Many more miles today...

We write from the Holy City of Jerusalem, the largest city in Israel, with a population of 750,000. It was a little sad today to wake up and look out at the Sea of Galilee for the last time. Departing Tiberias, we travelled south to Bet She'an to visit the ruins there. Seeing the ancient city that was once the chief city of the Roman Decapolis. I felt for a moment as if we were actually in Rome. The restoration of Bet She'an was amazing. You can read about Bet She'an in 1 Samuel 31. While Jesus never reportedly went to Bet She'an, the next stop was somewhere Jesus knew quite well, Nazareth. The fourth largest city in Israel, Nazareth has currently around 300,000 people living in Upper Nazareth (Israeli Jews) and Lower Nazareth (Israeli Arab and Arab Christians). It is a far cry from Jesus' day in which the population was 500. Archeologists have unearthed 50 homes from Jesus' time and they estimate each family had an average 10 members. The church of the Annunciation commemorates Mary being visited by the angel Gabriel and as our guide Rula said, "She said yes and our salvation story began." What a simple yet poignant way to describe that scene. The church was built around and over the home of Mary and is truly an amazing architectual acheivement.

While visiting the Church of the Annunciation we heard our first call for prayer for the Muslims of Nazareth. It wasn't too long after that when the bells of the church began ringing loudly, almost as if they were in competition.

While in Nazareth, we also visited the Precipice of Nazareth which was a very high point that looked over the entire city. A city of 300,000 in the US can only be completely seen from above in most places, but when your city is built on the side of mountains, you can see it all and it is quite impressive. We also looked out on Mt. Tabor where the Transfiguration occurred and where Barak's army defeated Sisera's army with the Lord's help (Judges 4).

Leaving Nazareth, we headed south to Megiddo, an ancient city that was strategically important b/c of its location on the trade route from Egypt to Mesopotamia. It was conquered 25 times, one of which was done by King Solomon and the Israelites. So many wars were fought there that John in the Book of Revelation believed that the final battle would be fought there...Armageddon.
At Megiddo, we ate an awesome lunch of falafel sandwiches, which even Joe decided to take a chance and try. The verdict is still out if he will try it when he gets back to Mt. P.

After Megiddo, we went Southwest to the Mediterranean Sea and to Caesarea. Caesarea's Biblical importance can be found in the 10th chapter of Acts. The ruins of the town still contain an ampitheater that is used today as well as Herod's Palace and Hippodrome. Herod truly knew how to live the royal life as his palace was built on a point on the Mediterranean Sea. It was a vital port city for the Romans coming from Italy.

Our day ended finding us travelling Southeast to Jerusalem. The land is beginning to change from the lush green valleys to a more stark, dry, desert, rocky environment. The beauty of the last two days, site-wise and weather-wise, was something to behold. Thanks for praying for that. Keep praying for us as our 'faces turn to Jerusalem'.