Caesarea, Mt. of Beatitudes, Capernaum, "Sea of Galilee," Jordan River, Cana, Nazareth, Akko

This past weekend, Sara, Aziel, Amanda, Nick and I rented a car and drove up to the Galilee region. We visited Caesarea Maritima on the way. As can be expected of most ruins in this land, the history is multilayered (Byzantine, Crusader, Arab, etc.). Caesarea started as one of Herod's ambitious building projects in the 20's BCE: a city/harbor in honor of Augustus Caesar. You can find a historical timeline here, which marks visits by Paul and Origen (pretty cool). One interesting fact is that "this city is the location of the 1961 discovery of the Pilate Stone, the only archaeological item that mentions the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate, by whose order Jesus was crucified.^[5]" (Wikipedia). You can see this "Pilate Stone" at the Israel Museum.

Caesarea Maritima


The photos do not do the site justice, since it's difficult to capture how immense the ruins are... and the waves crashing up against the walls.

(aquaduct; photo taken in March)

(heated bath)

(statue of Jesus, according to the sign)

(we finished the hot tour with some delicious gelato--check out the banana/date/pecan one on top)

We settled in Tiberias that night, with the intention of cycling up to the Mt. of Beatitudes and Capernaum first thing in the morning... good thing that didn't work out, because it was very humid and a steep climb.

Mt. of Beatitudes


(A general note to female travelers in the Holy Land: Since it's so hot, wear a tank top and shorts. But, carry either a wrap skirt or pants and a light scarf with you since you'll need to cover your knees and shoulders to enter some sites, whether Jewish, Muslim, or Christian. We actually had to go back to our hotel and grab more clothes since the nuns wouldn't let us onto the property with our shorts on.)

Yes, we read Matthew 5-7 while we were there :).

(the church on the Mt. of Beatitudes; photo from Sara)

(it was nice and peaceful by the Galilee... later, Sara and I swam in it... the water wasn't as clear as the Med. or Red and the fish tickled our legs, but at least we didn't have to worry about jellyfish!)

(we sat under a tent and chatted for a while... admittedly, we took off our knee and shoulder coverings once we got to a secluded space on the Mt.)

Some photos from March:

(a close up of the "Sea of Galilee")

(the "Jesus Boat")

(the YDS travel seminar got to board a boat on the Galilee, which was so lovely)

(loaves and fish: pita and what is called "St. Peter's Fish" (tilapia zilli) at the Church of the Multiplication in nearby Tabgha)

(the dome of the Church of the Multiplication)

Caphernaum/Capernaum


We dropped by Capernaum to see the 4th century synagogue -- one of the oldest in the world -- and what's considered remains of St. Peter's house (with a Byzantine octagonal church built on top of it).

(the octagonal church over St. Peter's house)

 

(synagogue; photos from Sara)

Jordan River

We dipped our toes into the Jordan River and watched some people get (re)baptized:

(there were passages written in various languages... I obviously went to the Korean one first)

(toes in the Jordan River)

(folks getting baptized in the distance)

Cana

We slept in and drove out to Cana the following morning. The roads were extremely narrow and it was tough finding a parking spot, but we found a small alley right next to the church. There was, not surprisingly, a wedding going on inside (John 2:11)! It was fun to carry my water bottle inside, even if I knew it wouldn't be turned into wine...

 

(the urns up front; photo from Sara)

Nazareth

Then we drove over to Nazareth, where we had an incredible lunch at Al Reda Restaurant, which is on the first floor of an Ottoman mansion.

(interesting sign in the center of Nazareth, which is comprised of about 30% Christians and 70% Muslims)

Al Reda Restaurant interior and our meal:

(pastia! took me back to meals at Marrakesh in Philly)

The Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth has mosaics of Mary and Jesus from around the world... I'm posting all of the ones in the courtyard here for you because I love them so much:

(phew!)

Here are some of the church itself:

(two women restoring a 5th century mural)

(Sara, Amanda and I sat in the pews for a while, soaking in the beautiful space and (finally) worshipful atmosphere... there was a service in Polish and we were the only tourists in the church at the time)

We also stopped by St. Joseph's church next door and went to Mahroum's for their famous baklava, which was the best we've all ever had.

Akko/Acre

Last stop before returning to Jerusalem was Akko/Acre, the oldest continuously inhabited city, according to my guidebook. It's been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2001. We walked around the town and hung out at the fortress where Napoleon tried but failed to lay siege to the walled city protected by the Ottomans. It was nice to stand on the wall and gaze out at the families boating and swimming in the water.