Day 2

Well, we have wrapped up day two. We started our morning at 4:45; we skyped with the kids this morning, and they were glad to hear from us. It was 8:45 pm their time, so they were going to bed as we were getting up. I went back to bed when we were done talking with the kids. I stayed in bed until the last minute. We were at breakfast by 7 am and on the bus by 8.

We headed to Caesarea Maritima first. This was a fascinating place. We saw an amphitheater and what is left of Herod's palace. The theatre is still being used today. All of this sits on the Mediterranean Sea. Herod had great architectural ideas. We were able to walk in and on the ruins that was left of his palace. He actually had a fresh water pool put in on the edge of the sea. This pool was surrounded by the sea itself. He had massive aqueducts built to bring in fresh water to the city, and there are large ruins of these still in existence. When we visited the aqueducts we got to actually touch the sea water. Of course there were villagers fishing there just like another day, but for those of us who study the Bible and live so far away and are now seeing the Bible in color, so to speak, this was a thrill. We also learned that all of the sand dunes that we were seeing is sand that is is actually from the Nile river. The currents in the Mediterranean Sea move in a counter clock wise motion stirring up the Nile placing the sand along the sea coast. Of course, the wind also stirs up the sand reshaping the landscape constantly. I am actually bringing home a small bag of sand from Egypt, and I didn't even visit there.

The next stop of the day was to Mt. Carmel and of course we know the story of Elijah challenging the Baal priests. There was a very nice monastery and garden at the supposed sight that this event happened. I am having to keep in mind that some of the sights that we visit is a best guess or reasonable assumption that a certain event happened here instead of somewhere else.

Megiddo was the next sight of the day. Of course, this sight was of great strategic importance. Whoever had this city, had control over the entire valley of Jezreel. From where the city sat, they could see enemies coming from any direction and have plenty of time to ready itself for defense. Another historical significance was the fact that Josiah, the last of the good kings, was killed near this city. The city had such a defensive stance, and was well thought out enough, that King Ahab had a tunnel built under part of the city so that the people wouldn't have to actually leave the city to get water from the closest spring. We walked down 186 steps to reach the tunnel. We walked the tunnel and then ascended 85 steps to get out. It is amazing that these people were able to tunnel through the rock so far underground.

We then drove through Nazareth. The stop in Nazareth was a constructed Nazarene village. It was constructed in such a way so that the visitor could learn what life was like during Bible times. We saw how they terraced the land for farming, what a carpenter's workshop was like and what a rich man's house might look like. We also saw a wine press and an olive press.

We finally made it to Tiberias. We stopped up on a hill to look out across the Sea of Galilee. We took several pictures, but it was quite hazy. Tomorrow we will take a boat ride. We were warned about how quickly storms arise on the sea. We will be staying here for a couple of days.

If anybody is interested, I had oreos for lunch.