Saturday, May 31, 2014

Day 2 Part 8

I would have never believed that trying to describe a single day would take eight posts.  And that is even leaving out some other interesting experiences, like the restrooms in Israel.  Hopefully you are picking up on what an overwhelming experience it is to travel to Israel for the first time.  We met people who have traveled to Israel up to 40 times.  Really.  Some now basically live in Israel part of the year.  Before our trip, I thought I would probably never see Israel and did not have any strong feelings one way or the other about that.  Now that I have gone?  I would jump at the chance to go again.  There is so much more to see, learn and re-learn.  Go 40 times?  I can see why.

The devotion at the Arbel Pass is over.  We wearily trudge back the mile or so to our buses and silently hope that we are done for the day.  Sensory overload maybe.  Ceasarea already seems like it was days ago, not just a few hours. This tour hosted by the Center for Holy Land Studies is excellent.  We never lacked for content, not for a moment it seemed.

Speaking of content, this is Dr. Wave Nunnaly, PhD.  He is the scholar/guide who rides our bus (the Red Bus).  

We occasionally have to share him with the other buses and once we had to leave him behind as he was contracted to give a seminar to another group about some aspect of Hebrew antiquity.  He is also a professor at our Seminary in Springfield, Mo. You might say he is a busy guy.  He is passionate about all things biblical.  

We sit even more heavily in our seats awaiting our final (hopefully) destination of this very long day, Tiberias.  As was the case all the day, Dr. Nunnaly is filling the silence with additional learning, history, maps and biblical instruction.  It is fascinating, just as long as I don't have to go on another hike or climb another fifteen thousand stairs. I feel that my tiny cup of learning capacity is spilling over the top while even more is being poured in.

The bus seems to glide down the grade from the Arbel Pass to Tiberias almost silently as it doesn't have to strain as we approach the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  Tiberas will be our home for the next couple of eventful days.

Ahh...the Sea of Galilee stretches out before us.  It is so calm, mirror smooth, blue and beautiful.  This is the sea that Jesus walked on the same night the disciples thought they would perish because of the storm and waves.  Not tonight.  This looks like the Sea that the disciples labored all night to catch fish and caught nothing.  There is not a ripple to mar the surface of the Sea. The region of Galilee is well watered, fertile and green. 


We enter the city of Tiberias.  Is is obviously smaller than Tel Aviv, but just as bustling and crowded.  Narrow streets, motorized scooters buzzing back and forth, shops and wares and falafel available in the streets.  

We arrive at our hotel, the Tiberias Ceasar. 

It's a nice hotel.  We are told to debus, leave our suitcases and they will be delivered to our rooms (never had that happen before).  We are told to freshen up and come down for dinner.  Dinner!  I am instantly energized.  

Here's where hindsight makes me wish I had been a little more creative.  I NEVER took any pictures of our magnificent buffets or the amazing array of choices of Mediterranean cuisine.  Why would I take pictures of food?  I am in Israel!  I am here to take pictures of rocks!  Lots of rocks!  Piles of rocks!    

For the obvious I miss the subtle, there are olives of all colors and shapes, cucumbers, what looks like five kinds of coleslaw, lettuce salads, and oddly my favorite of all the choices?  Dill pickles.  Honestly.  They are the best I have ever had.  I like dill pickles anyway, but these, perhaps a little less on the vinegary "bite" I am used to, but excellent.  I was not the only one, one of our fellow travelers also commented on how wonderful the dill pickles were as well.  We had to elbow each other out of the way if we met at the buffet.

We are overwhelmed by our choices and feel we must try EVERYTHING on the first night.  These buffets are maybe 15 feet long, two or three tiers of food choices and that is just the salads.  The hot buffets with many choices, none of which I recognize.  I must try them all.

I already eat too much.  But then there is the dessert buffet.  Again, so many choices. I try only many of them as I am so miserably full. Coffee.  I must have coffee with my Israel desserts.  I signal to one of the several waiters who are crisscrossing the room attending to all of our culinary needs.  Coffee? Of course. They bring me coffee, sort of.  It's actually a cup of hot water and a little packet of Nescafe.  What?  Instant coffee?  Yep.  That is all the coffee they offered at all of the hotels we stayed at in Israel.  It is not my favorite.  We found you can get "Turkish coffee" at some of the little falafel stands around town.  Turkish coffee is like, putting three scoops of Nescafe in your cup (one is the prescribed dose) except much more bitter.  Cream?  They stare at us like they have never heard this request before.  We say "milk?", they shrug their shoulders and bring a little glass of milk. No Starbucks here.  We did find a "Stars and Bucks" in Bethlehem which almost cost us our lives, but we'll get to that later.

We have great conversations around our table while we consume way too much food.  We are all energized by the calories and the sights and experiences of the day.  The huge room we are in is abuzz with excited talk.  What a spectacular day.  There is no way tomorrow can compete with what we have experienced today I think.  At our briefing we are told we will be traveling to a place called "Dan" in the morning.  Hmmm....

We take the elevator to our room.  Elevators in Israel are all about the size of a phone booth. I know my youngest readers will be saying "phone booth?".  Perhaps you could say they are about the size of a bathroom stall without the plumbing.  Honestly you can get about 5 adult bodies in one elevator, except I have eaten too much and we can only get four.  

Our room is very nice.  We have a little balcony about large enough for two people to stand on at a time except I have eaten too much and JoLynn can only half get on the balcony with me.  We / I can overlook the Sea of Galilee from our balcony.  The air is warm and pleasant as the sun has gone down behind the Arbel Pass.  The fishing boats come into the little harbor at the foot of our hotel.  No navigation lighting whatsoever.  How do they see each other and not crash?

Our bed is comfortable.  I think a bed of nails might have been cozy after all the exertions of the day but regardless I fall right asleep, the perfect ending to our first full day in the land of Israel.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Day 2 - Part 7

Once again, we board the bus not having enough time to see all that Megiddo has to show us.  We sit a little heavier in our bus seats as the walking and climbing, the jet lag and the short nights of sleep begin to tell on us.  I also notice that schnitzel and salad doesn't have a lot of staying power.  But I have jerky...I carefully retrieve a portion and a drink of warm bottled water from my travel bag and am sustained.

Speaking of water.  We spent most of the money we spent in Israel on water.  It was a fair price, $1 a bottle and there was always plenty of it for purchase.  But what we were told was "don't drink because you are thirsty, drink so you won't get thirsty."  Dehydration is a big problem for those of us who are from milder climes.  This was probably really good advice and we did drink a lot of water.  Made for mad rushes to the restrooms when they were available. Restrooms.  That's a whole blog post of its own, another time.

We continue up the plain of Mediggo which eventually turns into the Jordan Valley - the Jordan River!  This is the river that Joshua and the Children of Israel crossed on dry ground, this is where Jesus was baptized.  This is that Jordan river.  It was pretty neat to see it for the first time.  On the lower Jordan River, it is pretty slow and the water isn't "pretty", kind of muddy.  So much of it is drawn off for agriculture that not enough of it is getting to the Dead Sea, which we will cover later.  That whole "roll, Jordan, roll" thing isn't happening here.

Looking back on our pictures, it is clear we must have been on picture overload.  We took very few pictures of this part of the day.  Either that or we were just caught up in the moment enjoying what we were viewing out the window.  Either way, it was the long end of a very eventful day and we were tired!

The Jordan Valley is lush.  It is beautiful.  There are date palms, banana groves, mangos and who knows what else they grow there, but the land is beautiful and productive.  It is not what I expected for some reason.  I always imagined that all of Israel was a barren wilderness.  Not true at all.  I think to myself, I wouldn't mind living in the Jordan Valley.  

This leads us quickly to the region of Galilee.  It is every bit a top destination for travel.  It is clean, it is beautiful, The climate quite agreeable, there are nice hotels, little shopping areas, lots of places to get falafel, even a McDonalds.  

We leave the main road and begin to gain elevation.  We are traveling on the ridge that over looks the Sea of Galilee on the east side and the Valley of Jezreel on the west side.  


Near the top of the Valley of Jezreel, is a little hill which has two points, one on each side of the hill.  It's name which I did not write down means "two horns" which I remember more than the actual name.  It doesn't look all that special, but it is the very exact spot that the era of the Crusades came to an abrupt and grisly end.  

Apparently the last band of Crusaders were in a fix.  They had traveled for 5 days without any water for man or beast.  They were very vulnerable because the Muslim leader, Saladim was near and if they engaged him, they and their horses would quickly fade.  They did know however that there was a spring on top of this two horned hill.  They make a desperate try for this spring.  They reach it and begin to water their animals and themselves.  They are hopeful that if they now encounter Saladim they will be able to defeat him.  

It might have turned out OK for the crusaders had it not been harvest time.  Literally, as the crusaders are finding life sustaining water, Saladim arrives on the scene and he and his army surround the hill.  Normally, the high ground would be an advantage and that would be advantage to the crusaders. Saladim notices that all the fields surrounding the hill are wheat, ready to be harvested.  He and his men light the wheat on fire.  The Crusaders perish, cooked by the flames in their armor suits.  Right then and in that spot the crusades are over. The end.

So we continue up the ridge and we soon see that the ridge we have been traveling on is split in half by a large gorge right in front of us.  Tiberias can be seen in the distance.


We turn toward Galilee along the south side of the gorge.  The buses pull off the main road and we are told we have one more stop before we get to our hotels. With creaking joints and reluctant muscles, we debus one more time and take about a mile hike.  There isn't a lot of elevation gain or loss which makes this doable.  We are hiking along the south side of this gorge which has a name: The Arbel Pass.  The grass here is long and green.  There are little bitty wild flowers festooning the path, the cool of the late afternoon is descending upon us, the sun is lowering on the horizon.  

We reach the destination.  There are what look like remnants of marble pillars.  There is what looks like a marble lintel and doorposts being reconstructed.  

It is a very recently discovered ancient synagog.  We sit here in this beautiful setting for the last teaching of the day.  One of our guides, Ilan (Elan) recites the Lord's prayer in Hebrew. I feel like one of the disciples in the flannel graph stories.  

The Arbel Pass we are told was the main route that travelers from Galilee to Jerusalem would take.  Jesus most likely traveled by the Arbel Pass.  It is the first time since being in Israel that we are near a place where Jesus most likely would have been.  I am at once connected to the land where my faith was formed.  It is a new, strange but exciting feeling, one I will feel again many times in the next few days.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Day 2 - Part 6

I promise, this day will end, eventually.  Never envisioned this many posts for a single day. Every day won't be like this day. I promise.

Having eaten our lunch, it was back on the bus as we continued to head north to our destination for the evening, Tiberias, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  We head across the plain of Megiddo to the actual site of Megiddo from which the valley gets its name.  The valley is a beautiful place, agriculture, water, seems like a thriving place.  There is too much to see and take in from inside the bus, but we still have a lot of stuff to do before we get to Tiberias.

Megiddo is a fascinating place.  It is one of the places where the whole idea of archaeology began.  It was first excavated in the 1800's when the "science" of archaeology was first being developed.  Because of the lack of knowledge about procedures and what not, a fair amount of damage was done to parts of the site.  Essentially the early thoughts about archaeology was to dig everything away and find out what was there.  Apparently they don't take that approach anymore, are much more conservative about the digging and try to determine what might be the most valuable information, not just the oldest.  

That must be difficult as you don't know what is in the ground until you dig it up.  Our archaeologist/guide, Eli Sukron was explaining that one day.  He said, "you may dig here and find nothing, but an inch away might be something of great importance.  You don't know until you dig and find it."  He should know because he has found a lot of important stuff.  

Because of Megiddo's location on a rise over the valley of Megiddo, it was a very important city.  


It oversaw the trade routes that went up and down the valley.  And by saying oversaw, I mean controlled them.  This was so important that Megiddo kept getting conquered and resettled.  One of the things that they did learn from some of the early digging was that there are 26 separate layers of differing civilizations on the Megiddo site.  I think that is some kind of record for a city anywhere.  Megiddo is also the subject of the earliest written record of warfare.  I thought that was an interesting fact.  





Megiddo is a "tel".  In archaeological terms, it refers to a site of a city that has been settled, conquered, resettled, conquered and you get the idea.  Eventually, there is nothing left but a large hill or mound.  These exist all over.  Not all have been excavated.  So, if there is a plain and then an odd hill or mound coming up out of the middle of it, most likely it is a "tel" or a site of an ancient city.  So a name like, "Tel-Aviv" means that there was an ancient city site at Aviv.  I never saw the tel at Tel-Aviv, but I assume there is one there somewhere.


There is about 13 acres to Megiddo.  There is too much to see.  One could spend all day at this site.  It is so fascinating.  


One wishes to take hundreds of pictures of piles of rocks that used to be a wall, or a house, or an altar. They believe the city gates may date back to King Solomon's time.  Apparently there are some characteristics of these gates that share some features that can be dated to Solomon's reign.  It was fascinating to touch these gates and connect with antiquity.


I also mentioned altars.  Megiddo has several altars that are of Cannanite origin which date to earlier Old Testament times.

In the ground are at least two (that's how many I saw) deep pits that I assumed were cisterns or wells.  On opposite sides of these pits were very narrow stones built into the walls that provided stairways down into the pits. All I can say is that the inhabitants of Megiddo must not have had much for hips.  I don't know how a person could walk down such a narrow set of stairs. No handrails either.  Osha would have a fit.  What I discover is that these are not wells or cisterns.  They are granary's.  They filled these pits with food for their animals.  That explained why in the cracks between the stones all the way down were small pieces of straw.  Ancient straw.  Amazing.

To me, one of the most fascinating aspects of Megiddo was the water supply.  Being on top of a hill presents some problems to having enough water to quench everybody's thirst plus your animals.  Having enough water was especially a problem in times of siege which was a pretty common situation at Megiddo.  The inhabitants of Megiddo solved this problem by chiseling down through solid bedrock about 150 feet to a water source.  It is unbelievable.  They now have a stairway (remember the stairs?  There are a LOT of them at Megiddo) that takes you all the way down to the lowest level which still has water in it.  How they knew it was down there I'll never know.  Maybe they just chiseled away until they found water.  It is a very steep and long set of stairs.  Going down is not hard but coming up is quite an exercise session.  Descending and ascending a near vertical set of stairs with about 160 other people is quite an exercise in patience.  The nice thing is about 10 feel down or so it gets much cooler than the surface air.  It is quite pleasant.  


The way out was another tunnel through the bedrock that was also another 150 feet almost straight up.  It took much longer to get out than in.  Nearing the top you could feel the heat of the day increasing as we neared the opening.  After all the walking at Ceasarea, Herod's Aquaduct, all the stairs at Mt. Carmel, and all the hiking and stairs of Megiddo, some of the group is starting to flag.  We have had quite a workout and the day is still not over.  

I have to admit, I forgot my camera in the bus when we visited Megiddo.  Don't know how that happened, but when I reached for my camera in my bag, it was not there.  Fortunately, Indiana Jolie, a.k.a. JoLynn took plenty of pictures so all was not lost.  If you travel to Israel, Megiddo is a "must see" site.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Day 2 - Part 5





Lunchtime.  I thought we would never get to it.  

By the way, it is disclaimer time.  Anything I say here is NOT meant to offend or belittle or criticize. What I am trying to convey is this one American's experience in a culture far different from his own.  There are always emotional and cultural surprises that a person experiences at times like this.  It is not to say one way is right and the other is wrong.  We all have preferences and comfort zones.  I am trying to share my perspective with you, dear reader.  So if anything sounds disrespectful, I am really not intending to do so.  I am sure that the reverse would be true if people of these differing cultures were to experience my world, they would find their preferences unsatisfied often.  So, in the spirit of good fun....

Leaving the monastery on Mt. Carmel, we drive down the steep grade to a little Druze community.  The Druze are interesting people group.  They are not Israeli, they are not Palestinian, or Arab.  They form exclusive communities that others are not allowed to live in, although others are allowed to trade and shop.  The men wear funny hats, kind of reminds me of what the Shriners wear, I think it is known as a "fez".  They are bound together by a mysterious religion that is not shared outside their community that is neither strictly Islamic, Jewish or Christian.  They seem to not bother anyone which is probably not difficult when you live sequestered for the most part from other people.  

Whatever it is they do, they seem to be successful and their communities are relatively clean their homes are for the most part upscale, and they seem to drive nice cars.  We are soon to learn one of their secrets to their "success".  

So, we are instructed in our buses about lunch.  "The menu today is "schnitzel" and "falafel" (I am told by a friend, "falafel rhymes with 'awful'". Obviously he is not a fan.)  I inquire about the schnitzel.  I am thinking it sounds like a German sausage, but in a Druze community?  The answer is that it is either chicken or beef pounded very thin, breaded and then deep fried.  Deep fried? I think...even sawdust would be edible deep fried.  Oh, and the cost of lunch is $10 American.  Drinks are extra.  Not bad, I think to myself.  Since falafel rhymes with awful, I am opting for the deep fried schnitzel.  I don't know at this point that falafel is also deep fried, that would have put me in a dilemma.  What I REALLY want is a bagel with cream cheese and maybe some lox.  No such luck.

So JoLynn and I "debus".  Lunch is about the only time JoLynn and I see each other during the day except during the bus rides from one place to the other.  JoLynn has her inner Indiana Jones going at full tilt at all the sites we encounter.  She is getting 2500 pictures to my 500, really.  But we do get together at lunch because I am buying.  We get in a very long line as our four fully loaded buses unload all at the same time.  In this case, it was an advantage, other than having to stand in the hot sun a little longer.  So as we are waiting, the word travels down the line, "they are charging us $12 for lunch!  What's the deal?"  Finally, our Israeli guides go in to speak with the proprietors.  Oh, there must have been some kind of understanding...lunch will be $10 after all.  

This sort of thing happens all the time in foreign countries I find.  I don't think it is dishonest per say, at least in the way we think of dishonest, I think they just charge what they think the market will bear.  Pragmatic capitalism.  There is also the language barrier and the awkwardness of calling someone on the difference.  I at least am always mindful that I am the minority here and sometimes feel the fact that we are "tolerated" because we bring our tourist dollars to spend.  Maybe I feel that way because of the silent staring eyes wherever we go.  If it was me, I'd just pay the extra $2 and move on.  Maybe there was a sudden shortage of falafel and the price went up since the quote was given.  You never know.  (Actually, I DON'T think there was a shortage of falafel - it is sort of like God, it is EVERYWHERE!   A shortage of schnitzel maybe, but not falafel.)

So, JoLynn and I finally get to the front of the line.  JoLynn opts for the falafel which I observe looks suspiciously like deep fried sawdust.  She is a borderline vegetarian anyway so I think she will be OK.  They serve usually 3 falafel in a half pita bread.  Falafel is about the size and shape of a meatball, but it is actually  ground 2x4 which is deep fried. (Ha, ha!  Just kidding!)  It is ground chickpeas deep fried. (Not kidding!)  I think I have made the wiser choice.  

Now, we go to another room where there is a huge array of vegetables, salads and some things I am not sure about.  It is a feast for the eyes, all kinds of colors - natural and artificial (purple cauliflower?) You can go back for seconds and thirds in this room.  JoLynn festoons her pita packed with falafel with additional offerings from the salad room.  I have to admit, she makes it look pretty good, she excels at presentation.



The schnitzel is chicken, which it was every time I had it.  It is...unremarkable.  No special spices or sauces, it tastes pretty much like you would imagine.  I pile on some of the exotic things I found in the salad room to "jazz it up" a little.  I achieve modest success.  

I won't always talk about lunch in these blog posts, as I have just described lunch options for the next 3 days.  Yes, "lunch options today?  Falafel and schnitzel!" Really, no matter where we were in the land of Israel, these were two options you could count on for lunch.  You might think with all that amazing bread they bake there and a place that is known for things like....BAGLES, there might be a little more imagination when it comes to lunch.  Eventually, we did encounter some new things and perhaps I will share those with you, like the St. Peter's fish.  In contrast to dinner, lunch was usually not the high point of the day with one notable exception that will surprise you.  Later.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Day 2 Part 4

Wow.  Our heads are filled with excitement of what we have seen and learned.  To have connected actual places where we have just walked and touched and seen with scripture and history is amazing!  We already feel like Indiana Jones and it isn't even lunch time.

The bus takes us up the coast of Israel for some ways and then turns inland.  We are headed to Mt. Carmel.  This is where our guide tells us that a name like Mt. Carmel does not necessarily mean "a mountain named Carmel" like we think of place names.  In biblical place names, a name like "Mt. Carmel" may refer to a range of mountains, which in the case of Mt. Carmel it does.  Also Mt. Ararat where Noah's ark came to rest also refers to a range of mountains and not just a single peak.  Ooohhh....we ponder this.  This is a sort of "rule" when it comes to mountains in the middle east.  Except like when it doesn't apply.  A lot like the "rules" of English..."i before e except after...."  The rule applies except when it doesn't.  

So what this means to a tourist pilgrim like us, is that when we read in II Kings 18 of Elijah the prophet confronting the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, we don't know which mountain of the mountains of Mt. Carmel this event took place.  To our sense of drama, we assume it must have been the highest peak.  We are not alone in this assumption as when we finally get to the highest peak on Mt. Carmel we find, a monastery.  This monastery is dedicated to a monk to whom a statue has been erected in his memory.  He is a mean looking guy holding a crooked sword and scowling down from his lofty perch on a pedestal.  I decide I don't like this guy.



It is otherwise an interesting place.  First of all, it is very green and vegetated.  Not at all what I expected for Israel.  The name means: el = god  carm = vineyard or "vineyard of the gods".  I don't see any grapes around the monastery but they must be somewhere.  Apparently they grow them somewhere on Mt. Carmel.  It is getting pretty warm about midday at this point.  They have some beautiful shaded areas with semi-circle seating and it is very pleasant.  We gather for a study devotion here.  


We are allowed to enter the monastery to climb up the stairs to the roof of the place which allows us an amazing view of the middle region of Israel.  This is our first significant encounter with stairs, but not our last.  Oh, no.  Stairs will be a huge part of life for the next 8 days.  Many stairs.  Many stairs.



From on top, you can see from the Mediterranean Sea to the West Bank of Israel.  It is very hazy so our view is somewhat limited, but we can see the Nazareth mountains, Mt. Gilboa (which interesting enough refers to one mountain) where King Saul and his sons were slain, Mt. Tabor (also reference to a single mountain) where tradition claims is the Mount of the Transfiguration.  Our guides disagree, and place that location in Galilee.  

What we also see spread out before us is the Valley of Megiddo.  The natives pronounce it "Maw gee dough".  This is the infamous location of the Battle of Armageddon.  It is beautiful.  It is full of agriculture and fields.  Too wonderful to think of a devastating battle to be fought here. 

Down in the valley is a small, meandering stream, which is the most likely source of water for Elijah's request that water be poured over the altar of sacrifice he built for his showdown with the prophets of Baal.  It is mentioned in some writings of antiquity and was apparently once a mighty rushing stream of water.  One writing the guide referred to said that an opposing army was swept off it's banks by it's thunderous waves.  Well, I suppose things do change over time, but really, the enemy army must have been pipsqueaks.  That stream hardly looks big enough to float a canoe.  

The real value of climbing all the stairs of the monastery on Mt. Carmel is how suddenly the geography of Israel connects with the Bible in your understanding.  As you survey the landscape and see the biblical locations as they are and not depictions on a flannelgraph board in a Sunday School room a long time ago, there is a powerful bond that takes place within you to the reality of the Bible.  These are not places of myths or legends, they are actual locations.  Recently as I was reading through the Psalms, one of the psalms mentioned "Mt. Tabor and Mt. Gilboa".  I was instantly transported to this moment on top of Mt. Camel with the images of those two mountains before me.  Powerful.




By this time we are hot, hungry and sweaty, not the best combination of feelings, but ahh... there is warm water to drink.  Down the stairs we go hearing whispers of "blood up to a horse's bridle" from people passing by.  It is time for lunch.  

Ceasarea - Day 2 part 3

The day moves rapidly forward, we are learning at a fast pace.  One concept that is sinking in that will be repeated again and again is that the ruins we are so fascinated with have not remained the same through the ages waiting for us to come along and be fascinated.  There were no historical preservation societies in these ancient cultures and (like biblical cultures) to conquer another culture was to wipe out all remembrance of them.  Or, at least tear down the old stuff and use it for building material for the new stuff.



This is repeated over and over again through the centuries.  What results is the layering upon layering of archaeological strata that tell the story to those so dedicated to reading the dirt.

As we leave the hippodrome wishing to spend more time there, we continue on to a "newer" part of Ceasarea that was built after Herod's time, much past it.  Most of what we now see are byzantine ruins "improved" by the crusaders and Muslims.  


As you can see in the pictures, we are now encountering stone fortresses.  These were built by the byzantines (the dominant European culture that came following the fall of Rome).  in the second picture note the two differing colors of stone and the flat expanse at the base of the slanting wall.  The fortress was built by the byzantines, but the crusaders added their slanting wall (improved protection from enemies) and added the flat expanse which served as a moat.  In the crusader era, it was filled with water for added protection.  I don't know if they had alligators swimming around in the moats.





In this next picture, you can see the Muslim minaret in the background.  It is quite "old" by our standards but not old enough to be of any archaeological significance.  In the land of Israel, the relativity of the word "old" is starkly different than what we think of as "old" in America, especially Alaska.  What would be extremely old and significant to us here the archaeologists hardly sniff at there.  Strange indeed.


The man in the picture with the floppy hat and wearing a jacket is Dr. Wave Nunnaly, one of our guides.  He is a Hebrew scholar among other scholarly things he does.  He is passionate about his work and his explanations especially in regards to how the pile of stones you are looking at relate to scripture is amazing.  He may look like a tourist (as other familiar faces to come also resemble tourists) but he is the real deal.  The sun protections only make him look like a tourist.  

Another interesting thing that we begin to encounter here are the modern shops (another thing that didn't occur to me to take a picture of) like espresso, and restaurants that are housed in these ancient ruins.  Yes, you can sit in a byzantine era stone fortress sipping your espresso and surfing the internet to see what Israeli trinkets go for on Amazon.  Weird.

We are making our way to our buses which have thankfully moved to pick us up so we do not have to backtrack, we learn something new that will from this point forward ruin all the movies that I watch that involve "city gates".  Yes, like the "Hobbit" series and all the movies you have seen where the enemies marches up with a battering ram and slugs away at the "city gate" until it splinters and the bad guys come rushing in.  Apparently it didn't work that way, these guys were way smarter than that.  




Every ancient city gate we encountered, was not a simple opening in the city wall where some big wood gates opened and closed.  Every ancient gate had at least two gates with one right angle in it.  So, the enemy would go through one gate and have to turn a corner (around which the defenders of the city had all kinds of nasty surprises for them) and face another gate!  This was usually in tight quarters so there was no way a bad guy could haul his battering ram in there.  While the bad guys were attempting to breach the second gate their "flank" would be exposed to the defenders who had special little "slits" from which the archers would assault them with arrows or dump the boiling tar and that sort of thing on them to make their life miserable.  This little trick would make the task of breaching the city gates much more costly and difficult.  Smart.


From here we boarded the buses to drive from sea level to about 1700 feet on Mt. Carmel.