Jordan River, Bet She'an, Qumran, and the Dead Sea

An olive tree that still had (overripe) olives left on it.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011
We checked out of hotel in Tiberius after breakfast and packing up.  Every morning before we went to breakfast, we would set our suitcases outside the doors of our hotel rooms and the porters would take them down for the bus to us.  We always had four hotel rooms for our group, usually close together and sometimes adjoining, which was nice. 

The hotel in Tiberius had the best chocolate-filled croissants that we have been pining for ever since.  We enjoyed them one last time.

Our first stop was a baptismal site on the Jordan river.  This was much too close to the Sea of Galilee to be where Jesus was baptized, but it is a place that is safe (much of the Jordan River is the border between Israel and Jordan), so an accessible baptismal site has been built here.  We joined with another tour group for this event (they had been traveling along the same route as us and we saw them in the hotels at night) since they had an ordained clergy in the group who was going to perform the baptisms. 

These people of various Christian denominations all wanted to be baptized or re-baptized to renew their covenants.  I was grateful we have the sacrament every week so that we can weekly renew our baptismal covenants without rebaptism.  However, this was a very significant event for many of these people and we could tell it meant a lot to them.  It was wonderful to watch people recommitting themselves to Christ. 

Baptisms at the Jordan River

At the Jordan River

 It was a beautiful area and the river was so green here.

The Jordan River

 Our next stop was Bet She'an National Park.  

Bet She'an National park, which extends over an area of 400 acres, includes the ancient city of Bet She'an Scythopolis and the imposing Tel Bet She'an.  The archeological excavations, which started in the 1920s, but significantly picked up in the late 80s and 90s with an influx of Russian Jews who needed jobs, have uncovered about one tenth of the city's area.

Like many of the other sites we have been too, there were layers upon layers of civilizations built here.  Most of the ruins here are from the ancient Roman city, but other civilizations existed here before. 

 It was so fun to walk around and explore this ancient city.

 William had fun collecting rocks and getting to run around.  It was a little boy's paradise!

The city was destroyed by an earthquake.  However, they have only found one skeleton (a man clutching gold coins--some significant lessons to be learned from that story), so it seems that the rest of the population escaped.

Remains of Bet She'an destroyed by an earthquake

The amphitheater at Bet She'an

Before the Romans were here, the ancient Israelites had a battle here.  After a defeat by the Philistines,  the slain bodies of King Saul and his sons were hung on the side of this tel.   

The tel (hill) at Bet She'an

 We hiked to the top and had a great view.

We left Bet She'an and got back on the tour bus.  This is a view out my window as we drove through the Israeli countryside.  Jericho is in the background.  I often wondered why there is so much fighting about who owns this land.  It really is so desolate.

After all the that running around, William took a much-needed nap on the way.  This busy schedule was a little hard on him, but he mostly did well.

We reached Qumran National Park a little before lunch time.  This is the place where some shepherds found the famous Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947.  Our tour guide in Jordan told us that those shepherds were his "cousins" but who knows how closely they were related.

Our first stop was a museum.  We saw a short movie and learned about the people who lived here, the Essenes.  They lived in the area around the time of Christ and served as scribes.  They lived a communal lifestyle and were very interested in ritual baths and purity.  Seven ancient scrolls were found in jars in a cave, including books of the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, and the sect's own works. 

Replicas of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the museum at Qumran

After we left the museum, we hiked around the area of Qumran.  There were lots of difficult-to-reach crevices and caves.

Love this picture.

The cave where they found the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran

Listening to the tour guide at Qumran

 William wasn't so interested in what the tour guide had to say, but he sure had fun in the rocks.

Ritual baths found at Qumran

We took time to eat a late lunch and then got back in the bus and drove toward the Dead Sea.  We weren't that far away, but the resort where we stayed was on the south end of the Dead Sea, so we drove next to it for over an hour.   We could see the salt buildup on the edge.

 It was very hazy out, so visibility wasn't so great.

Our first glimpse of the resorts on the Dead Sea

We got to our hotel and then hurried to change into our swimming suits.  We wanted a chance to go in the Dead Sea before it got dark.  We got there about 3:30, but it took time to get our luggage, change into our swimming suites, and get down to the beach. 

We enjoyed the view out of our room while we waited for our luggage.

View of the pool from our room on the Dead Sea

 It was so hazy you couldn't see the horizon.

The Dead Sea from our hotel room

We were told that the water in the Dead Sea has healing properties.  It is the saltiest body of water on earth, and nothing can live in it.  If you drink it, you will die.  Our hotel had a gigantic spa with all sorts of Dead Sea treatments available for a hefty price.  It is also the lowest point on earth, at 1200 feet below sea level.

Everyone was anxious to get in for a dip.  It had been a warm day (in the low 70s I'm guessing), but it was turning evening and getting a little cool.  The water was a bit cold.

One does not "swim" in the Dead Sea, but floats instead.  It was a cool feeling, but it took a leap of faith to lift your feet up and try to relax. 

Not everyone liked it, however.  The water burned and stung William's legs and he screamed and cried after being in for less than a minute.  I didn't realize at first what was wrong with him.  I had him wrapped in a towel, so I didn't notice his legs were all red.  Grandma Hales, who didn't like the water either, eventually took him to the swimming pool and he sat on the top step for a few minutes.  I'm sure that helped cool his legs.  My face got splashed and after a few minutes it also started to sting and burn.  I didn't get it washed off fast enough and so my face was red and splotchy for at least an hour. 

They advised us to not stay in the water longer than 20 minutes, so after our dip, we went back to the room and showered.  Washing and then lotion on my skin helped to take away the burning feeling. 

The next morning Sarah knocked on our door around 6:30 a.m.  She was awake and ready to go for another dip in the Dead Sea.  So we put our swimming suits on and went down again.  It was beautiful and calm at the beach.  I put my swimming suit on, but just ended up taking pictures.  We didn't have a lot of time before we needed to eat breakfast and board the bus.  (It had nothing to do with the water being cold.  Nope.  Not at all.  Okay, maybe just a little bit.)

The morning view of the Dead Sea out our hotel window

Resorts on the Dead Sea

We were out there so early the beach chairs were still stacked for the day.  Our hotel is in the background.

David floating in the Dead Sea

Ben and Kate trying to get up the courage to go in the cold water.

Sarah floating in the Dead Sea

Kate decided she like playing in the sand better. 

Galilee

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

It was cool and breezy when we left our hotel this morning.  Our first stop was supposed to be a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, but the waves were too strong to go out safely, so our trip had to be postponed.  We hoped we could go later, but it was still uncertain.  We drove by the lake (Sea of Galilee) and saw big waves crashing against the shore.  We were reminded of the times Jesus calmed the sea.  The winds were blowing from the east which we were told causes uncertain weather.

So instead our first stop was at a museum with a boat that dates back to the time of Christ.  There was a short movie explaining how the boat was found during a drought year back in the 1980s when the water level was very low.  Some men were going for a swim when they discovered the boat.  They had to be extremely careful in removing the boat from the water and eventually covered it in spray foam in order to keep it from completely disintegrating.  It took over 10 years of restoration before it could be displayed.  It was fascinating to think how old this boat was and who could have possibly traveled in this boat.

1st Century Boat from the Sea of Galilee

We then drove a short distance to the Mt. of Beatitudes.  Even though the area around the Sea of Galilee has many hills, they think this is the right place because of the excellent acoustics in this particular location (as tested in the 1920s).  I read Matthew Chapter 5 to our group.  It was a very cool and special experience to read the words of the Savior right where he had given them.  It was especially interesting to read vs. 10:  "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  I was there with a group of people from nearly every Christian denomination:  Presbyterian, Baptist, Serbian Orthodox, Catholics, Mormons, Evangelicals, Assembly of God, etc, plus our Jewish guide.   I thought about how all these groups at one time or another had been persecuted.  And right then, as I looked out over them, I felt only unity.  Even though our beliefs varied, we were all there with a desire in our hearts to know our Savior better.  To learn of Him and love Him more.  As I stood there and looked around, I realized that we can all do better at loving each other more fully, more like the Savior would want us to.


We visited this beautiful church and the gardens all around. 

Church at the Mt. of Beatitudes

This nun came out and told all the people in the courtyard to remember that this was a reverent place.  I thought she was so cute.

The gardens were beautiful, even in December. 

Mt. of Beatitudes and Sea of Galilee

Kate in the Gardens at the Mt. of Beatitudes

This is what I imagined it might have looked like at the time of Jesus.

After we left the Mount of Beatitudes, we drove north for about an hour up into the Golan Heights region.  The landscape became more forested and our guide told us about how this area used to be part of Jordan.  The Jordanians would look down on the Israelis from the tops of the mountains and the people in the valleys were in constant danger.  Eventually Israel took over this land in 1967 during the 6 day war.

We visited a place called Herman Stream, which is also the nature preserve, Banias, and one of Israel's national parks.  This spring, known as Dan, is the main spring headwater of the Jordan river.  It is called "Dan" after the tribe of Dan that settled in this land.  I learned that the name "Jordan" means: Jor - "to descend down" from "Dan" or the springs of Dan.

It was very beautiful here.  The weather was pleasant and the skies were blue.  It  has been very dry lately so the water level was quite low.  Usually these pools flow over the walls into one another.

Springs of Dan

The water is very clear and is drinkable.  We filled a water bottle full of water and brought it home--real water from the source of the Jordan river.

They think this cave is where the springs used to originate. 

Cave at Caesarea Philipi

This area is also what used to be known as Caesarea Philipi.  Here Peter and Christ had the exchange found in Matthew 16: 13-19.

Jesus asked Peter, But whom say ye that I am?  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

This really happened here.  Isn't that so cool!?!



There are also old Greek ruins to the God of Pan.

And lots of Roman ruins.

We left Hermon Stream and drove back about an hour to the Sea of Galilee.  We learned that the Israelis had planted eucalyptus trees on these roads to protect the cars and school buses from the sight of the enemies up on top of the Golan Heights.

The Golan Heights

Our next stop was lunch in the town of Magdal (as in Mary Magdalene) on the banks of the Sea of Galilee.  We went to a restaurant where they served St. Peter's fish (tilapia) and some of the fish had a coin in it's mouth.  We read the story of Jesus paying his taxes from a coin found in a fish's mouth.


After lunch we drove a short distance to Tagtha, where there was the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes.  Rachel read that story to us.

Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes

Inside the church is a very famous and old mosaic of the loaves and fishes.  The rock under the alter is supposedly the very rock on which Jesus sat when he performed the miracle.  Hmmm.... I'm not so sure about that, but seeing the beautiful old mosaics was pretty cool. 

Next we drove to Capernaum. 

Peter's home in Capernaum

These ruins are under a church and are supposedly of Peter's home.  We know Jesus came here and healed Peter's mother-in-law, and He also may have stayed here during his Galilean ministry.

There were lots of other ruins.  We learned how most people lived in caves and talked about the parable of the lost coin and how really it would have been so dark inside these homes that they would have had to sweep them out to find something that was lost. 

Ruins at Capernaum

Synagogue at Capernaum

This picture shows the layers inside the synagogue.  They think the older layers are actually from the time of Christ. 

An old olive press

Statue of Peter at Capernaum

By late afternoon the winds had calmed and we were able to take our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.  It was a lovely evening and actually turned out much better than if we had gone in the morning.  It was a wonderful experience!

The boat we took on the Sea of Galilee

Our family on the Sea of Galilee

The inside of the boat

Beautiful Galilee

The cliffs where the devils cast into the swine would have run into the sea

Mom and I on this amazing trip together!

The kids got to help lower a net out into the water to try to catch some fish.  No luck this time.

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of the trip.  I thought it was cute how Kate had her arm around William.  She had him close and was whispering in his ear, so I took a few pictures.  It wasn't until a little later that she told me she was telling William the stories of Jesus calming the waves and walking on the water.  Without any prompting from us.  It made my heart melt.  I felt grateful for all the months we spent reading the bible with the kids in preparation for this trip.  We were prepared for the experiences we were having. 

And the experience on this boat ride was one of the most special.  It was so easy for me to imagine Jesus being in this place.  How he calmed the storm.  How he fished with his disciples.  How he taught the people.  How he walked on the water and invited Peter to do the same.  I felt the spirit strongly there.  They played music over the loud speaker on the boat.  My favorite was, "How Great Thou Art." 

We watched the sun sink in the sky and had time to ponder and relax.  It was wonderful!