One of the things my professor said this semester was that Israel has the geographical and natural variety of California squeezed into the size of New Jersey. In the last couple of weeks, my family and I have been covering some of that ground from the very southern tip of Israel to the very northern tip and many interesting places in between. We had a great day in Eilat on the Red Sea, including some time spent just north in Timna, hiking with the family. Besides the hiking, there is a 1:1 model of the Tabernacle there where we were able to have a good discussion with the boys.
(Note: This post was a team effort, so you'll notice us switching back and forth between who is writing. Sorry for the confusion!)
Tim teaching the boys about the tabernacle
Other pictures at Timna Park...
Please forgive me, but I thought this sign was pretty funny. (Typically, it is expected to throw toilet paper in the trash can, but this was a porta-potty, so the rules were different.)
We also visited the aquarium in Eilat.
Here, Tim is pointing out that we could see 4 countries: Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel.
After our visit to the aquarium, Tim and I took turns going snorkling in the Red Sea. It was amazing, but we don't have any pictures, unfortunately.
Our next trip was up to the Galilee region (loosely defined as we traveled from the Mediterranean coast, into the Jezreel Valley, and north almost as far as we could go in Israel). On our day up to Tel Dan and Caesarea Philippi, the air was incredibly clear and we could see Mt. Hermon, far in the north all the way from Tiberias. It was an amazing thing, really, to visit so many places so significant to our understanding of the Text of God's Word with my family.
Our first stop was Capernaum.
Here, Tim is showing the boys that the lower layer of rocks (the darker ones) are from Jesus' time.
This shows the first century layer more clearly.
"Jesus boat" - a 2,000 year old fishing boat that was found in the Sea of Galilee and is now on display in Nof Ginnosaur.
The next day, we went to Akko (also called Acre) to see an old Crusader fortress and a walked through a tunnel that led from the fortress to the Sea (Mediterranean).
Rosh Hanikra - we took cable cars down to some caves that were formed by the sea's waves.
My (Michelle's) highlight of our Galilee week was that on Tuesday morning, I watched the sun rise with Abby over the Sea of Galilee (from our apartment where we stayed), and later that evening watched the sun set with my family over the Mediterranean Sea. Wow! (Below is the sunset.)
On Wednesday we started at Hazor to see the ancient Canannite and Israelite city ruins. Here is Solomon's gate to the Israelite city of Hazor.
We went on to Tel Dan and then Caesarea Phillipi. Thursday, we headed home by way of Zippori (Sephoris), Megiddo, Nazareth, and Mt. Carmel. I think we've posted enough pictures, though! It's hard to choose which ones to post.
I'm going to sign off because I'm about to lose power on our computer (we're still having computer charger issues and internet issues). We spent our last day in the Old City today, and tomorrow we have a couple of other things planned around town. We are thankful for an incredible experience here! The Lord has taught us so much....
We look forward to our return to the States next week. Please pray for my (Michelle's) health as I have developed a cold, just in time for our flight home. We also covet your prayers as we fly home with two active boys and an almost-one-year-old baby girl who will not enjoy sitting on a lap for 16 hours! :) We look forward to sharing our adventures when we return!
No comments:
Post a Comment