March 10 - Haifa to the Sea of Galilee

We definitely made up for our day of relaxation yesterday.  This morning we were on the road by 7:30am and arrived at our hotel at the Sea of Galilee at 7:30pm.

Our first stop was to see a larger-than-life size statue of HaTikva, The Hope, by Nicky Ember.  Two years ago the group who went to Israel bought John & Arlene a statue of The Hope and presented it to them (as a surprise) at their reunion.  It stands prominently in the Stucki's dining room as a beautiful reminder of our time in Israel. The girl represents a kibutznik (a girl living on a kibutz) and her baby (who represents the birth of Israel).

Our next stop was very special to me.  It was one of my favorite places and I was sad to find out that it was not on our tour (but John surprised me). T'svat is one of four cities that have always been inhabited by Jews.  It is also where Jewish mysticism (Kabalah) started in 1550AD. We went to two 500 year old synagogues and walked the small street of the old city where there are many art galleries.  It is also the place where we bought The Hope for John and Arlene.

Here is a picture of Ari talking to us in front of the ark in one of the synagogues (the ark holds the Torah scrolls).

We then stopped for an early lunch on the streets of T'svat.

Our next stop was Tel Hazor.  In 1250BC Hazor was the head of all kingdoms. (Joshua 11:13 - Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds - except Hazor, which Joshua burned.)  Now that really makes the Bible come alive!

We then went to Banias and Cesarea Philippi. This is one of the three water supplies to the upper Jordan River (we actually stopped at all three water sources - Banias, Dan, and Snir).  It is also the excavated temple where the Greek god Pan was worshipped.  It is not surprising that Jesus ever visited this area.

From there we headed up the Golan Heights.  The Golan was taken from Syria in the 6 Day War in 1967.  There are many warning signs of mine fields along the roads.  When Syria controlled the Golan they placed mines without mapping where they put them.  The fields are now off limits since they haven't been able to safely clear all the mines. From the Golan it is very evident why it is so strategic for Israel to control - you can see the Hula Valley below all the way across to Lebanon.

Did you know that there are volcanoes in Israel?  There are about a dozen volcano bursts along the top ridge of the Golan and we even went inside a caldera.  Unfortunately, when we got to the top the clouds came in and covered the caldera below. I was able to get a quick picture before the clouds covered the whole valley.

We will be staying at the Nof Ginosar Kibutz for the next two days.  Several of us are getting up early to watch the sunrise over the Galilee. Looking forward to sharing pictures of the sunrise with you tomorrow.