The Journey Has Begun!

Throughout history many have made pilgrimages. I can only imagine that one point in time preparing for a pilgrimage meant being sure the elephants were ready. For us, our pilgrimage took us from Atlanta to Dulles Airport in DC, from DC to Frankfurt, Germany, and from Frankfurt to Tel Aviv, Israel. Herding the group through each of the airports help me relate to the elephant handlers on ancient pilgrimages. The only exception - cleaning up the mess! (Note: At times I have had to take care of that as well. :) )

After about 27 hours since we left the church parking lot, we checked into our hotel in Nentanya, Israel - a beautiful hotel on the Mediterranean Sea. After a buffet dinner (fish, beef, pasta, various salads, various hummus, bread, and an assortment of desserts) we had a Bible study led by Rev. Mike Watts. In preparation for our trip to Mt. Carmel, we read the story of Elijah and asked the question, "What is a prophet?'

After a good night's sleep - we awoke to a beautiful morning and view of the Mediterranean Sea. Following breakfast and check out - we made our way driving along the coast - to Caesarea Maritima  - "Caesarea by the sea". 

At Caesarea Maritima we visited a Roman outdoor theatre constructed by Herod. Sitting in the theatre we heard the story of Peter and Cornelius. At the same site are the remains of the Pulmonary Palace of Herod (built between 37-4 BCE), Hippodrome, Port, and temple.

Leaving Caesarea Maritima we made our way to Haifa - a port city on the Mediterranean Sea. in Haifa, we saw Mt. Carmel - more of a mountain range than a single mountain. Here, we visited the Stella Maris church - a Catholic church - entering the church a group had gathered and they were singing a hymn together - sounded German - I did not recognize the hymn tune. It was beautiful! In this church - under the altar is the "cave" where Elijah was hiding from Jezebel and God confronted him. 

Leaving the church we drove to a lookout to see the Bahai Temple and gardens - quite a layout! We were told that in the Bahai faith - members contribute $1 per day to the Bahai faith. I believe I am right in saying that there are about 2 million members - translating to $2 million per day. They purchased the side of Mount Carmel where they are located.

Leaving the Mt. Carmel area we drove through the countryside and various small towns until we reached an area where we ate lunch. Prior to lunch we went to the Carmelite Monastery - saw a statue commemorating Elijah's slaughtering of the Baal prophets. Here we also heard again the reading of the story in 1 Kings 18. From the roof of the monastery we could see the valley of Jezreel. Leaving the monastery we had lunch - fallafel or chicken schnitzel. Very good!

Following lunch we drove to Megiddo - a tell made of 26 layers of the ruins of ancient cities and overlooks the valley of Jezreel. The museum gave a replica of the structures discovered at Megiddo. At Megiddo is also a water system that brought water into the city. Many in the group made their way down 186 steps to the base of the system to see the workmanship. Prior to our entering the tunnel it started raining. (According to the tour guide, it is the first rain he has seen in a long time.) Somewhat wet and worn out - we made out way to Tiberias. We saw Mt. Tabor along the way. We experienced road construction (made the Atlanta folks fill at home).