Israel

Day 1 Walked to old Jaffa Port ( Jaffa means beautiful).  Jaffa is where Jonah disobeyed God and was swallowed by a whale.

Viewed St. Peters Monastery and church where St Peter raised Tabitha from the dead.

Next to Caesarea a town built by King Herod the Great.  The have excavated the Roman Theater (restored) and the Hippodrome.  

 The pool by the sea

They have proof that Pontius Pilate existed from the carving they found

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant operated by the Druze, a sect that broke off from Islam.  Falafel's in pita with salad.

Next to Haifa, a beautiful port town and home of the Baha'i Faith hanging gardens. 

Last stop was the oldest town in the country Acre where we visited a Crusaders fortress and local market.

Staying in Kibbutz Liva (Lion) for two nights.  Kibbutz means grouping.  The members give up private aspirations and work for the community.  This hotel was built by the Kibbutz 20 years ago.  They bought land and developed it.  There are 700 members in this one.  They get free housing, education, medical and food. They get a monthly allowance for other necessities.  It a very clean place.  Dinner was plentiful and delicious.  They even served wine😍

Day 2-3/22

Nazereth where we see the church of the Annunciation and reportedly the cave that Mary lived in.  The Quran says that Jesus was able to talk at the time of his birth and he told Mary to eat the dates which are ripe in September and October.  The Franciscans asked the Pope if they could take care of all the Holy sites which were owned by the Ottoman Empire.  The Sultan and the Pope were friends so the Sultan gave his approval. There is a Franciscan monastery  attached to the church.

The Franciscans destroyed the church they built to do an excavation where they found the old streets of Nazareth and rebuilt the current church.

 

Next stop the Mount of the Beatitudes.

There is a large hotel built near the site built for Italian visitors. It is said the Church of the Beatitudes was built by Mussolini. 

We took a boat across the Sea ofGalilee 

to Capuraum.

Visited Capernaum where Jesus lived after leaving Nazareth. 

This is the remains of the Synagogue from 200BC.  

This is the church of St. Peter.  The remains off the original one is below this new church.

Last stop before lunch is the Church of the Multiplications (loaves and fishes story)

Lunch at Ali's Restaurant on the Sea of Galillee.  St. Peter's fish before and after.