|
Watching the sunrise over the Sea of Galilee from our hotel defies description. Factoid: There is no word in Hebrew for "lake" hence the name Sea of Galilee. It's a very big lake. Off to the Mount of the Beatitudes - the scenery was spectacular; then to Tabgha to the Church of the Loaves and Fishes; walked the shoreline where Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection and finished the day with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. Mindblowing. Music really punctuated our day today in a serendipitous way. We drove to Caesarea to visit the remains of the palace built by Herod. We stood over the cell where St. Paul was imprisoned before he went to Rome. From there we went to the outdoor amphitheater where the music first entered our day. A man from a different tour group went onto the stage and started singing Beethoven in the most beautiful voice with fantastic acoustics. Today we left Netanya where we had spent the night going to Caesarea Maritima where the baptism of the Gentiles began, saw the sunken harbor, the hippodrome, the theater and the Roman aqueduct. So hard to understand how all of this was built without the construction equipment we're so used to. On our drive to Megiddo we overlooked Armageddon. Yes, it is a place. Onward to Nazareth which included visits to the Grotto of Annunciation, St. Joseph's workshop, Basilica of the Annuncation, Mary's Well and the Church of the Old Synagogue. We also visited Nazareth Village, replicating first center Nazareth, built on archeological finding preserved intact that provide a direct connection to the past and to Jesus' life in Nazareth. It was spellbinding. Our hotel for the next three nights overlooks the Sea of Galilee...so incredible. by Jill Kyler After a 14 hour flight from Newark to Tel Aviv, we have arrived. All things considered it went quite smoothly. Sleeping on the flight wasn’t really a possibility as the activity level never seemed to slow down. So we were a tired bunch going thru immigration. We were met by a tour guide and after collecting our bags, we were off to Jaffa on a beautiful coach. The landscape reminded us of everything from AZ to the midwest to Puerto Rico! We stopped at the house of Simon the Tailor and saw the whale water fountain where Jonah was reportedly swallowed. Had a lovely lunch in an open air market then off to our hotel in Netanya for some much needed rest. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring! by Jill Kyler Tomorrow is the day that fifteen of us have been planning for months. I personally have not been to Israel before - the closest thing would be the Israeli embassy that was across from our hotel in Nairobi. That's another story. Knowing their security in Africa as well as now I do, I have no doubt they will have things totally under control all the while we are in Israel. Traveling with friends, new and old, will be a treat as things are always more meaningful shared. It is our intent to keep a daily blog if technology will cooperate to let everyone know how we are faring and what we are experiencing. We will appreciate your prayers, and we will be praying for all of you at the spots where Jesus traveled. That thought is hard to wrap my head around. So tomorrow begins with a 4:30 am gathering at Sky Harbor Airport to depart to Tel Aviv via Newark. You might want to say a few prayers for alarms going off and limo drivers being awake and alert.
Blessings, Jill |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
RSS Feed