Christian Examiner publishers Lamar and Theresa Keener recently participated in a media tour of Israel. Here is a day-by-day account of the trip. We will be adding to journal periodically, so check back for new updates.
Day 1 — Tel Aviv/Jaffa
Our first day in Israel got a late start as our flight landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport at 4:00 p.m. Dinner was at a traditional Israeli restaurant, located in the Tel Aviv Port overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
Our guide seemed oblivious to the fact that we had just spent the past 24 hours traveling and insisted that a nighttime stroll through ancient Jaffa (Joppa) would be fascinating. And he was quite right.
The streets were quiet, but brightly lit, for our stroll that began near a monument marking the story of Jonah and continued through the very narrow passageways of a network of old restored buildings consisting of homes, art galleries, theaters, souvenir shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes and promenades.
Considered one of the oldest cities in the world, the seaport is a center for archaeological finds, including restored Egyptian gates, about 3,500 years old.
Day 2 — Caesarea/Megiddo/Nazareth
After a hearty kosher breakfast we boarded our “Nazarene Tours” bus and headed north through Tel Aviv and up the Mediterranean coast.
Tel Aviv is a modern city, not a lot different from a U.S. city. And it is a very young city as this cultural and commerce center of the Middle East is only now celebrating its centennial. Its great weather, beaches, cafés, shopping and cosmopolitan lifestyle have made it a popular vacation destination.
Caesarea
Our first stop of the day was at the Mediterranean seaport of ancient Caesarea. Modern excavations have uncovered the ruins of a sophisticated port city that was built and flourished under Herod the Great in the two decades prior to the birth of Christ. Caesarea continued as the center of government for the Romans in Israel during the time of Christ and beyond.
It was here that Peter came from Joppa to baptize Cornelius, the Roman centurion, as the first gentile convert. It was here that the Apostle Paul was tried by Festus and spent time in prison; and it is from here that he embarked on his trip to Rome.
Today, the Roman theatre has been partially restored and stands as a monument to the city. It was in this theatre where the first physical evidence relating to Pontius Pilate was discovered in 1961. A block of limestone bearing a damaged dedication by Pilate states he was the governor of Judea.
Other significant ruins include the foundation of Herod’s palace, a hippodrome, city fortifications, a bathhouse, an aqueduct and a mammoth fortified gate to the city built by the Crusaders.
There is a hard-to-describe feeling of awe while standing on the floor of what was the palace and thinking that just maybe the Apostle Paul stood here during his trial 2,000 years ago.
Megiddo
Heading inland we pass near Mount Carmel where Elijah prayed down fire from heaven in his confrontation with the prophets of Baal before arriving at one of the most significant sites in the Middle East.
Tel Megiddo is a massive mound where one civilization after another was built on top of the ruins of the former, perhaps as many as 26 different ancient civilizations dating back many thousands of years. But it was during the reign of King Solomon that Megiddo reached its peak as the city became the northern administrative center during his reign.
After many decades of still-ongoing excavations, significant ruins of various eras have been uncovered, including the ruins of horse stables, once thought to be Solomon’s stables, but now attributed to King Ahab.
From the top of Megiddo one can look out over the green, fertile farmland of the Valley of Jezreel. The geographical significance of this strategic location is not lost on us as we look down on the intersection of two roads that once represented the international crossroads of the known world, connecting Africa to Europe and connecting the Middle East to Asia. Many battles were fought here including as recently as World War I. But one is yet to take place—this is where, according to the Book of Revelation, the great Battle of Armageddon will someday be fought.
Nazareth
Tucked away on a quiet hill in the middle of the bustling modern city of Nazareth is a tiny rural village reminiscent of the first century during the time of Christ. This re-creation, aptly named Nazareth Village, gives us a glimpse of what life may have been like during Jesus’ childhood.
History comes to life on this 15-acre terraced hillside as workers in period dress go about their daily chores. Shepherds tend to a grazing flock of sheep. A carpenter crafts tools from wood and stone by hand. Farmers use those tools to till the ground and bring in the harvest. Women spin wool into yarn, while others may be drawing water from a well or baking bread. During harvest season, donkeys turn the wheel on the threshing floor.
Primitive structures built by hand out of stone include dirt floor houses, a synagogue and an olive press.
While today’s village was only built in the past decade, the excavation of the site revealed significant archeological finds that included the base of a watchtower, pools with channels, a stone quarry, a column drum-type crushing stone and stone agricultural terraces which were reconstructed for the village.
But the discovery of an ancient wine press carved out of a large rock on the hillside is perhaps one of the most fascinating aspects of this pastoral setting.
Historians believe less than 1,000 inhabitants lived in the Nazareth of Jesus’ time and that such a community may only have had a very few wine presses. Guides at the village suggest that there is a reasonable chance that Jesus himself used this very stone press and played on these hills as a child.
Today the city of Nazareth has a population of 70,000, mostly Arab Israelis of which 69% are Muslims and 31% are Christians.
Nazareth Village is operated by Arab Christians with strong ties to evangelical churches in the U.S., many of whom send volunteers on short-term mission trips to assist in the village.
It has been a very full day and we have covered a lot of ground. Though tired, there is a feeling of reverent awe as our bus descends toward the placid Sea of Galilee and the city of Tiberias where we will be staying the next two nights.
Day Three — The Sea of Galilee region
Today we will completely circle the sea that is much larger than I had imagined. Here we will get to experience places where Jesus walked and taught during his three years of itinerant ministry.
The Jesus Boat
Our first stop was at Yigal Allon Centre to view one of Israel’s most remarkable archeological discoveries—a fishing boat, dated to the first century, found off the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in 1986. Due to a severe drought, the level of the sea had fallen to record lows exposing some strips of waterlogged wood found by two brothers searching for artifacts.
After a tedious 11-day-and-night excavation, remains of the wooden boat were moved to a nearby museum where they underwent a highly technical 14-year conservation and restoration process.
Numerous repairs, the reuse of timbers and a variety of wood types (12 in all), seem to indicate the vessel had a long work life and an owner of meager means.
Archeological evidence suggests the boat was used by local villagers for fishing and transport and is firmly dated to the first century. It is likely this is the type of boat referred to in the Gospels as used by the disciples of Jesus, thus referred to by many as “The Jesus Boat.”
While there is no evidence that this was a boat used by Jesus or the disciples, I found it quite fascinating, and I was intrigued knowing it was “like” a boat they would have used.
Sea of Galilee
It was a beautiful morning for a ride on the Sea of Galilee. We boarded just down the road from Capernaum and headed out to open water. When the engine was shut down, the peaceful stillness of the morning wrapped around us. Off in the distance were the rolling hills on which Jesus taught the multitudes or went off alone to pray. In these waters is where the disciples cast their nets.
One of the crew did a demonstration of throwing a net into the water. When it came up empty, we all chuckled and said, “Try the other side.” But that had the same result.
The serenity provided a fitting backdrop for a time of prayer, singing and then some festive Israeli dancing—at least for those brave enough to try it.
Capernaum
This is one of my favorite places because of the beauty of the flower gardens among the ruins.
Jesus prophesied that the town of Capernaum would be destroyed because of its unbelief and never rebuilt, and it is quite obvious that came to pass. Today it is an amazing array of excavated ruins dating from the first to fourth centuries, including a synagogue and a house believed by some to be that of Peter’s mother-in-law based on an inscription found there.
Capernaum, located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, is where Jesus based his ministry and he spent much time there. The ruins of the synagogue appear to be from the fourth or fifth century, but lower foundations have been dated back to the first century and could be remnants of the very synagogue in which Jesus often taught.
Mount of the Beatitudes
I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about the “certainty” of the particular hill where it is claimed Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Just outside Capernaum, a beautiful Catholic church now stands on the traditional site of this major event. And churches of one sort or another have occupied this site since as early as the fourth century.
A nearby hill to the west is the traditional site of the feeding of the five thousand, and a Catholic church commemorates that site as well.
To me, all the hills looked much the same—and there are a lot of hills. Any one of them seemed suitable for large gatherings overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
But “exactly” where these things happened is not important. Knowing they did happen somewhere here was indeed quite fascinating and it wasn’t hard to imagine what it might have been like. I only wish I could have hiked up a vacant hill, still adorned in only its natural beauty, and sat on a rock reading the account accompanied by only the sound of the breeze and the breathtaking panoramic view of the sea.
Bethsaida/Kursi/Kibbutz Ein-Gev/Golan Heights
Our trip around the Sea of Galilee continued on the north side with a quick stop at newly discovered Bethsaida, where Jesus called several of the disciples. This small fishing village has only been undergoing excavation since Israel recovered the territory during the 1967 Six Day War. The oddity of the location is that it is now more than a mile from the Jordan River and even farther from the sea. Possible explanations include major land shifting during earthquakes (the site sits on a fault), lower water levels and an extension of the Jordan delta due to sedimentation.
On the northeast side of the sea, below the Golan Heights, we visited Kursi where the ruins of a fifth century Byzantine church and monastery commemorate the possible location where Jesus cast the demons into the swine. Beautiful mosaic designs still adorn the floor of the church.
A trip to Galilee is not complete without enjoying the taste of St. Peter’s Fish. Tilapia makes an excellent lunch, head and all. But watch out for the bones and teeth. This was our main course at a picturesque lunch on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, courtesy of the Kibbutz Ein-Gev.
Much of Israeli farming is done on kibbutzim, a form of communal living that combines socialism and Zionism. Kibbutz Ein-Gev is a fully functioning community of 500 residents, complete with its own dairy, medical and social services, schools and markets.
The rest of our afternoon consisted of a drive up and through the Golan Heights. Situated to the east and high above the Sea of Galilee, this pastoral plateau provided Syria an unprecedented vantage point to fire rockets at will at Israeli residents down in the Galilee region prior to the 1967 war. It is not hard to understand the important significance of Israel’s control of this territory. More than four decades later, uncleared mine fields and concrete bunkers are still visible.
It was an extreme winding trip back down to sea level by way of the Jordanian border and the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee. Our nine-hour, 360-degree excursion was over soon after we crossed the Jordan and headed back to Tiberias.
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