and who has studied and knows and loves Israel because of the love that God has for Israel.

When we returned from Israel, I hardly blogged about it at all. It was so overwhelming and life was a bit chaotic. So, each day of the trip, one year later, I am going to share some of my favorite times there. I have no doubts that this will do no justice to the trip itself, but hopefully will give you a glimpse into why Israel is a place you should go.

Um, spring?

When the temperature rises above 90, its a little much for me. Especially before June July. As a girl with her heart in the northeast, I enjoy a mild summer with temperatures steadying out in the mid-80s.

So, although the warmth has not yet become unbearable, it reminds me of the staggering temperatures to come. Really, the only time that I have enjoyed the heat was when I was on the beach.

And, for the last 3 days of heat I have been dreaming of the soft sand, the salty breeze, and the warm water, I could go for living on the beach, or near the beach. Really,  I could go for being within driving distance of a beach.

But, since that is not foreseen in our future, I could just take a few more weeks of spring. In other words, temperatures in the 70s.

What Israel Looks Like

I obviously still having trouble putting Israel into words. But here we go.

The terrain of Israel varies so much. It's such a small piece of land, but it is so diverse. What we came to understand on this trip was how important the diversity of this land is.

The Mediterranean Sea was similar to other oceans we've visited. The beach was sandy and you had to go down cliffs to get to it. There were palm trees and tropical birds. Buildings and communities are very close together. 

Here I stand on Mt. Gilboa (2 Samuel 31) overlooking the Jezreel Valley. This valley has seen international traffic for thousands of years. It is the only way for travelers to get through this country and sort of connects Asia with Egypt. This valley will continue to see lots of action in the future, too. As you can see it is very green and fertile. We saw many, many crops growing all over Israel.

My favorite terrain was in Dan, formerly Laish. It was beautiful with a large natural spring and felt like Colorado hiking. This was in the northernmost part of Israel, bordering Lebanon and Syria. 

The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by mountains, or the hill country. I don't have any really good pictures of how mountainous it is. It sits below sea level and is green and pretty and fertile. 

Next we saw the wilderness. Think of where David hid from Saul in caves - rocky, steep incline, jagged cliffs, winding caverns, and barren. This is where the Dead Sea is - water that gives life to nothing. Not beautiful, but definitely amazing.

From there we moved to the Negev. Dessert everywhere. No more jagged cliffs like before, but rolling hills of rocky sand and dirt. This is where the Bedouins live, and the camels!

Before our eyes the terrain changed dramatically. The Shephellah is an area of rolling hills. Again, lots of crops seen growing around here.

Finally, we went into the hill country and we felt like we were traveling in Colorado, on a much smaller scale of course. Jerusalem is build on these limestone hills and there isn't a flat spot to be found!

Now you can see we saw a little bit of everything. Next up: placing Bible stories with the locations!

Back in the USA

(Trekking up Masada with the Dead Sea behind)

For the past week, Hubs and I have been traveling through Israel. And although we counted it as a vacation, my brain was working overtime, as this lived up to its description of a "study trip." As we come back home and get back to our responsibilities and normal demands of life, I can't help but cherish the 8 days where the majority of our time was devoted to studying and understanding God's word.

People told us that this trip would be life-changing. Although I didn't doubt them, I didn't understand how. Now I can confidently say that this trip will change how I read and understand the Bible in every aspect. Words I skipped over before such as "Kidron Valley" and "wilderness" have new meanings. Sequences of events make more sense. And areas and regions can now have reference points in my mind. As I look through my pictures, they just don't do the trip justice in my mind. The trip was far better than pictures will ever be.

(Posing with an Israeli soldier and a policeman)

You may have heard there was a bomb in Jerusalem. It was the day we entered the Jerusalem. We actually commented on the slow traffic as we drove through a West Bank checkpoint [ends up it was because of the incident]. We were all safe; and really, honestly, truly - I always felt safe. They don't want to kill Americans. They want to kill Jews.

(A big pile of delicious pita bread, which tasted exactly like naan.)

Of course, being in a culture completely different than our own, does make one excited to return home.  I am excited to eat meals that are not under the Kosher guidelines. It is nice to have plug-ins that are familiar and hair dryers that actually have some power to dry my hair. It's nice to understand everyone around and not wonder what exactly I am eating. And, I am very thankful to not hear that loud Moslem call to prayer "mooing" 5 times a day. Most excited, though, am I to pick up my lovable pups and those big floppy ears.

(On Mt. Gilboa with the Jezreel Valley behind)

Every believer needs to take this trip. And I would boldly say THIS trip. With Dr. Bookman as their guide, they need to spend the money to learn about the Bible in a new way. And I'm only saying that because it is worth it in a life-changing way. Understand the whys, the hows, the whens so that you can grasp more of who God is and what He has done.

Pike's Place, continued

Pike's Place was fun. I bought this tiny lemon white-chocolate cheesecake that was delish and a really funny gift for Hubs. As I browsed, I was always searching for a certain store.

The original Starbucks. At first I thought this was it:

It was on Pike Street and it was the first one I saw. So, I went inside and got a drink. I decided not to buy any gifts there since I had just arrived. I thought I would just stop by later. It wasn't much different than a normal Starbucks, just a little different atmosphere.

Half a block later, I stumbled across the REAL first Starbucks.

It was smaller, older, and if that wasn't enough, the inside SHOUTED that it was the first Starbucks.

No tables and chairs. No normal Starbucks merchandise. No pastries. Two tall counters against two of the walls. The other wall was shelves containing merchandise and coffee beans ONLY sold at this store. And the other wall was the front door.

It was tiny, compared to most, and it was busy with tourists. I'm pretty sure everyday Seattle dwellers go to the many other Starbucks store in town. I browsed and bought some unique gifts. The lady at the counter told me they sold waaaaay more merchandise than coffee, she compared this store to a Target. It wasn't surprising. They had the coffee mugs all boxed and ready to go for the tourists.

This Starbucks store only uses the original brown logo. If you haven't seen it, it is the one with the naked girl in detail. So, I was very careful with my selection of mugs. Call me crazy, but I felt a little odd buying someone a mug with a large Starbucks logo, "aka large naked breasts."

Being such a big fan of coffee and of Starbucks, this was a definite highlight. What I didn't think about was that I would now need to lug all my purchases uphill to my bus stop. I verified my bus choice with a local and hopped on. It was nice to sit after walking for a solid 3+ hours wearing cute flats - the tennies just didn't go with the skinny jeans.

But, then I got off the bus and had a mile and a half walk back to the hotel. This walk was quicker, now that I knew where I was going. But this time I was also carrying a large back of purchases. Our hotel wasn't very fun to hang out at, and I still had seven hours until Hubs was done.

Off I went for another 4 hours of shopping, in my flats. When my feet couldn't stand it anymore, I got a yogurt parfait from Red Mango and cozied up in a chair at Barnes and Noble and read. A great way to end a fun day in Seattle.

Pike's Place

I actually debated about whether or not I was actually going to take the journey to Pike's Place. As I perused the bus routes, I became increasingly confused and almost gave up. My adventurous nature won me over though, and I set off with my camera, purse and bus route book in hand.

I calculated that I would need to walk about 1 mile to get to the bus stop that would make the trip easiest. I just needed to get to 45th street. I found 47th street and then found 44th street, but I never passed a 45th street. I kept looking over my maps, which showed a 45th street intersecting with the road I was on and could not understand what I was missing. Stress set in, which means I immediately became hot within my abdomen and started sweating.

Then, I happened to look up. High, high, very high above me was a street - 45th street, with no possible way to get up to it. So, I began to make the trek up into the University of Washington campus. And I don't use the word "trek" lightly. Many stairs, lots of uphills, and paths that curved in and out of buildings. Keep in mind that you can only see until the next tree or hill. Basically, I pointed myself in the general direction I needed to go, and I went.

Forty-five minutes later, I had maneuvered myself to the desired bus stop, which I actually thought would be a train station. Slight mishap. Panic set in again. What if I didn't have enough money? The buses only took cash and I only had $2. Thankfully, the fare was exactly $2. I was on my way to downtown Seattle, unaware of the soreness of my feet due to the high of my adventure.

When I got off the bus, I pointed myself towards Puget Sound and began walking downhill. Then I saw this sign:

I was there! From then on, I just walked and took in my surroundings. First, I noticed the fish:

 Whole crabs, if you are interested. Or, they also had live ones if you really want them fresh.

 Random sea life that I would never eat.

This poor guy doesn't look so good. I think they thought the sunglasses would help.

And they would fillet these whole fish for you right there. I didn't stay around to watch.

 Hey, and if you were from out of town, no biggie. They'll ship it for you! I didn't purchase any seafood.

Next came the beautiful produce:

 It was so colorful and it looked delicious. It was my dream grocery store!

 They gave out samples along the way. And there were so many different vendors.

These were very popular arrangements made from peppers.

Finally, there were the flowers:

Bouquets and arrangements everywhere. They were beautiful. And since I love fresh cut flowers, I would be tempted to buy one each week if I lived anywhere near here. They even had bouquets in hollowed pumpkins. So beautiful.

 These was the just one of the bouquets that stuck out to me. Look how beautiful for only $5. The $5 bouquets at Dillons are no where near this beautiful.

There were so many other things. Cheese, pasta, cheesecake, books, trinkets, clothes, novelties, and more. Level upon levels of shops and booths. I just walked and walked until I had seen enough. 

Then I just sat in a park and looked over Puget Sound sipping my coffee.

Nasty picture, but it's all I've got.

Speaking of coffee, I have left out one of the best parts about my trip to Pike's Place. 

To be continued...

A Ferry Ride

Hubs and I had an afternoon together in Seattle and needed something fun to do. We thought we would drive to Olympic National Park (and right through Forks for all you Twilight readers). As we were driving I noticed something odd. We were getting closer and closer to water, yet Gigi (our Garmin) did not show a bridge coming up. Sure enough, soon we hear Gigi say, "Board ferry."

Well, after talking with the ferry attendant we learned that Olympic National Park was a little too far away, but she suggested we take the ferry ride anyway. It was cheap if you were just passengers and that week they had been seeing orcas in the water.

Um, if there is a chance to see an orca, you better believe we went on the ferry! I'm glad we did, too.

The ferry was HUGE and I couldn't believe the number of cars on this boat. It makes sense considering this was the only way people could get to these towns, but still. There were lines and lines of cars on either side. We boarded the ferry and took in the beautiful views.

The town on the other side was Kingston. We had lunch and walked around taking in the quaint village. Although not our original plan, it was perfect.

This was the bus stop in Kingston. We chuckled over the seating that someone had provided while you wait.

The ride back was just as fun. We didn't see any orcas, just this bird and a very cute dog that had the same curly tail like Ransom.