This photo above shows a large arena where the Romans held many chariot races.
This is in Caesarea. In those days, their courts were held in public, and this is in a large amphitheater, near the Mediterranean Sea. This bottom row of stone dates clear back from New Testament times. The rest of the amphitheater has been made more recently. This is likely where the Apostle Paul appeared before King Agrippa, after he was in prison for 2 years. It tells the story in Acts 25 and 26, especially in 26:28, after Paul tells his conversion to the King, and the King tells him: "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."
More ruins in Caesarea. This was a sanctuary for the Kings, especially Herod, and he had a great palace there. He knew the public in Jerusalem didn't like him, and he liked to come to the palace here, where he felt more safe from the anger of the people in Jerusalem. This city and harbor were built under Herod the Great during c. 22–10 BC near the site of a former Phoenician naval station.
The site of the former Phoenician naval station was awarded to Herod the Great in 30 BC. Herod built his palace on a promontory jutting out into the sea, with a decorative pool. He went on to build a large port and a city, which he named in honor of his patron Caesar Augustus.
The city was populated throughout the 1st to 6th centuries AD and became an important early center of Christianity during the Byzantine period, but was mostly abandoned following the Muslim conquest of 640. After that time, the beautiful palace with a lot of marble was dismantled, and there are pieces of that marble in many of the palaces throughout Europe, and that area, after the palace was stripped of beautiful things.
The location was all but abandoned in 1800. It was re-developed into a fishing village by Bosniak Muslim immigrants after 1884, and into a modern town of after 1940, in 1977 incorporated as the municipality of Caesarea.
There were questions for many years if this was the right place, but the stone above was found, verifying kings that lived there.
We then went into Jerusalem, where we visited what is considered to be the home of Simon Peter, pictured above. It isn't open to the public, but we could see it from the street. That man on the right was our guide -- he was so good!
Above are scenes from Jerusalen, and below shows a residential district, where many of the homes have flat roofs also.
We saw the city of Jerusalem, built on many hills now. It has spread out into surrounding areas, which were not part of the city in Jesus' time.
Our first visit to the Garden Tomb, which was outside of Jerusalem in Jesus' time. Our Jewish guide Hilel told us that ever since Jesus' time, the Jews do not bury their dead within the city. They do it outside the official city, in a large area designated as a cemetery. They have a tradition in which they bury their dead 2 times. The first time in a sephelcher, such as Jesus was, and about 4 years later, they take the bones, and put them in a much smaller container or stone box.
This was known as the valley of the skull -- and used to look more like a skull. Since that time, wind and rain have changed the shape of rocks on the hill. It is said to the the place where Jesus was crucified. This was also outside the city at that time.
The shift of the city wall from time to time makes it difficult to locate the spot. It would probably have been a prominent place near the public highway, for the Romans selected such places for public executions.
This place is the Garden Tomb, presumably where Jesus was laid after he died. For a short period while we were there, it rained very heavily, and the group taking care of it had umbrellas to loan to visitors! The large hole in the rock is the entry to the tomb. Inside there are 2 small rooms -- the first about 6 by 4 feet where the body is wrapped, and then placed in a part on the side.
The place we are looking at across this platform is a large public cemetery, where the bones were put after the 4 year period.
More views of the current city of Jerusalem, up and down hills. In Bible times this was called the Kidron Valley, and was away from the city of Jerusalem.
Ruins of an ancient home in Jerusalem, showing different rooms.
The picture below was a pool in the days of King Solomon.
One of the interesting places we visited was Hezekiah's tunnel. Hezekiah's Tunnel, is a water tunnel that was carved underneath the City of David in Jerusalem in ancient times, before 700 BC. Actually there are 2 tunnels. I walked through the one which was built much earlier than the one by Hezekiah, and today doesn't have water. The other tunnel has water from the same spring, and was 3 feet deep in some places, for the ones who walked in that tunnel.
The curving tunnel is 533 m long, and by using the 30 cm altitude difference between its two ends, which corresponds to a 0.06 percent gradient, the engineers managed to convey the water from the spring to the pool. The stones in the tunnel are considered to be 4000 years old.
According to the Siloam inscription, the tunnel was excavated by two teams, one starting at each end of the tunnel and then meeting in the middle.
Ruins showing several levels of buildings, at different time periods.
A scene in the center of Jerusalem, where we had lunch.
The Western Wall, Wailing Wall, or Kotel,[1] known in Arabic as Al-Buraq Wall,[2] is an ancient limestone wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a relatively small segment of a far longer ancient retaining wall, known also in its entirety as the "Western Wall".[3].The wall was originally erected as part of the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple begun by Herod the Great
The term Western Wall and its variations are mostly used in a narrow sense for the section traditionally used by Jews for prayer; it has also been called the "Wailing Wall", referring to the practice of Jews weeping at the site over the destruction of the Temples. During the period of Christian Roman rule over Jerusalem (ca. 324–638), Jews were completely barred from Jerusalem except to attend Tisha be-Av, the day of national mourning for the Temples, and on this day the Jews would weep at their holy places. The term "Wailing Wall" was thus almost exclusively used by Christians, and was revived in the period of non-Jewish control between the establishment of British Rule in 1920 and the Six-Day War in 1967. (Above info from internet)
,The wailing wall of the Jews is the wall in the background. It is a place where devout Jews will put messages, and prayers, in a crevice in the wall. From time to time the notes are taken, and are buried someplace. They don't burn them, because of they have the name of "God" on them, they are considered sacred.
This particular day was quite hot, and we had walked so much up and down steps and walkways, clear down to Hezekiah's tunnel, etc., and I was so exhausted, I just sat down on a plastic chair in the middle of the large square, and waited for the others to come back from the wailing wall.
After arriving in Jerusalem, we were there 5 nights, and each day we took bus trips to various places, back to the same hotel at night. This is to the river Jordan, presumably where Jesus was baptized. The river is very muddy now, perhaps due to the recent rain, but is not nearly as large as in Jesus' time. It is used a lot for its water to irrigate the many farms in the region. In those early days the river Jordan emptied into the Dead Sea, but it doesn't now, as it is diverted to water farms, and the Dead Sea is getting smaller all the time because of that.
I'm there, at the presumed or approximate area where Jesus was baptized. It is the lowest place on the earth with fresh water, near the Dead Sea.
A sycamore tree, about 2000 years old, in Jericho. The sycamore is a tree which in its general character resembles the fig-tree, while its leaves resemble those of the mulberry; hence it is called the fig-mulberry. At Jericho, Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus as he passed by ( Luke 19:4 ). Jesus went to stay at his house.
This tree was easily destroyed by frost, and Jericho is actually 1200 feet below sea level, and can get 120 degrees F. in the summer, and is very hot. It is the lowest city in elevation in the whole world, and carries the title also of the "oldest city in the world". According to the Book of Joshua, the Battle of Jericho was the first battle of the Israelites in their conquest of Canaan. According to Joshua 6:1 to 27, the walls of Jericho fell after Joshua's Israelite army marched around the city blowing their trumpets. (Information from the internet.)
While traveling close to Jericho, we stopped at a place to see a monastery high on a hill, and these two little girls were playing close to where our bus stopped. They put their hands through the chain link fence, saying "Dollar"! When someone gave them a dollar, they took it, and put their hands out again, saying "More dollar!" They obviously lived in a fair amount of poverty. The average income in Jericho is about $300 a month average.
In Jericho we stopped at a restaurant, and they had 3 or 4 peacocks outside. This one put on quite a show for us, and turned around a few times. "Proud as a peacock!"
Near the same restaurant, a man was selling rides on his camel, and the camel would oblige by getting down on the ground for them to get on. Then after a ride, the camel would kneel down to let them off! I don't know how much it cost.
Next entry is about the Dead Sea and Bethleham.
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