We awoke to vibrant sunlight pouring in through our windows and a light Mediterranean breeze drifting off the ocean at Caesarea! What a beautiful way to start the day. After a delicious breakfast of breads, cheeses, pastries, fish, yogurt, juices and coffee, we were off to our first stop of the day. After a five minute drive, we arrived at Herod’s palace which is complete with an amphitheater and a hippodrome. It is a place of amazing history and architecture!
Our next stop was another great example of Roman architecture and influence, the aqueducts. When building his palace and the surrounding city of Caesarea on the shores of a salt water sea, Herod had one big problem: fresh water. He solved that problem by bringing in fresh water over miles and miles of aqueducts.
After dipping our toes in the cool salt water sea, we dried them off and jumped back on the bus. Our driver Aaron drove us off to Megiddo and the surrounding valley of Armageddon. What an interesting place with an incredible past that holds such significance in the future! Napoleon once said about this valley, “There is no place in the whole world more suited for war than this…all the armies of the world could maneuver for battle here… [It is] the most natural battleground of the whole earth.” The book of Revelations also speaks of the importance of the valley to the future of mankind!
After soaking in Megiddo and it’s spectacular views we stopped in at Mount Carmel. This is the location where in 1 Kings 18, Elijah challenged and defeated the prophets of Baal. From there we drove over to the town of Nazareth where Jesus grew up.
What an incredible day of experiencing the locations where the events of Bible occurred! Visiting these places has started to give our tour members a whole new outlook on the Bible. We finished our day with an amazing dinner at our hotel in Tiberius.