PlacesWe began our trip by the Sea of Galilee:
- Mount of Beatitudes - Sea of Galilee - Valley of Doves - Peter's Principice - Church at Cana - Medigga - Valley of Armegeddon - Bethlehem - Mount Precipice - Nazareth The second half of our trip was spent in and around Jerusalem: - Jerico (on our way into the city) - Old City - Mesada - Garden Tomb - Yad Vashem - History of the Holocaust Museum ReflectionsThere is something about travelling to Israel that prevents you from realizing the significance of it all until you have left. It is overwhelming and so much is thrown at you at once, that it is not until you leave and travel back to certain places in your mind that the realness of it all sinks in.
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Galilee Area:
My two favorites places on this trip were the Valley of the Doves and Mount Precipice.
I found the Valley of the Doves breathtaking. It was rugged and lush; a journey through a wide valley that narrowly leads from Galilee to Jerusalem; both a place to pass through and a destination to arrive. I loved this for the purpose that we were the only people there when we stopped - it was not a tourist trap. It simply was there, untouched, ready to explore. It is the path Jesus chose to travel to get to Jerusalem and would have traveled it several times in his life. Its untouched nature made His footsteps feel closer. Mount Precipice halted me in my tracks. There it sits on the edge of Nazareth where Jesus was raised by his parents. There it sits; and from its summit you can see out over the whole nation of Israel - Mount Tabor, Mount Hebron, its an expansive view. There, right below this mount is the Valley of Jezreel, where "the last battle" is to take place. Here it is where the Israelites sought to throw Jesus off of the edge. And this is the place that Jesus could have frequented as a young boy and man to overlook His Father's nation and commune with His Father as He grew is wisdom and favor with man and God. It was such an unexpected view. Again, this was not a tourist stop; it was a gift that we were led to by our tour guide as he really loves that place himself. |