KLBC_Church

"I LIFT UP MY EYES, I LIFT UP MY CRY, TO THE THILLS, AROUND JERUSALEM TO THE GOD OF ALL THE EARTH." The refrain of this song echoed in my mind when our Uzbekistan Airways plane landed in Tel Aviv Airport. Early the next morning, we travelled along the coast of Caesarea, the city dedicated by Herod the Great to Caesar. We saw the remains of an amphitheatre, Byzantine baths and the hall where Paul made his defence before he was sent to Rome.

Mount Carmel, "Vineyard of God", was our next stop. We gazed down to a lovely view of the Jezreel Valley surrounded by the Galilean mountains. Our local guide, Samy, pointed to us the Valley of Armageddon and Muhraka, the site where Elijah challenged the prophets of Jezebel.

Then we left the coastal road and travelled eastward to Megiddo, where Solomon built a military camp. There were some remains of the stables of Solomon. We climbed into the underground tunnel

built by King Ahab to bring water into the city. The next three nights were spent in Tiberias and we visited the Mount of Beautitudes, Tabgha (where the miracle of the loves and fishes took place), Capernaum and Yardenit.

I was very excited the next morning when we travelled up north to the Golan Heights and saw Mount Hermon in the distance. We had our morning devotion next to a spring whose waters flow down to the Sea of Galilee, Jordan River and finally the Dead Sea. In biblical times, this area was known as Caesarea Philippi where Peter declared, "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.". From the cool quiet area around the spring, we next ascended a hill and we saw the United Nations quarters on the Israeli side separated by a no man's land from the United Nations quarters on the Syrian side.

After the excitement of the morning, we ate "Jesus fish" (it looks like tilapia to me) on the shores of Galilee and then took a leisurely cruise on the lake.

On the fifth day we travelled south to Beth Shean National Park, crossed over the West Bank to Jericho and in the afternoon reached Masada, on the Southern Shores of the Dead Sea. The scenery here is spectacular with tall arid rocky mountains and green fields.

Herod the Great built a fortress on a precipice overlooking the approach to his stronghold. Following the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, a remnant of the Jewish Zealots ascended the mountain and took over the fortress. They withstood a 3-year siege. The end only came when the Romans built an enormous ramp to reach the fortifications. All the men, women and children committed suicide the night before the final fall.

It only took us five minutes to reach the fortress by cable car. We saw the remnants of villas, store-houses, Herod's northern place, private baths, a synagogue, columbarium and cisterns. The ramp the Romans built is still there! We then spent the night next to the Dead Sea.

The following morning we went to Qumram, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. We saw the remnants of the Essenes monastery, a sample of the Dead Sea Scrolls and inkpots.

Finally in the afternoon, we reached Jerusalem. We crossed over the West Bank to Bethlehem. We reached the checkpoint and passed the huge separation where we saw young male and female soldiers carrying machine-guns. We then proceeded to "Shpherds' Field" and the Church of Nativity.

Before we left Jerusalem, we visited the Church of Peter in Gallincantu. Outside the church, the guide pointed to us the Field of Blood, the Mount of Scandal (where Solomon built shrines for his heathen wives) and the Mount of Evil (where Jeroboam received wrong counsel from his friends). At present the United Nations quarters are located there!

The next 1 1/2 days in Jerusalem was interesting and on Mount of Olives we had a panoramic view of the temple area. The golden Dome of Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque were clearly visible. We visited the Garden of Gethsemane, the Upper Room, the Garden Tomb, and the Wailin Wall. On the last day, we entered the old city and went to the 14 stations which mark the way Jesus took to Golgotha. We started from the Church of the Condemnation where Jesus was tried before Pilate and ended at the Church of Holy Sepulchre.

It was indeed a memorable tour. I had walked in places Jesus walked. Indeed, God has given a land flowing with milk and honey to Israel.