Blogs from Haifa District, Israel, Middle East - page 3

We visited two sites today as we drove north of Jerusalem on our way to the Galilee, where we will be for the next week. Today’s sites were not necessarily spiritual visits, but they are certainly connected to archaeology and our Judaeo-Christian faith. Caesarea Maritima is best known for the palace of the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate and as one of the locations of Paul’s imprisonment (Acts 23:23-27). The next site we visited was continually inhabited from the 6th Millennia BC until the 4th Century BC; yes, 20 times this location was settled and re-settled for close to 5,000 years and then slowly abandoned about 300 years before Jesus. Throughout Megiddo’s storied history, its nearby Jezreel Valley has hosted numerous and legendary battles. Perhaps, this is why John of Patmos chose this site for the final ... read more

today we went to mt cermel to the traditional place where elijah had the contest with the prophets of baal because it is the highest place it could have happened anywhere near here the kidron river is at the bottom of the hill the view from here across the jezreel valley is very nice but its a bit misty today anyway I accidentally left my camera home when the Jews came to settle here the turks owned it but didnt use it the land was full of swamps and so they stayed away for fear of malaria, a wealthy jew raised the funds to puchase the whole valley from the turks and they drained the swamps, now it is one of the most productive areas of Israel the tell of megiddo this tell has 25 layers ... read more

Well, it's finally here. It seems like I've been planning this trip for forever, and now it's right around the corner. I fly out from Sky Harbor at 5:55am on July 30th and land in JFK airport at 1:47pm. There's an 11 hour layover between then and when my flight leaves to Tel Aviv, so I hope to see some of New York's sights or at least just enjoy a famous New York pizza while I wait. This is only a couple of weeks away, and there's still so much to do. So far, I haven't even decided what to pack. There are SO many thing I want to bring (I mean, I have two closets and tons of drawers full of stuff here). And somehow I'm supposed to fit all of those shoes and clothes ... read more

Here are some photos from the day we visited Caesarea, Grotto of the Annunciation, Stella Mares, and Mount Tabor since the internet when we wrote the blog entry wasn't supporting the upload of photos.... read more

Yes. Day three. We keep packing it in with our amazing guide, Nadav BenGal. And great driver, Avi. We woke up to Shabbat in Tel Aviv. Some of the group got in an early morning walk on the beach, though I kept going back to sleep until the last minute. Good I packed the night before! We began (after another delicious breakfast) with the ride up north on main highway, headed to Tzipori. Along the way Nadav gave the group an introduction to the issues of the security barrier, which is called a "wall" by some even though it is a fence in most places. He pointed out where it was a wall for a short bit next to the highway in a place where the highway was right up against a West Bank town where ... read more