April 22 – Jerusalem-Galilee-Haifa, Israel. We are heading north today to see the Golan Heights and Galilee. First the drive took us east out of Jerusalem over the crest of the Judean Hills and into the Judean Desert, called the Wilderness in scripture. And wilderness it is. I've been on lots of deserts in the USA, South America, Asia and Africa and if you don't include sand deserts, saharas, this is the most desolate, vegetation free place I've ever seen. California has both high and low deserts but each of them supports some shrubs and small plants. The Judean Desert supports none of these except in some isolated wadis that may occasionally have some small plant life. It's so deep in the wadi that you can't see it unless you are on top of it.
In deserts that get marine moisture, like the Namib in Namibia, support a great deal of tiny plants, lichens and the like. It's fun to take a flat rock with some colored spots on it and apply a few drops of water. A miniature forest sprouts up in seconds to absorb the moisture. This happens at night when the marine fogs from the Atlantic Ocean sweep inland. The lichens expand to catch the dew and then contract into the hard colored spot of daylight to retain it. Since the Judean Desert is not next to a large body of water it doesn't get the benefit of marine fog for water so I doubt that there's much in the way of even these small plants. The few time I've been out in it I didn't see any evidence of them.
The line of demarcation between the Judean Hills and Desert is almost like a razor's edge, sudden and complete. When you descend from hills and reach the town of Jericho it's almost shocking to see this circle of green in the gray, tan and ocher landscape. Jericho has a sweet water spring and that's the reason the town is green even though it's located some distance from the Jordan River.
Since ancient times there have been two trade routes from Asia to Africa and both cross Israel north to south. One was along the coast, the Via Maris, and has more hospitable weather. But it's hillier and was densely populated for the time and thus more difficult and hazardous to cross. Each little kingdom might want a duty on your goods for passage if not the goods themselves.
The other trade route, The King's Road, followed the Jordan Rift Valley and therefore the Jordan River. Here the weather could be very hot and dry but the river was a constant source of water for both the people and the animals. When you turned west to enter the valley that leads to Jerusalem you leave the river behind and have to climb the hills from the desert side. The spring and resulting oasis of Jericho was a day's journey from Jerusalem at the base of the valley you traveled in to get there. Caravans would stop there to rest, feed and water the beasts of burden before beginning the long climb up to the city.
We didn't enter Jericho as it's in a Palestinian Zone and our guide couldn't go through with us. Thirty years ago we wouldn't have had any choice as the only two-lane road to the river from Jerusalem went directly through town. The new four-lane highway bypasses it and turns north after it's past the zone.
After turning north we're traveling in the Jordan Rift Valley at times very close to the Jordan River. Most of the valley is below sea level and the Dead Sea is the world's lowest site, about 1600 feet below sea level I think. It's the border between Israel and Jordan and it's not very wide in most places. Since both sides of the river are now green the valley looks so much more appealing than it previously did.
We stopped at a spot along the river where they've developed a baptism spot for pilgrims to Israel. It's a gift shop and restaurant with a couple of areas where curving ramps lead down into the river. The ramps have handrails to mark their dimensions. A small group of people was gathering at one of them and the leader seemed to be preparing them for a service of some kind.
There was one unusual sight that caught my eye. Some people were at the edge of the river feeding pieces of bread to some small muskrat like animals that were about the size of a regular loaf of bread. They seemed to be having a good time. The odd part was that large catfish were coming to the surface to get some of the bread. It was a race between the muskrats and the catfish for each new offering. I had never observed mammals and fish competing directly for the same food source before. Odd! We're about half way between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee and the river is really more of a stream, not very wide or deep. Yet it's south of here where the bulk of the water is taken out for irrigation. I'm pretty sure water management is a big issue here.
As we continued north we headed up the eastern side of the Golan Heights. This area was Syrian before the Six-Day War of 1967. From its advantageous position over Galilee, the Syrians would shell the farms and villages of northern Israel with some frequency. This would be an intolerable situation for any country so during that war the Israeli's not only took the Golan Heights from Syria but also the Sinai from Egypt and the West Bank from Jordan. This removed the artillery threat from the heights and greatly increased Israel's security on all its borders except Lebanon.
The road up the heights was steep and winding. Observation posts and prior gun emplacements were still in evidence along the route. Atop the Golan Heights is a large very fertile plateau that the Syrians never used for farming. The Israelis have turned it into orchards and fields of fruit and vegetables.
We stopped at an overlook for Galilee but it was very cloudy and started to rain just as we began walking out to it. It wasn't raining hard but it was enough to obscure the view of the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding areas. We could make out the city of Tiberius directly across it from our position. Yikes! In the last thirty years it's grown from a fairly small village on the shore of the late to a large city that extends up both sides of the valley just inland from the original town.
As we descended from the Golan Heights it was about time for lunch and we pulled into a little restaurant harbor area near Beit Saida right on the Sea of Galilee. The lunch was excellent. The appetizer was roasted/grilled vegetables that were absolutely perfect. A mix of small yams, purple onions, tomatoes, eggplant, wood ear mushrooms, a small green squash shaped like an Anaheim pepper and leeks. The plate was worthy of a master's still life, and delicious to boot. It was served with soft crust loaves of bread and four little relishes or dips to eat with it, hummus, a ratatouille type cold chopped vegetable relish, shredded carrots and onions and some sort of lentil mix. I was full after the first two courses but the main course was a small steak that was also good.
Our next stop was the city of Capernaum, also right on the sea and the home of several of Jesus' disciples including Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew. It was here and in this region that Jesus spent most of the three years of his teaching. It's very likely that he taught in the synagogue here and that's part of what we are stopping to see. This was a prominent town in the First Century. Goods that came through Syria and wanted to take the Via Maris cut across Israel north of the Sea of Galilee and that where Capernaum is located. The synagogue building that is seen today partially reconstructed is from the Third and Fourth Centuries but excavations under it have disclosed the ruins of an earlier structure, probably from the First Century. About 150 feet away they have discovered the buried ruins of a Byzantine octagonal church that was said to have been built on the site of Peter's house. I can't say much about the authenticity of any of these claims but that this is the site of the city of Capernaum is not in dispute.
The synagogue is constructed of imported white marble while the homes and the prior synagogue were made of dark local stone. The foundations of the homes and the synagogue make a great contrasting scene.
It's thought that Justinian probably built the synagogue that is partly reconstructed today. It's richly carved with Jewish symbols and representations of local fruits, plants and trees. The Corinthian columns are especially nice. When I was here in 1982 I photographed two carved stones that I'm hoping to find again. It may be difficult as the site is much more organized than it was back then. In '82 we just parked our bus and walked into the ruins. Now there's a parking lot and fence around most of the remains plus there's a fee to get in. But work is being done on the site so I guess that's reasonable. They discovered the Byzantine church and have reconstructed more of the synagogue, although some critics are saying they don't have it right. I did find the two carved rocks. One has a bunch of grapes and a wine jar with some leaves around the edge. The other shows the ark on wheels.
From Capernaum we went to Tabgha to visit the Church of Mensa Christi or the Primacy of Peter. This little chapel, built right on the shores of the sea, commemorates two events. First there's a rock inside that represents Peter, the rock on which Jesus said he would build his church. Second, after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples by the sea and at breakfast with them. It's really a plain little building but it simple styling is attractive.
We are now leaving the seaside and heading over the low hills towards the coast. We are going to pass through two cities that are important to the story of the gospel. Cana of Galilee is the site of the first miracle, turning water into wine at the wedding. This was purely a drive by.
Nazareth is where Mary was living when she was told that she would give birth to the Messiah and where Joseph had his carpenter shop. It's also the place where Jesus spent his youth. We stopped on an overlook to see the city and the conical dome of the Church of the Annunciation.
From there it was on to the coast and Haifa where the Prinsendam is waiting for us. We stopped at an overlook here as well. It's a large port city and very modern. Yaya lives here and plays in a band in the clubs for which the city is known. He did tell us that his gigs usually end when the riot police arrive. He was kidding, as least I think so.
The worldwide headquarters of the Bahai faith is here and their golden domed temple set amid some wonderful gardens is a jewel of the city. The Bahai are the newest monotheistic religion. They split off from the Suni Muslims in the 1800s to adopt a belief in pacifism and peace with all people. Haifa is built on the slopes of Mount Carmel a place rich in history for the Jews. The mountain is now a nature reserve of which the local residents are very proud
It was good to be back on the ship after four days of overland broken only by one short night on board.
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