This morning I awoke to the sound of birds and the scent of plumeria. Today is the day we leave the Sea of Galilee and head to Jerusalem. Part of me is sad to leave this beautiful seaside spot but our adventure continues and we must go!
After saying good-bye to hotel staff and loading our suitcases we were off to Nazareth. This was an outdoor living history museum with costumed enactors. We learned about wine pressing. Did you know that the reason they pressed the grapes with their feet was to avoid crushing the seeds? The seeds are too bitter for good wine. We also learned about yarn making and weaving, as well as tool making and pottery throwing. Then we also had a lesson on olive oil crushing. First the olives, both green and black were crushed by a millstone powered by a donkey. You could hear the pits popping under the pressure, that’s where the good oil is, and then the mash was put in baskets and pressed three times. After the first press, this was the best oil, to be given to God. After the second pressing, this was for human consumption. The third pressing was nearly a ton of pressure, this was for lamp oil. Our guide drew a parallel to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. In fact, Gethsemane means “oil press”. We concluded in the synagogue where the guide showed us a replica of a scroll.
Our next stop was Tel Megiddo. This Tel is 20+ layers, so it was rebuilt on top of ruins 20+ times.
Next was lunch at a Druze restaurant. It was a buffet meal with delicious Israeli food.
Then it was up the mountain to Mt. Carmel. With a beautiful panoramic view we stopped to talk about Elijah and the prophets of Ba’al. This story happened on Mt. Carmel.
Then it was on to the Mediterranean Sea. First we stopped at the remains of an aqueduct built by King Herod. This aqueduct was 16 kilometers long, bringing fresh water to Herod’s palace. We enjoyed finding smooth rocks and pottery in the sand and envisioning it as part of Herod’s palace. Then we visited the palace ruins. These are 1st century ruins from Herod the Great. He had multiple palaces and this one was right by the Mediterranean Sea. We sang a few songs in the amphitheater before leaving. The ruins are all starting to run together, but this one was definitely the largest that we have visited.
Next we set our eyes toward Jerusalem. Traffic was heavy around Tel Aviv and as we entered Jerusalem we encountered a large protest. There were thousands of Orthodox Jews, men and boys in traditional attire in the streets and sidewalks. The government recently made a ruling that the Jews need to participate in the military and they were protesting in Jerusalem. We finally got through and on to our hotel where we will be staying for the next five nights.
