Golan Heights

Yesterday our bus driver Ali and guide Jim took us up to the the highest part of this country, near Israel's border with Lebanon and Syria, up to the Golan Heights.

This is a stunningly beautiful and sparsely populated land of foothills and plateaus and tall snow-capped peaks, of fertile orchards and vineyards and vibrant wildflowers, of nature reserves with historic sites and waterfalls, of ranches with white cattle and rock-strewn fields for grazing.

Waterfall at Banais

And yes, of land mines and tanks and bunkers, and military presence. We saw for ourselves evidence of 1967, 1973, and more recent conflict, how empty villages are, except for the Druze areas, and how the United Nations has set up a disengagement zone. In fact, we drove around the designating boulders in the road and right through it. People go about their daily lives yet I can't really imagine what it must be like to know that enemy missiles could reach my home. Or that my children need armed guards for a school field trip.

Boulders designating entrance into disengagement zone - you can't not see them!

With an ever more fervent hope for peace in the world, we wound our way back down from the heights to the Sea of Galilee.

Warm, Cold, Wet, Dry - and Utterly Amazing!

It's incredible to be here and to see the sights we're seeing and to be allowed to walk on stones used by people over two thousand years ago! We're not in museums, we're outside exploring foundations of ancient synagogues, like the three we saw on Sunday in Korazin and Capernaum and Tiberius.

We got wet, really wet, when it rained. And then we dried off and warmed up when the sun came out - and then it poured again! And repeat!

We traveled completely around the Sea of Galilee, tucking into out-of-the way places between downpours to learn more than we thought we'd ever know about northern Israel. Our archaeologist guide is almost scarily intelligent as he explains the history of pagan Decapolis cities and religious Jewish cities and those with mixed persuasions during the past two centuries. He even points out how historians know these facts, such as the designs on coins (religious Jews would never depict a human face or an animal in 3-D) and on the temple floors (Hellenized Jews might inlay the signs of the Zodiac).

Exploring the ancient remains of a temple in Korazin

Our day of exploration was capped off by a boat ride out onto the sea in a beautiful, historically-styled wooden boat. And we managed to have both beautiful sunshine as well as rain to add to that very special experience.

Gulls come to visit on the Sea of Galilee

Each day we return to our lovely kibbutz with our new friends in time to view another gorgeous sunset on the Sea of Galilee.

And a glass of delicious Israeli wine!












P.S. Never get off the bus without an umbrella!

From Sea to Shining Sea

The strong howling wind on the Mediterranean Sea is a powerful force, a bit scary and totally amazing, cascading angry waves high upon the shore. Our hotel windows in Netanya, Israel rattled, yet we slept peacefully last night after a long day of travel, arriving in a new land.

Today as we rode up the coast in our tour bus with the ancient's 'Great Sea' on our left, we again realized its force. Unusually high winds have closed Caesarea by the Sea, one of the great port cities of antiquity (I think pre-4 B.C. probably counts as 'antiquity'!), yet we were able to get out of the bus to explore the aqueducts and marvel that they're still there in spite of the sea's obvious force.

Kellun & Mary (our leader)

We headed on up the coast and then inland through the Mount Carmel Range, viewing sheep on the hillside and green fertile moist fields of lupine, scotch broom, field mustard, almond trees, olive trees, and winter wheat spreading into the horizon.

Our destination was Nazareth, the largest Arab town in Israel to visit the Church of the Annunciation, a holy site for Christiandom. (Don't you just love how three faith persuasions are mixed in that sentence?) Originally built in 350 A.D. and rebuilt at least three times, this multinational Catholic church stands on what is believed to be the site of Jesus's boyhood family home.

We also walked in the rain throughout the excavated ruins of Scythopolis, a Greco-Roman city constructed between 300 B.C. And 700 A.D.

Yes this is an ancient part of the world; our guide said, "History tailgates you here!" 

Jim Fleming, our guide and teacher

And now we're tucked in for the night in a kibbutz on the shore of the Sea of Galilee with the lights of Tiberius, Israel glittering in the background. The water and the land and the history and the people are all beautiful and exciting and mysterious and just plain wonderful! Layla tov!

A gorgeous sunset on the Sea of Galilee