Israel: Past, Present & Future (Tel Aviv, Caesarea, Megiddo, Nazareth, Muhraqa & Haifa)

In 2010, I went on a wonderful 14 day tour of Israel and Jordan. To get there, I flew from Minneapolis to Chicago and then to Frankfurt, from where we traveled on Lufthansa to get to Tel Aviv. At the Frankfurt airport, we were segregated into a secure room just for our flight (referred to as a “sterile room”).

For some reason, despite not having any metal, during the x-ray, my money belt caught the attention of security and I was taken aside and searched. They also inspected the contents of my money belt (cash for Israel and Jordan plus some USD and Euros just in case). This sort of negated the purpose of having a money belt. Now everyone else on the flight to Tel Aviv with me knew I had one and that there was a pretty decent amount of money in it (the security folks pulled the money out and flipped through it).

They also rifled through my carryon and purse, then set them aside and wouldn’t let me near them until they were done searching me and my money belt. I was not a happy camper, especially since someone else could have fairly easily picked up my carryon and purse while security had their backs to them concentrating on me. After what seemed like an eternity, they decided I was okay and gave me back my money belt, purse and carryon. Once I was released by security and joined my fellow travelers to wait to get on the plane, I bought a Magnum Gold ice cream bar as comfort food.

 After arriving at the hotel in Tel Aviv, I just had twohours before joining the tour group for a “welcome drink”, so I walked to a nearby grocer, bought a few things for a light supper and then got everything organized for the following day. The hotel was right on the Mediterranean,which I could easily see from my room.

Our tour director’s name was Tol and our driver was Isaac. We had 26 people on the Israel portion of the tour and would have 16 for the Jordan portion. There were three other Americans (a woman from Orange County,California and a couple from Puerto Rico) besides me. Everyone else came from various other countries. The main people I hung out with during the trip included a woman from Toronto (Israel portion only) and the couple from Puerto Rico.

We had a short tour of Tel Aviv before heading to Caesarea. Other than the portion known as Jaffa, which was founded in 7,500 BC (which we toured when we returned to Tel Aviv later in the trip), Tel Aviv is a very modern city.

Caesarea was originally built by Herod the Great in 25 – 13BC, including a deep sea harbor, storerooms, markets, wide roads, baths, temples to Rome and Augustus, and imposing public buildings. We visited the Roman Theatre, Hippodrome, Crusader Fortress and Aquaduct, as well as viewing the portions of Caesarea now under the sea near the shore.

We set off for Megiddo, also known by the Greek name of Armageddon. The Jezreel Valley, in which Megiddo is located, has been a battleground for thousands of years for the Assyrians, Canaanites, Egyptians, Greeks, Israelites, Persians, Philistines, and Romans. Megiddo dates back to the Bronze Age (3500 – 3100 BC). Several excavations have taken place and/or are currently underway.

One of the excavations is of a round altar that was built in about 2700 BC, possibly for sacrifice in the worship of the Canaanite god Baal. There is also a stable with several stone mangers. We were told about the water system and were then led through the underground tunnel.

A very long expanse of the stairs was metal and see-through and scared the crapola out of me. I needed to watch what my feet were doing so I wouldn’t trip and fall. But looking down at my feet meant I was looking through the steps at a very deep drop. This was towards the end of the tunnel, so too late to chicken out and turn back. I was first in line, but after I took a photo, I had everyone else go ahead of me so I could take my time. I was shaking and praying all the way down.

I have to say that it felt a little surreal to be at Armageddon, the location in the Book of Revelations of the final battle at the end of days. Mount Taber, the Mount of Transfiguration, could be seen from everywhere in the Jezreel Valley. It stands alone with no other mountains next to it.

At this point, Tol told us that he was moving our visit to Nazareth up a day. He said that the next three days were pretty full and felt that we would have more quality time in each location if we went to Nazareth that afternoon. We weren’t going to argue. So we headed to Nazareth, which was up in the mountains. For some reason, I had always pictured Nazareth as being in a valley or on a plain. So it surprised me to be winding our way up a mountain road.

We visited the Church of the Annunciation, which was built over the location where an angel told Mary she would give birth to Jesus. In the grotto of the church was the site, so we made our way down there to visit the first of many caves that we would see on this trip. An altar was set up in the cave where the angel appeared to Mary. We needed to keep moving because of the large number of people who were there and wanting to see what we were seeing, but I managed to take a photo.

Nazareth is also the town to which Joseph and Mary returned after the flight to Egypt. It is the town where Jesus grew up and Joseph had a carpenter’s shop. The church (St. Joseph’s) that had been built over the site of the carpenter’s shop was next door to the Church of the Annunciation. So we went over there and looked at the excavations and the rough cut steps down to what was considered to be Joseph’s shop.

After Nazareth, we returned to our original schedule and went to Muhraqa. This was where Elias beat the priests of Baal in a contest of faith. There was a monastery there with a lovely gift shop which had a St George and the Dragon icon that I bought. At this point, I had one from Bulgaria and one from Israel.

On the way from Muhraqa to Haifa, we encountered several Druze Villages. The Druze are a sect of Islam which is only found in Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The Druze consider Jethro of Midian (Moses’ father-in-law) as their ancestor.

Haifa is more than 3,000 years old and was built on the slopes of Mount Carmel. We spent the night there in a hotel at the top of Mount Carmel with views of the bay on one side and the sea on the other. My room overlooked the bay.

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