Overview and Quick Links

JFK layover

Arriving to Tel Aviv, view of the Mediterranean Sea

Caesarea by the sea, Mount Caramel, Jezreel Valley, Megiddo, Mt Tabor, Nazareth, Cana, Kfar Kedem, Tzippori

Capernaum, boat ride on Sea of Galilee, Tiberias, Cliff of Arbel, Ginosar Jesus boat, Church of Multiplication, Mount of Beatitudes, Jordan River baptism, Decapolis city of Hippos, cliff where demon possessed swine drowned, lunar eclipse

Horns of Hittim, tree planting, Mt Meron, Tel Hazor, Golan Heights, Tel Dan (Laish), Temple of Jeroboam, Caesarea Philippi (Canaanite city of Pan), Crater Lake, Mt Herman, Mt Bental, Syrian border

Decapolis city Bethse'an (Sychtopolis), mountains of Gilboa, Tel of Jezreel, Spring of Harod, Jericho, Qumran (Dead Sea Scrolls), Mt Nebo, Mt Scopus in Jerusalem

Bethlehem (Church of the Nativity), Mt of Olives, Valley of Gehenna, the Kidron Valley, the Garden of Gethsemane

Masada, the Dead Sea, King of Kings Church

The Temple Mount, the Temple Institute, the Jewish Quarter, Mt Zion (the Upper Room and David's tomb), Yad Vashem (the Holocaust museum)

Jaffa Gate, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Via Dolorosa, Antonio Fortress, the Garden Tomb, Pool of Bethesda, Lion's Gate, Temple Mount excavation, Israel museum, Ben Gurion airport

Sunday - June 12, 2011 - JFK layover

My husband Dave and I killing time during our 11 hour layover in JFK waiting to go to TLV:

Monday - June 13, 2011 - Arriving to Tel Aviv

We arrived in Tel Aviv and stayed at the Dan Panoramo Hotel next to the Mediterranean:

Here is the view from the hotel:

Here is the tour staff, from left to right: Josef Condiotti (tour leader), Carolyn McCall (prayer liaison), Dr Tom McCall (tour pastor):

Tuesday - June 14, 2011 - Tiberius

Caesarea

Tour Guide - Ilan - Selected as "Tour Guide of the Year" in 2004 by the Israeli Minister of Tourism; an honor given to less than 1% of guides in Israel:

Theater built by Herod the Great:

Ruins of ancient Caesarea by the sea:

Remains of the port built by Herod the Great:

Remains of a Hippodrome; a chariot race track:

Mosaic ornamental pool built by Herod the Great:

Caesarea by the Sea Scripture reading: Acts 10:23-48

Description of Caesarea from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Mt Carmel

Monastery on top of Mt Carmel:

View from Mt Carmel of Jezreel Valley:

Round mountain to left is Tabor (aka Har Tavor). Nazareth is in front of Mt Tabor. Mt Moreh is the mountain to the right:

Kishon Spring (middle of picture above road):

Ancient tomb on the roadside on the way between Mt Carmel and Megiddo:

Description of Carmel from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Megiddo - Armageddon

Model of the excavation of the city of Megiddo:

Ancient ruins of Megiddo from the period of King Solomon:

Ancient Canaanite Temple excavated below Megiddo:

Water Tunnel beneath Megiddo:

View of Valley of Megiddo to the southwest:

View of the Valley of Megiddo to the west - Round mountain to left is Tabor (aka Har Tavor). Nazareth is in front of Mt Tabor. Mt Moreh is the mountain to the right:

Megiddo Scripture reading: Judges 5:1-5, 5:19-22, 5:31; Zechariah 12:11; Revelation 16:16

Description of Megiddo from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Description of Armageddon from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

On our way to the Sea of Galilee

Closer view of Mt Tabor:

City of Nazareth:

City of Cana:

Note - Sorry for the poor quality pictures taken from the bus. We drove by Nazareth and Cana, but did not stop.

A Galilean Hospitality in a village near Cana called Hoshaya

A presentation of the life of an ancient Jewish farmer, led by "Israel." (Yes that is his name). Our tour leader Ilan is standing to the right:

We all dressed up like the ancient farmers might have back then:

An olive tree:

A succoth with grape vines bearing new grapes on top:

Israel showing us how the farmers would plow:

Israel showing us how the farmers would sickle the grain at harvest:

Israel showing us how the farmers would winnow the grain after crushing it:

Israel showing us how the farmers would grind the wheat into flour:

Making dough from the flour with a little water, salt and olive oil, they baked the bread on the fire and served it with hyssop and olive oil. Yum!

We were also served fresh olives, dates, and pita bread with humus:

Donkey Ride:

Description of Kfar Kedem

City of Tzippori, where it is believed that Jesus might have help build and where He was educated. Nazareth is a suburb of this bigger city. The ruins shown are believed to be from the Crusade period. The area is under excavation now:

View of the Sea of Galilee at sunset from our hotel:

Wednesday - June 15, 2011 - Tiberias

Capernaum

Entrance to Capernaum - "The city of Jesus":

Traditional site of the house of Simon Peter:

Extended family houses with 10 rooms:

Wheat grinder:

Traditional site of synagogue at Capernaum that Jesus taught in and close to the traditional site of the house of Simon Peter:

Olive press near the synagogue:

Capernaum Scripture reading: Matthew 11:23; Mark 1:21-31, 2:1-12; John 6:30-33

Description of Capernaum from ChristianAnswers.Net
Description of Capernaum from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Sea of Galilee

Praise and worship on the Sea of Galilee by music artist Daniel Carmel:

Daniel casting a net into Galilee:

View from boat in the Sea of Galilee:

Tiberius - the city on the hill which cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14):

The cliff of Arbel - next to the road leading to Nazareth:

Sea of Galilee Scripture reading:
Numbers 34:10-12; Matthew 8:23-27, 4:18-23; Mark 3:7-9, 6:45-56; Luke 5:1-11; John 6:16-24

Description of Sea of Galilee from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Ginosar - Jesus' Boat:

Pottery and nails found in excavation of Jesus boat that verified the date of the boat to be in the 1st century:

Description of from www.jesusboatmuseum.com

Lunch at the restaurant near Ginosar, which serves fresh Tilapia from Galilee. It might have been looking back at us, but it tasted great!

Traditional site where Jesus fed the 5000 with five loaves and two fish

Church build around rock where it is thought Jesus broke the bread on:

Mount of Beatitudes

Church built over the traditional site of the Sermon on the Mount:

View of the Sea of Galilee from the Mountain of Beatitudes. The natural amphitheater shape of the area give evidence that this was indeed the site that Jesus gave the famous "Beatitudes" speech:

Mount of Beatitudes Scripture reading: Matthew 5:1-12

Description of Beatitudes from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Jordan River - Baptism

Jordan River Scripture reading: Numbers 33:50-53; Matthew 3:1-17; Mark 1:1-12; Luke 3:1-22

Description of Jordan from ChristianAnswers.Net

One of the cities of the Decapolis, Hippos overlooking the Sea of Galilee:

Image from Wikipedia

Only cliff of the side of Galilee that goes straight down into the water, believed to be the site where the legion of demons were cast out by Jesus into the pigs that drowned in the sea:

Cemetery next to cliff where it is thought the demon possessed man that was healed lived:

The "Thorn tree"; used to make crown of thorns at Jesus death:

Lunar Eclipse

Description of June 15, 2011 lunar eclipse from Wikipedia