THE REGION OF GALILEE

"Travel Quote".....

 

Today we departed from Jerusalem for Nazareth through the region of Galilee for the usual wake up call at 6:30 which comes with a shrill ring......creating a jolt to your system to which you receive a loud dial tone upon picking up the receiver.  I made the comment to Andy that for the last six days, some  person has been phoning, waking us up, then hanging up and if I find who it is, they will receive a piece of my mind. He added, yeah and if they do it one more time, we are going to leave this place first thing in the morning. :)

Ahh.....don't you just love wake up calls?

An hour into the bus journey, we stopped at a large rest stop.  I noticed more young soldiers. than usual today.  They are friendly and as usual I took a pic!   Never to refuse the opportunity to get a slice of life in Israel by the lens. We had learned from our tour guide of the huge benefits from being a soldier such a buying land cheaper and academic scholarships.

Up and close but nobody minds

Friendly soldier on his coffee break

Caesarea

Justin is a Theological Student who is much loved by our fellow tour participants

Caesarea

Hernan and Linda

Andy and some "colossal" columns :)

In 29 - 22 BCE Herod the Great built a bustling city on the Port of Caesarea, dedicating it to Augustus Caesar, the Roman emperor.  The afternoon was spent at the Caesarea National Park. The ancient Roman theatre was huge.......seats for 4,000 spectators.  After lunch many swam in the Med.  I meandered  around the complex on my own, trying to visualize what it would have looked like in ancient times until I reached the place where two men were fishing with poles of 15 feet but alas I truly was not alone when I stumbled upon a discovery.

I truly was not alone and what a discovery I found.....now is anyone going to believe what I found?

Men casting their lines 

It doesn't take a great deal of effort to find shards of pottery from the ruins.  I have two little pieces, one is glazed, the other is lined and shows the ridge of a rim. I had wanted to find a piece for Dylan.  Not sure exactly who this man was on his own too.  The area has a resort type residential area that the President and Prime Minister of Israel have homes in and for that reason, every vehicle is photographed.  In close proximity, we had a quick tour around the Roman aqueduct that originates at Mount Carmel.  To ensure water flow at the right speed, the aqueduct was carefully designed with a 1cm drop every 10km in its 34 km length.

The Roman Aqueduct 

The Secret Window

Our last stop for the day was Zippori (Sepphoris).  This is an amazing archaeological discovery within the last generation, giving us an insight into the extent of Roman building that was going on in the time of Jesus, and how Joseph might easily have been employed in this huge project. Notice the amphitheatre - signs of Greek and Roman culture mixing with the Jewish community.

Above Roman Theatre in Sepphoris

Nazareth consists of two parts.  The old town is inhabited by Christian and Muslim Palestinians and is utterly fascinating.  Curiosity draws you to wander into every nook and cranny. The souk is a maze of narrow alleys. The other part is a large Jewish district founded in 1957. 

We stayed two nights in the Century Plaza which is a Kosher hotel.   In observant Jewish religion, you cannot combine dairy and meat and nor can you use the same cooking vessel for different types of meal.  In other words, even if you were to wash dishes that were used for meat,  you cannot use them again for dairy.  For that reason, there are two kitchens in the hotel which means there must be  two sets of plates, cutlery, wine glasses etc.  Breakfast is the dairy meal and in the hotel buffet, we were offered dairy products such as cheese, yogurt and milk in your coffee with no meat allowed.   No dairy products are offered for dinner so that means no milk for coffee. For dinner,  meat and fish are served.  We had asked for hot water for dinner so our server brought it to our tables in paper cups because cups and saucers are part of the breakfast kitchen.   Shabbat is on Saturday, beginning with sundown Friday evening, but stores close Friday afternoon in preparation.  Stores close and those who practice their religion closely do not exert energy or use certain types of mechanisms that might be considered a violation of the commandment to rest.  There is a sign that says Shabbat elevator which is  an elevator which stops at every floor on the Sabbath, so that you do not have to press a button, which would be considered a form of work.  On every door is a mezuzah, which is a symbol or a reminder of the law of Judaism, taken from the book of Deuteronomy.  You need to put the reminder of the law on your door post.