Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Trip of a Lifetime-Day 5

I have been so busy lately that I haven't finished my blogs about the Holy Land and I hope to do that this week!  I must say that Easter seemed to have an extra special meaning this year since I had visual images of Jesus' journey to the cross and resurrection.  I can't wait to do that post!  But until then, I will pick up with Day 5 and our visit to Bet She’an - "Hill of the Fortress" is south of the Sea of Galilee and is one of Israel’s largest active archaeological dig sites. It was also the site where the Philistines hung the body of Saul from its ramparts. We saw the ancient streets, homes, and an impressive theatre that reminded us of the culture from the past.


The Tel (hill or small elevation in Middle Eastern archaeology) where Saul's body was hung on the walls of the city (1 Samuel 31:10).

Vomitories leading into the theatre.



Amazing archaeology find in the last 40 years.  When Dr. Tolar began coming to the Holy Land this was all under dirt!

They use this theatre today for concerts and different events!
The statue of Elijah at Mt. Carmel was our next stop.  This is the site where Elijah called down fire from heaven to destroy the water drenched altars and demonstrate the power of God! (1 Kings 18)


Our next stop was the Tel of Megiddo.  Megiddo is the same as the older Hebrew word, Armageddon, meaning the "hill of the battles."  Megiddo's strategic location dominated the intersection of two vitally important trade and military routes.
A model of the Tel of Megiddo.



One of the impressive sites at the Tel of Megiddo is this impressive water system built in 1198 B.C.  Inside the city a veritcal shaft with a winding staircase descends 120 feet to join a horizontal tunnel which runs out to a hidden water supply.  The inhabitants were able to obtain water during a time of seige.  Walking through this tunnel was a memorable experience.  These people were genius'!





The water supply (not so clean today).



Caesarea Maritima (or Caesarea by the Sea) was an incredible site!  Built by Herod the Great between 28 B.C. and 13 B.C., this was the headquarters for Pontius Pilate and the port from which Paul sailed to Rome after a 2 year imprisonment (Acts 24-26).

Statues excavated in the area of the theatre.

Roman Ampitheatre






The Awesome Mediterranean Sea



Inscription mentioning Pontius Pilate



Roman Well

Herod's swimming pool that was supplied with water by the waves from the Mediterranean Sea.

Former site of the Lighthouse at the Port.

Hippodrome where the chariot races were held (like in the movie Ben Hur).

The room where Paul was tried before Felix, King Agrippa, and Festus.

Louisiana Group (and 1 from Colorado)

Bride and Groom taking pictures.



Crusader Fort

Aqueduct built by the Romans to supply fresh water to Caesarea.

They even have McDonalds (Kosher) in Israel!

We ended the day at a new hotel in Jerusalem called The Dan Hotel.  This would be our home for the next several days before returning to the USA.  The view from our balcony was an amazing view of the Holy City!

Very Nice Accommodations

The Holy City, Jerusalem

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing these great photos with us, Jana!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome, Jana! I'm glad you have time to work on this again.

    ReplyDelete