Day 2--Natanya, Caesarea Maritima, Nazareth to Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee

What follows is from memory, given the fact the Blogsy site on my ipad crashed the day I wrote this... 1/23/15  We awoke to bright sunshine in Netanya, just north of Tel Aviv.  After an impressive breakfast, we bussed north with the Mediterranean sparkling on our left to the East.

First stop was Caesarea Maritima, a harbor built by Herod in 21 BC. This colossal marina featured inner and outer barriers which provided a safe haven for travelers and their boats. Materials used to build this place ingeniously hardened under water.

But Herod didn't stop with the marina.  He also constructed an amphitheater that seated 3500 and a hippodrome which held 20,000 for chariot races, and more.

Races consisted of chariots winding around the track seven times at breakneck speed. We could imagine the cacophony of noise and the royals overlooking the events there.  I was tempted to sprint around the track a few times myself, but since time was short, elected not to. Didn't want to hold up the gang, you know.

As kayakers floated in the blue-green Mediterranean before us, I was fascinated by Herod's feat of building a fresh water pool within the salt-water sea. The fresh water was brought in--not a natural fresh water pool.

Because fresh water was scarce, one huge feat Herod accomplished was building an aqueduct that brought in water from the area of Mt. Carmel, about 10 miles away.

Once this place was completed (took 12 years), it became to focal point of Roman rule in Palestine. Pontius Pilot ruled here and Paul used this port during his travels.

On our way to Megiddo, we noticed within the green valley through which we traveled, box-like netting covering fruits and vegetables.  This netting, which protected the plants from frost, became a common site.

Tel Megiddo was my first experience observing a "tel," a structure or civilization built upon another. Megiddo held a strategic position overlooking the Via Maris, one of the main routes used for travel between Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia. The city is referred to in the New Testament as Armageddon.  This place dates from 8000 years ago, we observed an animal sacrifice altar and an ingenious water tunnel to provide this high spot with fresh water.

Driving through the countryside, we passed ancient stone caves used as tombs, complete with a round stones to seal the entrances.

We lunched at a Druze village (the Druze are a sect of Shia Islam) where I ate my first Falafel--came to realize this is a common food here.

Next stop was Nazareth, and it wasn't the sleepy little village I'd had in my head from my childhood days.  This city, Jesus' childhood home, was relatively isolated and inaccessible, so it needed no protective walls.  Probably just a few families lived here during Jesus' time.  We toured a reconstructed Nazareth village, seeing for the first time an olive press among olive trees of the area.

From Nazareth we continued northeast toward the Sea of Galilee, stopping at Kibbutz Ginnosar to view the "Jesus boat," a newly discovered 1st century vessel--very similar to the boats on the Sea of Galilee during Jesus' time.

Our busy day ended in Tiberius on the south end of the Sea of Galilee.  Exhausted, we enjoyed another fantastic array of food choices before falling into bed.