Israel...Part 2...Day 7

March 12, 2019

Day 7: We had to wake up dark and early to 'crank the dude' so that we could take hot showers (see previous day's pictures for further explanation) before getting an early start for our day in the Galilee region. Breakfast was typical Arabic fare of pita, yogurt and salad. Today I was happy with cornflakes and chocolate frosting. Yeah, weird I know!

We loaded onto a giant tour bus and headed toward Capernaum, the town where Jesus grew up on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, or, presently known as Lake Kinneret. The weather was a perfect 70F with (finally) no wind and we were immediately drawn to the water's edge to take it all in. Afterward, we walked around, looking at 1st century ruins of this ancient village. What we were NOT going to do was pay 2 shekels to use the bathroom, no matter how badly we needed to go!

2 shekels...grrrrrrr

Lake Kinneret aka Sea of Galilee

Lake Kinneret aka Sea of Galilee

St Peter's house in Capernaum. I get so annoyed when they build churches over these sites and ruin them.

Capernaum - the town where Jesus grew up

Walls of Capernaum. That archway looks like it's possibly 1st century. Who might have walked through it? 

After a short drive up the hill the bus dropped us off at the Mount of the Beatitudes. Aside from the iced coffee and Coke I bought there I really didn't get much from that experience because there was absolutely nothing left of the hillside where Jesus supposedly gave the Sermon on the Mount. There were a couple churches built on this sacred area and I just kept looking at the empty hills around us to try to find meaning in this place. Still not paying 2 shekels to use the restroom!

What the people see when the look at the Mount of the Beatitudes

What I see when I look at the Mount of the Beatitudes

How I imagine the Sea of Galilee looked 2000 years ago

We didn't stay long there before we journeyed up up up to the Golan Heights region, to the Banias Nature Reserve. When my family went to Banias a few years ago I remember thinking 'I didn't know that Israel had a jungle...'. We had visited Ceasarea Philippi, an ancient Greek-Roman city known for its worship of pagan gods and debauchery. It is said that Jesus came to this city but did not enter it, but asked his disciples who they thought that he was, and Peter answered 'Son of the living God'.

My family had hiked along the river and ended up at an enormous waterfall surrounded by lush green trees. This was my expectation for today, and I was a little disappointed when our guide informed us that we would be taking a different route. However, this path took us through Herodian era ruins that Joanie (who had also been to the waterfall) and I had no idea even existed. I feel a little bad for my mom, who never got to experience the beautiful waterfall, but I think Joanie and I both feel blessed to have seen something new that we hadn't expected. And, for the record, free bathrooms!

This is an interesting structure. Once you've spent some time here you begin to recognize the architecture. At the bottom of this particular building you can see it was originally built during the Herodian era, then you can see Roman, Byzantine, and the top layer being modern Syrian

After that hike, where we were actually hot for the first time since arriving in Israel, the bus drove us further up the mountain to a restaurant near Mount Hermon, that overlooked a dormant volcanic crater that was filled with water so polluted from refuse and pesticide that you could not swim in it, much less drink it. That's one thing that nobody tells you about the Holy Land: it's a dump. Literally. The anti-littering campaign that started in the early 80s in the United States still hasn't caught on here. I have yet to see a '500 shekel fine for littering'. People just dump their trash whenever and wherever they please. If you ever plan on visiting Israel be prepared for the smell of hot garbage. I know it doesn't quite jibe with most people's dreams of 'The Land' and some people simply don't want to hear it but it's just the truth. I absolutely love it here, but lay your romantic notions about peace, love and clean alleys at the gate. While many folks are nice here, there are a lot of rude people, cigarette smoke and honking horns. Many public restrooms are co-ed and it's not unheard of to see people (ahem...men) not using restrooms at all.

Why do I mention these things? Not to sway anyone from visiting here. As I said - I love it in Israel! I knew these things before and yet eagerly returned. The reason that I bring these things up is because this is REAL. If you come to this country expecting harmony as the angels sing all around you then you will be sadly mistaken and could begin to question your faith, and that is not what I want to happen at all. If you choose to visit here you will have to carefully look for God, past the spoon fed fiction created to line pockets with shekels and ears with honey. You'll need to look past the large ornate cathedrals that weren't even around until centuries, if not millennia, after the time of Jesus. Past the incense heavy sanctuaries and orthodox synagogues where they have forgotten what is real and seek man-made religion where they believe their salvation lies. You will find Yeshua in dusty unpaved trails in the hills outside of Nazareth. In underground cisterns below Jerusalem, or along the empty banks of the Sea of Galilee. In humble stone homes beneath the ground on Mount Zion. These are REAL.

Anyway, another thing you may not have realized about Israel is that is has snow capped mountains. For real! Apparently you can ski on Mt Hermon. Isn't that cool?

Scenic lookout

My mom looking disapprovingly at Joanie's lunch

After our lunch, the bus took us to a kibbutz where they took us on a tour of a wine and liqueur distillery and offered wine tasting. A highlight for me was the grappa, 75% proof. My mom and
Joanie politely declined ;) We then made our way to a scenic overlook that took us right along the Syrian border. What was strange about that was how ordinary it was. One of the most contested areas in the world and only a thin dirt road serves as a border between Syria and Israel. No giant wall, or troops lined up on either side. We were told that they are carefully monitoring the area, and there were clearly military bases on top of mountains so that indicated that it was probably true.

Abandoned village near the Syrian border. Notice the holes blown into some of them. Not sure if that's why the village was abandoned or if it's just IDF target practice

Lots and lots of wine

One other quick thing that made me laugh (now that I'm safe and sound): While driving up (and down) the mountain there is a tall wall on one side and a sheer cliff that you can look straight down to your death on the other. That's all fine and good until you realize that the road is only one lane and it's actually meant for two way traffic - and you are in a gigantic tour bus. Yikes!!!!

I thought that the scenic overlook was probably the last stop but we did get one last chance to dip our feet into the Sea of Galilee, if we were so inclined. We politely rebuffed, since it smelled heavily of raw sewage...but at least it was pretty to look at! Others on our bus were a bit more adventurous than us and decided to take a swim. Ummm...no thanks.

We were on our own for dinner tonight so Joanie and I grabbed the nearest shwarma that we could find and horked it down. Notice that I said 'Joanie and I' and failed to mention my mom in there. Turns out she would rather starve if she can't have meat and potatoes... She grabbed a Kind bar or some such nonsense and called it dinner. I have a feeling that at least one of us will be losing weight while here and it WON'T be me!!!

Looking forward to tomorrow - back to the Mediterranean!