Israel is really an extraordinary country. There is so much to do and see, so many temples and archeological sites that represent many different religions, there never seems to be enough time to see it all. One of the best things about having your “own group” is the itinerary can be changed, and that’s exactly what happened when we left Haifa on our way to Nazareth. We had been “on the go” from morning ‘til night (Marjorie hates the thought of missing anything!) and Shmul, our guide, sensed we needed a break from archeological digs and antiquities.
We left Haifa in the early morning and made a quick stop at the site of the beautiful Persian Gardens at the Baha’i World Center, the headquarters of the Baha’i Faith. The gardens are magnificent and have become a landmark and tourist attraction in Haifa.
We then headed north, up the Mediterranean coast, to see the famed grottoes of Rosh HaNikra, located on the boarder of Israel and Lebanon.The Rosh HaNikra grottoes are cavernous tunnels formed by the action of the sea slamming against the soft chalk rock for thousands of years.
At one time the only access to the grottoes was from the sea, but in1968, a tunnel was dug from the shore to the natural grottoes. The tunnel was constructed slightly above the sea surface. A cable car now descends to the shoreline where visitors can explore the grottoes.
The grottoes are wonderful. We took the cable car down, which offered a spectacular panoramic view of Haifa Bay, the hills of the Galilee and the Mediterranean. Apparently winter is the best time to explore the grottoes when the wave action from the sea is the most intense. We made our way through the tunnels, got wet more than once, and took lots of pictures.
Since we were right on the Lebanese border, we walked over and talked to several Israeli soldiers on boarder patrol and even managed a picture or two.
We then headed northwest to Nazareth, considered one of the most important Christian sites in the Holy Land. In the New Testament, Nazareth is known as the boyhood home of Jesus and has been an important Christian pilgrimage site since the 4th century. Today, Nazareth is an Arab city with a population of 60,000, mostly Muslim.
Our first stop was the Basilica of the Annunciation; a modern Catholic Church built over the remains of Byzantine and Crusader churches, and considered the traditional site of Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would give birth to the savior.
According to biblical historians, the cave that is enshrined inside the basilica was identified no later than the 4th century as the place of the Annunciation. It is not known when the first church was built here, but one probably existed by the early 4th century.
As we walked back to the bus, our guide pointed out Mary’s Well, now located in the center of downtown Nazareth, on the main road.
The Well is positioned over an underground spring that served for centuries as a local water source for the local Arab villagers. Renovated twice, once in 1967 and again in 2000, the current structure is a symbolic representation of the structure that once was in use.Our final destination that afternoon was Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee. Along the way, we visited the town of Safed, best known, in ancient times, as one of the four holy cities of the Talmud (Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberius are the others).
Today it remains an important center for Jewish religious studies, but is also well known for its Artist’s Quarter. In the narrow streets and alleys between the area’s picturesque houses, there are many shops and galleries where artists display their paintings, sculptures, woodcarvings and jewelry.
By this time, Shmul knew our group well; so before he showed us the Artist’s Quarters (where we could shop), we walked through the old city to the Synagogue Quarter to visit Abuhav Synagogue, built in the 16th century and named after Rabbi Yitzchak Abuhav, a renowned 15th century Spanish Rabbi and Kabbalist.
The bima (the pulpit) stands at the center of the synagogue and the benches for the congregation are arranged around it, as was customary in ancient synagogues. The interior of the synagogue dome is decorated with depictions of musical instruments that were used in the Temple in Jerusalem and symbols of the tribes of Israel.
Finally, a time to shop. Shmul actually gave us an hour of free time to wander through the narrow streets and wonderful shops and galleries. Marjorie Handel bought an unusual Chanukah Menorah and I bought a unique mezuzah made from a tree branch for my house.We arrived in Tiberius in the late afternoon and made one last stop at a museum near Kibbutz Nof Ginnosar to see “the Jesus Boat”. I visited the museum when I was in Israel in 2007 and insisted it be included in the tour this year. The story of the “Jesus Boat” is wonderful.
A harsh summer in 1985 and a lack of rainfall in the fall of that year created a drought in Israel. Water was pumped from the Sea of Galilee to irrigate parched fields. As the water flowed south, the level of the lake took a nosedive creating vast expanses of mud flats. While of great concern to Israel's residents, for whom the lake serves as a primary source of fresh water, the disaster proved a boom for archaeologists.
Late in January 1986, between the ancient harbors of Gennosar and Magdala, two brothers, Moshe and Yuval Lufan, discovered a faint oval outline of a boat in the muddy lake bed. As one brother later explained: "It was little more than a curving arc of wood, flush with the surface of the ground, but we immediately realized that this was the uppermost plank of a boat that was entirely buried by the mud."
Before the water level returned to normal, it was cleared of mud, enclosed in polyurethane foam and floated across the Sea of Galilee, to be placed in a conservation pool at the kibbutz's recently completed Yigal Allon museum. Conservation treatment of the boat consisted of impregnation with a special wax material for 9 1/2 years. In 1995, the pool was drained and the boat was revealed.
According to Carbon 14 dating, the so-called "Jesus Boat" was constructed in about 40 BC and was in use into the 1st century AD. During this period, the lakeside communities witnessed the ministry of Jesus and the unrest of the Jews under Roman control. The Jewish historian of the period, Flavius Josephus, described a fierce sea battle between the Jewish rebels of Magdala and the Roman legions in 67 AD in which the Jews were crushed and the beaches "were thick with wrecks." The boat was probably sunk at this time.
The boat is 26 1/2 feet long, 7 1/2 feet wide and 4 1/2 feet high, and it was probably of the Sea of Galilee's largest class of ships. Apparently, a master craftsman built it to last. It was made with different kinds of wood taken from other boats. First, the outside planks were assembled with mortise and tenon joints, then the frames or ribs were nailed inside. Its fore and aft sections were most likely decked and it probably had a mast, meaning it could be both sailed and rowed. Studies of ancient ships suggest this vessel had a crew of five (four rowers and a helmsman). Flavius Josephus referred to such ships holding 15 people. Skeletal remains from Galilee during this period indicate males averaged 5 feet 5 inches tall and about 140 pounds. Therefore it was large enough to accommodate Jesus and his 12 disciples.
Join me next week as we visit Capernaum, the Mount of Beatitudes and the Golan Heights.
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