I went to bed too late and got up too early today. Oh well, ready or not here I come. We came to our hotel last night and checked in. We are staying right on the Sea of Gallilee... Breathtaking! After breakfast this morning, we went to Tiberias and boarded a boat. We stopped the boat in te middle of the sea of Gallilee and Dr. Dukes taught from the passage about Jesus walking on the water. We continued our boat ride to Gennesaret.
At Gennesaret, there is a museum with a well preserved boat that was found in the 1990's that was from the time of Jesus. Could this have been Peter's boat? No telling,but it was definitly one like it. I put a pic on FB.
We then went to Chorazin. The gospels never record Jesus actually going there but He must have. He has some bad things to say about Chorazin in Luke 10 which lead one to believe Jesus went there... Probably many times. Jesus might have taught in the Synagogue there.
My favorite stop of the day was Capernaum. In Matthew 4, Jesus moves His ministry to this city. We KNOW Jesus was there. He taught in the synagogue there. The house of Peter is there in Capernaum. There is strong evidence, Dr. Warren said, to suggest this the remains we saw were actually Peter's home. Wow!
We went to a great falafel stand for lunch. Yummy. Next to the place called the Primacy of Peter. This is where Catholics believe Peter was given the keys to the church. Protestants take this to be the place where Jesus appeared after His resurrection and ate breakfast with the disciples. Pretty cool. Go see my pics on FB. Thery're out there. On to the bed! We have another big day tomorrow.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Israel - Day 1 - December 30, 2011
After a plane trip from New Orleans to New York, a bus trip between airports in New York, a 3 hour layover, a 10 hour flight from New York to Tel Aviv, and a two hour bus ride into the Negev desert, we finally arrived at the Ramon Inn in Mitzpen Ramon last night. After dinner and Bible study, Me and my roommate (Walt Barnes - Pastor of Roseland Park Baptist Church in Picayune, MS) crashed. We woke at 3am due to a misinterpretation of the correct time.
So after a really early start, I walked my 2+ miles (inside in a hallway of the hotel... It's too cold outside for this boy) and we went to breakfast. After breakfast, we began our journey with a trip to Ramon Crater. This place is the Grand Canyon of Israel.
Next it was off to Avdat, an ancient Nabatean city. We saw an ancient settlement that had been excavated. This city was on an ancient spice trade route. Avast has an excavated church that has a baptismal pool shaped like a cross. You can see a picture on Facebook.
It was on to the city of Beersheva. The highlight of this stop was a well, thought to be Abraham's well from about 2,000 BC. Again, pic on FB.
Our next stop was my personal favorite of the day... Masada. Masada was an ancient city on top of a mountain that was almost inaccessible. A snake trail winds up the mountain. This trail was used to bring goods to the top via animals. It is an awe inspiring view from Masada. You now ride a huge cable car to get to the top. This city was overrun by the Roman army in 73AD. There were a remnant of Jews left after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. This was their "Alamo." You can see several encampments at the bottom of Masada where the Roman soldiers stayed during their siege.
The last stop of the day was En Gedi to stop and check out the Dead Sea. I put a pic of me on FB at this site. Several people swam (not me). The water is too slimy feeling! This place is the lowest on earth... 1,300 feet below sea level... Makes New Orleans seem like its on a mountain! Had a great first day.
So after a really early start, I walked my 2+ miles (inside in a hallway of the hotel... It's too cold outside for this boy) and we went to breakfast. After breakfast, we began our journey with a trip to Ramon Crater. This place is the Grand Canyon of Israel.
Next it was off to Avdat, an ancient Nabatean city. We saw an ancient settlement that had been excavated. This city was on an ancient spice trade route. Avast has an excavated church that has a baptismal pool shaped like a cross. You can see a picture on Facebook.
It was on to the city of Beersheva. The highlight of this stop was a well, thought to be Abraham's well from about 2,000 BC. Again, pic on FB.
Our next stop was my personal favorite of the day... Masada. Masada was an ancient city on top of a mountain that was almost inaccessible. A snake trail winds up the mountain. This trail was used to bring goods to the top via animals. It is an awe inspiring view from Masada. You now ride a huge cable car to get to the top. This city was overrun by the Roman army in 73AD. There were a remnant of Jews left after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. This was their "Alamo." You can see several encampments at the bottom of Masada where the Roman soldiers stayed during their siege.
The last stop of the day was En Gedi to stop and check out the Dead Sea. I put a pic of me on FB at this site. Several people swam (not me). The water is too slimy feeling! This place is the lowest on earth... 1,300 feet below sea level... Makes New Orleans seem like its on a mountain! Had a great first day.
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