Day 3 (Fri 6/9/06)
Tour of the kibbutz Nof Ginosar on the Sea of Galilee
0923 - This AM we had a tour of the kibbutz where we are staying (Nof Ginosar). Now we're leaving on the bus for the day.
Galilee (1st
& 2nd from left)
Tiberias (3rd & 4th from left)
0933 - The Hills of Galilee are desert in the
summer because of heat, fires, and lack of rain. Much of Israel would look like
this without irrigation. Galilee looked like this in the summer in Jesus' time.
It will be greener in the winter due to rain and snow.
The city of Tiberias
was built by Herod
Antipas. The mountains and the Sea of Galilee can be seen in the background.
The historian Josephus
wrote that in AD 70 (when Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus
) the Sea was red with blood for 3 days.
Korazin/Chorazin -
There was a fire in the area 4 days ago, causing the city to look black. We were
unable to walk back into the ruins due to the danger of vipers.
(left) entrance to the city
(middle) dwelling
(right) mikvah (ritual
bath)
Observations by Zvi, our tour guide, while on the bus:
The Hebrew alphabet starts with aleph and ends with tav.
Each Hebrew letter has a meaning. "Aleph" means "strongest,
strong ox, or general." "Tav" means "sign" and
looks something like a cross. When Jesus said, "I am the Alpha and
Omega" this does mean "first and last," but also the
"strongest general and the sign of the cross."
Palestinian" comes from the word "Philistine" and is Arab for "invader." And they claim that the Israelis have invaded? Ironic.
Tel
Dan ("tel" means "layer
upon layer")
(lower left) "high place" used to
worship idols
(lower right) "bema" where the king sat at the gate to judge
the people
1240 - Leaving Tel Dan
Nahal Hermon Reserve/Banias /Caesarea
Philippi
(upper left) pillar bases
(upper 2nd from left) altar & basin
(upper 3rd from left) Mount Hermon
(upper 4th from left) under the shade of a fig tree
(upper, 5th from left) Hermon Spring
(milddle left) path up to Pan's Grotto at Mount Hermon/Banias Cave
(middle row, middle picture) at Pan's Grotto
(middle right) Hermon Spring
(lower left & 2nd from left) Mount Hermon & Pan's Grotto
(lower 3rd, 4th, 5th) Hermon Spring
1337 - We are driving to and through the Golan Heights. Our hotel is below sea level. Now we are climbing higher and higher above sea level.
Lebanon & Mount Hermon
Eating Falafel in a Druze village
Brechat Ram ("high pool of water") - crater formed following volcanic eruption, filled with groundwater
1500 - I can see the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon. There are 2 or 3 small patches of snow on the Syrian side but none on the Israeli side. We are now heading to Mount Bental, which is a dormant volcano. There is a coffee shop on Mount Bental whose name in Hebrew means "Coffee in the clouds" but is pronounced as "Kofi Anan."
Mt Bental in the Golan Heights; border with Syria
(Syria is currently Israel's most peaceful border)
(upper) signs showing distances to various
cities
(lower left) Israeli-Syrian border; the lush green area is Israeli (and
has been irrigated); the brown area (non-irrigated) is Syrian
(lower 2nd, 3rd, 4th from left) bunker on Mount Bental
(lower 3rd) "soldier" guarding the Road to Damascus
(lower right) bat among various other animals in a modern art display on
Mount Bental
Peace Vista (overlooking the east side of the Sea of Galilee)
Israel's border with Jordan
1712 - Jordan seen from the window, going
down from the Golan heights. I can't get a picture but I can see the place where
Jordan, Syria, and Israel meet. There are minefields between Israel and Jordan.
Close by is Gilead, where Elijah was from.
There is a barbed wire fence on our left. There is a small
ravine with a river. The border between Israel and Jordan is in the river. We
were about 1/8 of a mile from Jordan for a brief time.