Israel - Part 1 Tel Aviv to the Golan Heights

When last we left you, we were fighting our way through Israeli customs to join Lior -our guide for this part of the trip and the remaining participants.  The heat wasn't abating here in Israel, in fact we had the additional factor of humidity from the Mediterranean Sea. Our group grew by 7 as we continued exploring The Holy Land.


Caesarea and Nazareth
Another hot and steamy day in Israel. Should we feel honored to have arrived during the worst sandstorm in Israel's history? Not. But we're seeing some awesome sights. This morning we visited Caeseria, an audacious Roman harbor and city built by King Herod to rival Alexandria.
Then this afternoon we were in Nazareth... for those Christians in our group it was deeply moving. We visited the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth and St. Joseph's Church and finally the Synagogue Church (over the site of the synagogue Jesus spoke at when he announced he was the chosen one.)

There were a steady stream of people through the churches and beneath them we could see the excavations uncovering the original village of Nazareth a very small settlement where Mary and Joseph lived with their son Jesus until he left to become a leader of a new religion - Christianity.
We finished with a visit to an Olive Oil farm. We made our own pita bread and then had a delicious meal of salad, tapinades, tahini, and various other vegetarian mediterranean dishes. It was a great day!

 The Rosh Ha Nikkra Caves at the border of Israel and Lebanon and  Acre - the crusaders slept here!

It wasn't quite so hot today... hooray! We went to the Rosh Ha Nikkra Caves on the border of Lebanon and Israel. Larry was hoping to put his hand over the border to claim another country, but Israel has a guarded checkpoint and no man's land before the border, so no such luck. Then we were off to Akko/Acre - the sight of the Crusaders main entry into Israel from the Mediterranean on their way to Jerusalem. The Knights Hospitalier set up residence there and offered comfort, sustenance and medical assistance to later crusaders coming through. The Mamluks finally defeated the crusaders and pretty much destroyed the city. We wandered around the ruins - not as much as we might have liked (the disadvantage of traveling with a tour) and had a lovely lunch overlooking the Mediterranean.




The Baha'i Gardens and the Golan Heights
We started our day, visiting the Baha'i Gardens. It's a gorgeous garden spilling downhill with a golden dome at the base where The Bab, the founder of their religion is buried. We talked a bit with one of the gate keepers about their faith and practices. Unlike the Druz which we visited later in the day, they welcome new members and are the fastest growing religion behind Islam.
From there, we've been in the Golan Heights today.... Syria was just a home run away, we could definitely see the border and the U.N. camps from the outlook we stopped at. We had a home visit and lunch with a Druz woman and a local young woman who gave us many insights into their life and religion. Did you know - if you aren't born Druz, you can never become Druz? If you marry outside the faith your children can't even be Druz. That the Druz believe in reincarnation - but only as a human? (Even more surprising to me, according to Lior our guide, the Jews do too.) That they are pacifists and their loyalty is to the land they farm, not the country they live in? Few Druz accepted Israeli citizenship when the Golan Heights were captured. They are now in effect stateless and have only a travel card not a passport, making it much more difficult to travel.
Tonight we're staying at a wonderful resort - The Peace Vista. Each of us has our own cabin facing the Sea of Galilee. The view of Tiberia across the Sea of Galilee after dark is awesome.

A Kibbutz and the River Jordan

So.... yesterday we started the day by visiting a kibbutz and learning about their way of life. Interesting fact - there are no new kibbutzes being formed. But when they were originally formed, they were built along the borders of Israel as an early defense system as well as a place for Jewish immigrants to find a home. The kibbutz we visited was very successful building parts for water systems and running a self sufficient dairy. 

Next we visited The Church of Beatitudes, the town of Zhfat where many synagogues are, especially the Caro Synagogue built 410 years ago, and the Jordan River at the location where Jesus was baptized by a leader of a small sect led by John (later called John the Baptist,) Perhaps baptized is the wrong word... purified. My friends Carol and Bill Stanley decided to be re-baptized at the site while the rest of us waded in the river and enjoyed the cooler weather.