First stop was Caesarea Maritima - on the coast. Here Herod the Great (great because he was a great builder!) built himself a palace by the sea - and the city to support it!
This is where St Paul was held before he was sent to Rome for his trial before Caesar. Some think it may have even been in a cell in Herod's palace.
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| The view from the top of the theatre (still in use!) |
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| A cross added to a capital later |
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| The sarcophagus of a deacon |
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| Herod's seaside villa |
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| A coal fired power station in the distance - it uses Aussie coal |
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| The remains of the swimming pool |
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| Very Public Toilets! |
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| The viaduct for the water supply |
Next stop: Haifa - we really just passed through. This is the view of the Ba'hai gardens from the top.
Megiddo: a late bronze period Canaan City State (c 1550 - 1150 BCE) The king was a loyal vassal of the Egyptian pharaoh.
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| The city gate: restored bits above the wooden line. |
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| The City Gate |
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| A grain silo with steps leading to the bottom |
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| The Stables |
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| with a ghost horse |
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| The Jezreel Valley countryside |
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| A water tunnel carved out of the rock |
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| On the road to Nazareth |
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| Mt Tabor - the mountain of the Transfiguration |
Next: Nazareth - where Mary and Joseph lived and raised Jesus. There are two churches of the Annunciation - Greek Orthodox and Catholic. Both claim to be built over the place where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of Jesus...
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| The Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth |
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| Main Entrance |
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| Spring - where Orthodox believe Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus to Mary |
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| Entrance to the Spring from the church |
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| Interior of the Church |
Zappori - this is the ruins of an important Roman administrative city at the time of Jesus. He would have certainly know of it - he and Joseph may have even worked in it as it was rebuilt around Jesus' time.
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| One of the main Streets |
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| The Cardo - main north-south street |
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| Detail of Mosaic Floor |
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| Tower upper middle commemorating the flooding of the Nile |
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| Ancient Graffito - a menorah scratched on a stone of the street |
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| A game scratched on the stones of the street |
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| A Crusader fort - built using recycled Roman sarcophagi |
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| The theatre |
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| The Mona Lisa of Palestine - detail of a floor mosaic in a villa in Zippora |
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| The villa's toilet with the inscription: "health" |
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| Mosaic floor of an early synagogue |
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| Detail of the Zodiac |
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| 'Summer' - corner of the Zodiac |
On the road again - but to Cana - where according to John, Jesus performed his first miracle - changing an abundance of water into wine
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| A Lebanese dessert, pastry, angel hair pasta, honey and pistacho... |
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| The Wedding Chapel, Cana |
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| Many people come here to renew their wedding vows |
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| Chapel of St Nathanael |
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| Back in Nazareth - not Mary's fiat... |
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| The Synagogue Church, Nazareth - where Jesus is said to have preached: Lk 4, 16. So named because above the door is a sign saying "Synagogue" |
Now the Catholic Basilica of the Annunciation
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| The interior - not the optical illusion of the tiles - the floor is flat |
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| The grotto where Catholics believe Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus to Mary |
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| The roof - meant to resemble a lily flower |
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| At night it looks like a lighthouse - deliberately? |
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| a curiosity - a tomb door carved in stone to look like wood! |
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| St Joseph - with shiny knees! |
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| Interior |
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| A modern mosaic |
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| A mikvey - a bath for Jewish ritual purification found under St Joseph's Church |
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| Joseph marrying Mary with a ring |
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| Add caption |
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| Ruins under the modern building - caves and structures |
Next stop: the Mount of the Beatitudes
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| The Sea of Galilee from the Mount of the Beatitudes |
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| Inside the chapel |
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| 4th or 5th century mosaics of loaves and fishes |
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| Fire damage |
Nearby is the Church of the Primacy of Peter "you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church..."
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| Shore of the Sea of Galilee |
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| A Jewish villa |
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| This is to grind grain. |
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| The White Synagogue - built of limestone in a basalt stone area |
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| The church built above what is thought to be the house of Peter's mother in law |
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| The altar front piece |
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| The interior |
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| A Roman Milestone |
In 1986 a 1st century boat was found in the shoreline mud and restored.
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| The boat from the time of Jesus |
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| How it might have looked |
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| Early morning on the Sea of Galilee |
More to come!
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