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.