If there is a place one should go to at least once in their lifetime, it is to the nation of Israel. I have had the privilege of visiting the land of the bible three times, and given the chance, I would definitely go again.
The articles about Israel will come from my most recent trip there, which was way back in 2010. We were there for a week, and we definitely treasured every moment of it. Thanks to Facebook, and memory cards, I can share the memories of a lifetime with you.
Back to when I was working in Hong Kong, I helped organize this trip. It was a group tour, and there were 38 people in the group. Traveling in a group can be quite a challenge, but is also a lot of fun as it gives you the opportunity to make new friends. Our group consisted of Filipinos, Americans, Indonesians, Malaysians, Indians, Chinese, South African, Italian and French. We were a United Nations group, ha ha! We may have come from different countries, speak different languages, have different skin colors, but one thing bound us together- we are all believers of Jesus Christ, and we all wanted to visit the land of our Savior.
So, join me and let us embark on the journey of a lifetime, a journey that takes us back to the land of the bible, places that we read about in the bible will come to life, and I hope, just by reading this blog, whenever you read your bible next time, you will remember the pictures you see, and it will also give you the desire to visit the land of Israel one day.
Welcome to Israel! After a 12-hour flight via El Al, Israel's national carrier, we finally arrived in the land flowing with milk and honey. Let me tell you this, no other airline in the world has canine dogs and armed personnel in their check in area and boarding gates. The nation of Israel takes their security very seriously, as they are a country that experiences terror attacks very frequently.
If you visit the country, you can be sure that you will be asked security questions before you check in. It's a rigorous process, but worth it. We arrived in Israel at night, and after going through immigration, we drove straight into our first hotel, which was in Netanya, near Tel Aviv, where Ben Gurion airport is located.
Unfortunately, as of posting time, this hotel's location is already closed but they have a new location in Netanya as well. You may check out their website here.
Due to jet lag, and excitement too, we did not really sleep well, and as soon as it was daybreak we explored the beach right next to our hotel. We went sometime in November but the weather in Israel was still quite warm so it was nice playing on the beach before we had breakfast.
And of course, since we were with friends, we never miss an opportunity to take pictures, no matter how repetitive it may seem.
Since we did not have time to swim, we just had to make do with playing on the sand, touching the water with our hands, and took pictures.
This is a very close friend, who was able to join us at the very last minute and through a lot of prayer that she will be allowed by her employer to join us. God answered our prayers and we were all thrilled to have her with us!
The ridges on the hill were caused by the wind and the water too, I guess, over time. After all the excitement at the beach, its back to the hotel for breakfast.
The package tour included airfare, hotel and meals. So after we paid, all we had to worry about was to get ourselves to the airport and fly. Meals in Israel were sumptuous. We always had buffet for breakfast and dinner, and lunch, that depended on where we were.
Meal times always included hummus, (yum!) pita bread, (double yum!), olives, various kinds of salads, cheeses, desserts of course. We were always full, but we were also walking around a lot so we digested the food we ate quickly as well.
So we feasted while we were in Israel, not giving a thought about gaining weight or anything like that. After all, we were also walking a lot so there was no chance we would gain any weight at all.
Here we just pretended to gobble up all the food, and indeed the food was delicious! I specially loved their cottage cheese, yogurt, pita and hummus. I actually liked everything that was in front of me!
After breakfast, we herded ourselves into our tour bus, and the first place we went to is the ancient city of Caesarea, which is located between Tel Aviv and Haifa, since it was the nearest place from our hotel.
The ancient city of Caesarea was built by King Herod, named after the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus. Caesarea today is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Israel because of its history and archaelogical remains. The above picture is a theater that shows the glory days of the ancient city.
It was in ruins when it was found, but it was repaired and is now being used for concerts and other events, with performers coming from all over the world. This theater faces the Mediterranean Sea, and it could seat 4,000 people. The picture you see above is the entrance.
Archaeologists who first found the area, had this to say about Herod: 'Herod wanted a monument to ensure his fame, by building a great city that would flourish far into the future. That was Herod's dream.' And what a dream it was, because the building of this city was admired for all the engineering feats that were used in building it, especially the harbor he built.
This city was Herod the Great's most extensive building project, and it encompassed 165 acres in total. It boasts a theater, and amphitheater, which ruins we did not see, a hippodrome, palaces, public buildings, storerooms, residential areas and sewer system.
Here in this city, the apostles Peter and Paul preached, and Paul was imprisoned. So this city has a very rich history indeed.
No natural ports existed along Israel's coast. Herod built an artificial harbor, constructing large breakwaters, to provide a safe haven for ships. It brought status and revenue to Herod's kingdom, and he used the port to import materials for his numerous building projects. We can now see why he was called Herod the Great.
As we were a big group, most of us were always taking pictures, and it is up to our guide to gather us together to listen to the history of the place.
Around the vicinity of the theater are other ruins, and those are what we visited next. But first, another picture with the theater as the background.
This is a big anchor that must have been discovered underwater as Herod also built a port in the area that was a major source of trade income from other regions.
We are standing next to a sarcophagus, or a stone coffin. Not sure why a sarcophagus was here or who used it, but the deceased would be placed here, and once the flesh has decomposed, the bones would be collected and stored in an osuary, a depository for bones.
The city of Caesarea was the grandest city of Israel outside of Jerusalem during that time. The old city required a steady flow of running water, and initially, its water came from the local wells. As the population grew however, Herod built an aqueduct to get water from Mt Carmel into the city, and the building of it involved amazing engineering techniques very new at the time.
Here is a closer look. Bear in mind that this was built when there was no modern machinery invented yet, and they were able to build something like this that stretches 10 km long into the foot of Mt Carmel to channel the flow of water. It was considered quite an engineering feat at the time.
This is part of the remains of a hippodrome. 'Hippo' means horse in Geek, so a hippodrome is a place for horse or chariot races or any other kind of sporting event. This hippodrome also overlooks the Mediterranean a few feet away, so imagine yourself watching a race, and beyond you can sea the blue ocean. Herod knew how to build grand edifices! This area in the picture is the place where dignitaries used to sit while watching the festivities.
Here we see the hippodrome from a distance. King Herod was a revolutionary indeed in terms of building as we can see from these remains. Although he was not totally accepted as king, he tried to win his subjects by building these great buildings, including the temple in Jerusalem.
Here is an example of a chariot. We took turns getting on it and took a lot of pictures of course! Imagine hundreds of this in a race. The noise of the thundering hooves must have been so loud, and generated clouds of dust as well!
This is what's left of one of the buildings.Just pillars. It could have been a house or something else, but all of these remains are situated within a few meters of each other.
This is the remains of a bathhouse. It was built in such a way that there were heaters that would keep the water warm, and the mosaic floors show the grandeur of the building, even if it was just a bathhouse. King Herod did not scrimp in building his favorite place! And the water to this bathhouse came all the way from Mt Carmel!
Opposite the bathhouse are these pillars. It might have been part of the balcony, where people can sit, relax and enjoy some wine while they were waiting for the water to be heated, ha ha ha!
Here you see more remains- part of a wall and other remnants, and that's the Mediterranean Sea! This is the border of Israel to the west.
The sea was beckoning us to swim, but sadly, we did not have swimsuits with us, and we had more places to go, so we just went and touched the water with our hands. The water was very clear and it looked so inviting.
We wish we could have played in the water longer, but alas, that was not to be. So we just posed and smiled for the cameras instead.
Over the centuries, different people lived in the city, Jews, Muslims, Romans, and they left remnants of their existence. This tower is a minaret, showing that at one time it was controlled by the Mamluks.
I just had to take one more picture of the Mediterranean Sea with a small sailboat in the distance. After our time in Caesarea, we went to other places, but that will be on another post as this is too long already. Stay tuned!
For more travel articles, please go to this page.
Comments
Post a Comment