20140223 Sunday
Ein Gev, Holiday Resort
Eastern Shore of Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee)
1725 Hrs
We just returned from our Sunday excursion and we have some time before our 6:45 dinner call. I'm sitting on our back porch of our room for four nights. The sun has just set and Judy has joined a few of our new friends gathering sea shells by the sea shore; which, of course, is not a Sea at all. The "Sea of Galelee" is a large Lake: the lowest fresh water lake in the world. I don't know who first translated the name of the lake into the English Sea of Galilee but whomever it was did a disservice to all language purists. I like the Hebrew name best: Gennersaret The Sea of Galilee, is I believe more rightly known as Kinneret or Lake of Gennesaret, which both mean "Harp" reflecting the shape of the Lake. The other names are Lake Tiberias and journeying further into the lexicon jungle is written in the Hebrew as יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, or Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, and finally Arabic: بحيرة طبرية). Let me pick up the thread again on Saturday morning:
Our first stop Saturday morning was at the Cesarea National Park to see the largely restored amphitheater constructed by Herod, or I should say by the slaves under Herod's rule.
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| History lesson in Herod's amphitheater |
At the National Park there is also the remains of his seaside palace and the hippodrome, which may actually have been the site of the earliest Roman games which became the forerunner of our modern Olympic Games.
| Looking towards the hippodrome |
The day was warm, dry and beautiful. The wind was only wispy and walking along the Mediterranean was a delight.
Just a short bus ride further up the coast, which actually should have been just a modest walk further up the Park is the remains of the aqueduct - again built by Herod for his city he named Cesarea in honor for his benefactor at Rome.
Back in our chariot we drove north to Mt. Carmel. Bibliophiles will remember the story of Elijah and the false priests of Baal which happened on Mt. Carmel. Today the site is "protected" or perhaps the cynic might prefer a more negative term by the Carmelite Order of the Catholic Church.
Other than being in total awe about standing upon rich history I enjoyed the view over the Valley of Migido where one day the Battle of Armageddon will be fought. The Migiddo Valley is rich and fertile and is one of the many prophecies that have and will yet come forth from this region: one can easily see that this valley is an example of how the desert will bloom as a Rose.
A side note about spelling: it seems that with so many nationalities and their languages converging in one spot that the rules of how to spell an item - or even the name of the location - become rather lax. Notice the two different spellings of the Valley and even the name of the large Lake.
The top of Carmel was also a great way to get our bearings on the locations of the sites we have seen and will yet see on our trip which surround the Jezreel Valley (aka the valley of Megiddo, aka Armegedden) or the valley next to Meggido to which we drove next.
Tel Megiddo is a site upon which village, after town, after city had been built over the ruins of the previous dwellings. After a couple few centuries a large mound, or Tel, forms. Archeologists then dig through the layers revealing the history of that site. The largest Tels need at least three items to survive: location, for trade; location for growing food; location for water.
Successful Cities also need a good stout wall and defensible city gates.
Food and grain storage.
Large enough for horses, chariots and other livestock.
And a water supply. Megiddo dug a shaft down and then horizontal to the spring located outside of the city walls.
Apparently some people do not like walking down empty water shafts - either that or they don't like husbands taking candid pictures ...
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We did finally reach the end of the tunnel:
We bid our farewell to the long-ago inhabitants of Migiddo and turned our attention to Nazereth.
Deadlock. Standstill.
Anyway you want to describe it; as soon as we got into town we got no where fast. It was the Jewish Sabbath so the Jew's shops were closed; the Muslim's Sabbath was on Friday so they were shopping; the Christian's Sabbath is on Sunday so they too were shopping so it looked as if all of the Muslim and Christian shops were open; however, the Jewish shops were closed. I guess the good thing is that during a weekend, no matter what day, one can find some shop open. In any case, the little village is no longer little and is now a much too crowded town whose borders are crammed because of the tourists who flock to Mary and Joseph's town. Today must have been the day to go to town and shop or to enjoy a day off of work: it was a 5-street traffic jam and we were in a huge tourist bus. There were a few other tourist busses but our guide tells us that this is the slow season and the crowds are no where near as bad as when it is busy.
50 feet and 45 minutes later we rounded the center of the city and headed back out of town towards our next stop.
The local YMCA had acquired a parcel of land and have preserved and restored it to look like the time of Mary. There was a very small museum through which our guide escorted us and then out to the field to demonstrate, with actors, what the area would have looked like and what the townspeople would have been doing on a long-ago spring day in Nazereth. On the surface it was a bit hokey but then again it is another attempt to protect and preserve precious history so I will now forbear to comment because we owe a great deal to those who keep these sites open to the public.
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| A 400-yr old tree transplanted from the Mt. of Olives |
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| It became easy to imagine that time in this place |
During construction of the historicle village they uncovered interesting items; such as the location of a wine press. Notice the groove between the upper level where the grapes were juiced and the holding container below.
The "village" has re-created traditional shepherding and carpentry and weaving crafts along with a working olive-press.
The olives are harvested and then broken with a large stone. Once prepared for pressing they are then gathered and placed in multiple stacked woven baskets and placed over a gathering vat, such as this hole:
A large "pressing-pole" is prepared with weights and allowed to press down on the baskets containing the olives.
The olives release their oil which then seeps through the woven baskets to be collected in containers placed in the gathering vat below.
Following our time-travel adventure we drove to the "traditional site" where following Jesus' announcement in the synagogue that "This day this scripture is fulfilled in your ears" and the people exclaimed accusing him of blasphemy and tried to take him to a high cliff to toss him over. If this is actually the site I can better understand how He slipped out of their midst because the site is rather a distance from the village. It is across a small valley and up the hill. At any time he could have slipped from their midst, especially if anyone else was there to assist him.
On our visit we found a number of families enjoying picnics and outings. One man motioned to us in the bus as we drove by to join him and his family and pointed to his small BBQ as if he would be glad to share his lunch.
Once Steve, our guide, was pulled and pushed to the top of the cliff-top we gathered to discuss the events of Mary, Joseph and their young son as they started their family at this place.
The drive to our current place on the eastern shore of Gennesaret was long. Sunset arrived quickly. Darkness and our private musings enveloped us. The road was windy. The people on the bus were tired. We drove mostly in the dark. We arrived in the dark. The complex is on the Eastern shore of the lake, about 1/3rd up from the southern shore. It has a main building with a cafeteria, a gathering "pub" a few conference rooms and offices. On either side are about ?40. small cabins each. (I've re-looked at the compound and the other side of the main building there are many other cabins so this is larger than I first found. The rooms have two single beds for flexibility for couples, or two singles; a small bathroom with just a shower; a small kitchen with a 1/4-sized refer, range and sink. We have a closet and desk and a black shiny rectangle-thing that sits on the wall with wires leading to it. It is about 1" thick and seems to be looking at us from the opposite wall as we lie in bed. Each of the cabins have a small back porch with views of the lake. It is a nice setting and a comfortable place to call home for a few days.
Additional photos for this day are found here:
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