Thursday December 5, 2013 Mount Carmel, Haifa Baha'i Gardens, Haifa Templar Cemetery, Caesarea Maritima

Mt Carmel was rainy, cold and overcast. We couldn't see much from the outlook.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel split from the Southern Kingdom of Judah after the death of Solomon. Jeroboam set up centers of false worship in the Northern Kingdom. After a few generations, Baal worship became the official religion of the Northern Kingdom. The government was corrupt. For example, King Ahab coveted a private vineyard owned by Naboth, so Ahab's wife Jezebel helped him acquire it by calling false witnesses to appear in Ahab's court. 

The prophets Elijah, Elisha, and Amos became political enemies of the government because they preached against social, religious, and political corruption. Amos condemned those "who store up violence and robbery in their palaces", as Ahab had done.  Elijah confronted Ahab's court by challenging the priests of Baal to a sacrifice contest (1 Kings 18). The relief shows the priests of Baal on the left, unsuccessfully calling on their god to start the sacrificial fire, while on the right Elijah and his priests successfully call on their god.

 

Haifa is a seaport city along the northern coast of Israel, home of the Baha'i Gardens and the Templer Cemetery. The Baha'i faith has 7 million members and was started in 1844. They believe in one god, all humans are of one race, and all world religions have been progressive stages for the ultimate revelation of God's will through the Baha'i leader, or Ullah.  The Baha'i world headquarters is here.

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A view of Haifa and the Mediterranean Ocean.

 

A view of Haifa, at the upper gate to the Baha'i Gardens.  

It rained the day we were in Haifa. The Baha'i Gardens were closed due to slippery conditions on the stone stairs and paths.  The Baha'i Gardens are lush and immaculately maintained.

Several Mormon missionaries served in Palestine before Israel was formed and banned missionary work. A few missionaries and members died in Palestine and were buried in the Templer cemetery in Haifa.  

Jacob Spori was sent from the European Mission to Haifa in 1886. Before he left, he saw a blacksmith in a dream.  After arriving in Haifa, he went to the street in his dream.  Johan Georg Grau came out to meet him and said he saw Jacob Spori in a dream the night before. Georg was baptized and tried to get his wife to join with him but she refused.  He immigrated to Utah without his wife.  Later he returned to Palestine, taught his wife and she was baptized.

Sorry - I don't know how to put Sister Grau's marker upright

In 1894 John A. Clark left his studies at BYU to serve a mission. After one year in Haifa, he died of small pox, shortly before turning 24 years old.



 Adolph Haag accepted a call in 1892 to serve a mission. He was a 27 year old husband and father. After one month in Haifa, he died of typhus fever.

 Caesarea Maritima is south of Haifa along the Mediterranean coast. Herod wanted to court favor with his Greco-Roman subjects, so he built a modern Greco-Roman city with an amphitheater, cardo, royal palace, and a pagan temple to the goddess Roma. He wanted the city to compete with Alexandria as a commercial port, so he created an artificial harbor. His engineers designed walls of massive stones to create a harbor. They cemented the stones together in the ocean with concrete that dried under water.  He also built an aqueduct to bring water from Mt Carmel, 12 miles away. The city was laid out in a grid pattern with paved streets. A sewage system below the streets was flushed out by the tides. Archaeologists discovered a Latin inscription indicating Pilate dedicated a local temple to the emperor Tiberius in Caesarea.

 Phillip taught here. Peter baptized the Roman Centurion Cornelius here. Paul appeared before Roman governors Felis and Festus in Caesarea and was kept here for 2 years before being sent to Rome.  It was the home of the historian Eusebius. It was conquered by the Muslims, then the Crusaders who destroyed and rebuilt parts of it.



Remains of the Roman aqueduct run from Mt Carmel to Caesarea.

Herod's amphitheater overlooks the ocean.

The ocean from near the amphiteather

The starting gate for chariot races around an oval track.

Wednesday December 4, 2013 Chorizin, Sepphoris, Akko in Galilee

Chorazin is north of Capernaum on a trade route from Akko to Bethsaida. Jesus visited here and condemned hypocrites who taught the commandments from the seat of Moses but didn't live them. The seat of Moses was a chair where distinguished members of the congregation sat while they taught sermons.

Linda is in the seat of Moses. Through the doorway are the hills where Jesus probably walked.

Sepphoris is near Nazareth. It was the Roman capital of Galilee between 63 BC and 17 AD, before Herod Antipas built a new capital at Tiberias. Many mosaic floors have been uncovered. One is called the Mona Lisa of Galilee because of its similarity to da Vinci's Mona Lisa. One is in the Nile House, which celebrates scenes from Egypt, including a Nilometer.  The Nilometer measured the height of the Nile River and it became the basis to assess taxes.  Presumably, the higher the river, the better the crops, the higher the taxes.

After the second revolt in 132-135 AD, Jews were evicted from Judea and moved to Galilee. The Sanhedrin moved to Sipphoris and the Mishnah was completed here in 200 AD. The Crusaders later occupied Sipphoris.  The Crusaders left from Sipphoris in 1187 to meet Saladin at the Horns of Hattin, where the Crusaders were defeated, leading to their loss of power in the Holy Land.

A mosaic floor in a synagogue in Sipphoris.

A mosaic floor in a home on a Sipphoris hilltop, where a wealthy person most likely lived.

The Mona Lisa of Galilee is at the bottom, in the center.

The Roman Cardo or main road in Sipphoris

Chariot metal wheels wore the stone as they entered and left Sipphoris over many years.

Akko - Ptolemais was an important port during Canaanite, Old Testament, Roman, New Testament, and Crusader eras. Paul visited here, and Napolean was defeated here.

 

The Roman Arch was a valuable invention.  It supported large structures like those behind Linda.

 

 The rounded arch requires huge columns to help support the roof.  Very little wall space can be dedicated to windows because massive walls are needed for support. Pressure from the roof mass pushes the walls outward. Buttresses are used to counter the outward pressure on the walls.

Architects began to experiment with a pointed arch.  The pointed arch led to Gothic architecture. Pressure from the roof is transferred vertically rather than horizontally, allowing smaller columns and more windows.

Bathroom in the fortress.  Each of the openings is a toilet seat, which drops to a cavity about 15 feet below, where the waste is washed away.  Our society prizes privacy, but this society made it a public affair where you could discuss current affairs while, as the boy scouts say, waiting for the rest to come.

Akko was an important port city on the Mediterranean Ocean for battles, ocean commerce, and ...

... romance.

Tuesday December 3, 2013 Hazor, Dan, Banias, Nimrod's Castle, Syria Overlook

Har Bental is a volcanic mound about 40 miles southwest of Damascus in the Golan Heights. It overlooks Syria. The main caravan route from Palestine to Damascus ran through this area. The town of Quneitra is near the base of Har Bental and has been a rest stop for thousands of years because of its water supply. Saul's vision on the road to Damascus probably occurred near here. Mount Hermon is near here and may be the site of the Transfiguration rather than Mount Tabor.

Quenitra from Har Bental.  Quneitra belonged to Syria before the 1967 Six Day War. There was fierce fighting for control of Quneitra during the last day of the war. Syria was anxious to negotiate a ceasefire to prevent Israel from taking more of the Golan Heights. To sway world opinion and the UN to move quickly, Syrian radio announced Quneitra had fallen and the Israeli army was moving toward Damascus. The Syrian authorities neglected to tell their troops it was not true. Confused, the Syrian troops retreated and allowed the Israeli army to occupy Quneitra before a cease fire was announced later that afternoon.

There was intense fighting again in the 1973 war with Syria and it changed hands several times before finally remaining under Israeli control.  The US brokered a deal giving Quenitra back to Syria after the 1973 war.  The Syrians found many of the homes demolished and accused Israel of blowing up the homes before they left.  It was probably a combination of Israeli acts and the result of the fighting. You can see the roofs of houses lying on the ground in the picture.  Syria left the city largely unoccupied as an open air war museum. Syria sees it as a memorial of Israeli cruelty and Israel criticizes Syria for not rebuilding it.

Today, the UN patrols a no-mans land between the base of Har Bental and Quneitra.

Damascus is about 40 miles that way.

The base of Mount Hermon is at the top left.

 Military trenches on the top of Har Bental.

Mount Hermon is in the center background.

 Distance markers on top of Har Bental.

Nimrod fortress is near Mount Hermon. Arab tradition associates the fortress with the hunter Nimrod mentioned in Genesis 10:8-9. It may have been a crusader fortress which was destroyed, and then rebuilt by Muslim rulers Ayyubid and Mamluk in the 13th century.

 The fortress from one end...

...to the other end.

Banias / Caesarea Philippi guarded routes from Tyre to Damascus and is one of the sources of the Jordan River. Greeks worshipped the shepherd god Pan here.  Herod's son Philip built his capital here - the name refers to Philip and to Caesar, Caesarea Philipi. It may have been the site of Canaanite Baal worship mentioned by Joshua. It was probably here that Jesus praised Peter's revealed testimony and said "thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church." 

The niches in the rock wall behind us had idols of the Greek god Pan in the 2nd century BC.

 Banias waterfall near Caesarea Philipi. It wasn't the rainy season, and we are not far from the headwater. This flows into the Jordan River.



Blaine and Linda at Banias waterfall.



The Canaanite city Laish became Dan when it was conquered by the tribe of Dan, setting Israel's borders from Dan to Beersheba.

 Israel was divided into two kingdoms. Since the Kingdom of Israel no longer had access to the temple in Jerusalem, Jeroboam built an idolatrous alter in Dan, depicted here on the excavated base behind Linda.

Border between Israel and Lebannon. We took so many pictures this day, we had to come up with a way to remember this was looking into Lebannon.

This gate may date to when Abraham pursued Lot's kidnappers to Dan and rescued him (Genesis 14:14)

Hazor was the capital of the greatest of the northern Canaanite city-states conquered by Joshua.  It became one of Solomon's chariot cities. The Assyrians destroyed it in the 8th century BC.

 Hazor controlled the Via Maris trade route between Damascus and Megiddo and was near the route connecting Sidon on the Mediterranean Coast to Beth Shean.



Between 1800 and 1230 BC, Hazor was the most important Canaanite city in the area. It is mentioned in other ancient documents and archaeologists hope to discover a library in Hazor. 

Monday December 2, 2013 Jordan River and Safat in Galilee

We went with Seelys to the Jordan River on the south end of the Sea of Galilee. Groups of tourists come here to be baptized and re-baptized in the Jordan River. 

 

David Seely is a professor of ancient middle eastern history at the Jerusalem Center. Linda is between their daughter Katie who just returned from a mission and JoAnn Seely. We are standing on the banks of the Jordan River near the Sea of Galilee.

Blaine and Linda by the Jordan River.

Linda and JoAnn in Safat, north of the Sea of Galilee. Safat was once the center of mystical Judaism. JoAnn is 1st counselor in the branch Relief Society presidency and Linda is president.

 Old City of Safat

 The Jews in Safat are more liberal and easy going, as shown by this picture of a Minorah made with bottles of wine or olive oil (I couldn't tell which since I don't read Hebrew) and ...

...this old synagogue.  Jews played lively music in the center of the synagogue where the leader of the congregation would normally stand.

Sunday December 1, 2013 Mt Tabor, Megiddo, and Jezreel Valley

Megiddo was ruled by the Canaanites before it fell to the Israelites. It became one of Solomon's chariot cities and was fortified by Jeroboam and Ahab. It guards a pass that opens into the Jezreel Valley along the north-south Via Maris route and the east-west route from Acco to Beth Shean. Archaeologists have uncovered 20 distinct strata beginning in 7000 BC. As cities were conquered, the conqueror would destroy the old city and erect a new city on top of the old. Megiddo was a battle scene of Pharaohs Thutmose III, Ramses II, Shishak, Necho, Tiglath-Pileser III, King David, King Solomon,  Alexander the Great and Napolean.

 

Gate at the entrance of Megiddo, overlooking the Jezreel Valley.

To Linda's right beyond the top of the railing is a Canaanite Round Altar.

 It was a windy day on Megiddo.  This is the Jezreel Valley and one of the routes that passed by Megiddo. Joshua assigned Megiddo to Manasseh, but the Israelites were unable to conquer it until Solomon.

Water had to be brought from outside the fortified city because it was on a hill.  Workers channeled vertically through the bedrock below the city and then...

 ...horizontally out to the water source.

Mount Tabor is in the Jezreel Valley about 11 miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee and within site of Nazareth  The prophetess Deborah beat the Canaanites in a battle at Mount Tabor.   Jesus may have been transfigured here and promised the keys of the kingdom of heaven to his apostles.

 

The chapel on top of Mount Tabor.  The students sang inside the chapel.  Several tourists, monks and nuns thanked us for singing.

 The Canaanites had an advantage because they had chariots of iron.  Barak was the Israelite army leader. He was afraid to engage the Canaanites in the Jezreel Valley until Deborah promised to go with him into battle. It rained the day of the battle and the heavy chariots could not maneuver in the mud. The Canaanite advantage was neutralized and the Israelites defeated the superior Canaanite army.

The ceiling of the chapel on Mt Tabor depicts the transfiguration.

Saturday November 30, 2013 Branch Thanksgiving dinner

The students are in Galilee, so we held sacrament meeting only. There were 3 excellent talks on recognizing and following the Holy Ghost. It would be difficult to hold primary, youth Sunday School, Priesthood and Relief Society without students' help.

 Nancy Nacimentos came to the branch for the first time.  She has been living in Jerusalem for 9 months and she has been less active for 16 years. She works for the Brazilian government as a representative to Palestine. She was driving by the Jerusalem Center and noticed the sign to the Mormon University.  She called to find out the schedule and decided to come to church.  She is divorced and her children are grown. After the meeting, she said she was planning to tell her children she is glad she raised them in the church.

After sacrament meeting, we had a pot luck turkey dinner in the Oasis for all of the local branch members.

 Ummmm, how long has it been since Linda had a piece of apple pie?



Thursday November 28, 2013 Open house at ATTA Resort Center in Ramallah

Nora Kort, behind Blaine, invited us to the inauguration ceremony of a senior care facility in Ramallah. Nora is a people person with a lot of energy.  It seems that everyone knows and loves Nora.

Clayton, in the back, used to volunteer for Nora.  He is now a theology student at Oxford. He returned to Jerusalem for a week to interview the brotherhood at the Greek Patriarch at Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Greek Orthodox Church does not have a heirarchy like the Roman Catholic Church with a pope over everyone. There are several groups that meet periodically to coordinate, but one group does not have authority over the other groups.

We met four volunteers with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). They are in Israel / Palestine for 3 months, then rotate out with others who come for another 3 months. They monitor human rights violations. Some days, they are up at 3:00 am. They monitor checkpoints, they record how long people have to wait at check points, they monitor if Palestinians are harassed, etc. If they learn a village is scheduled for demolition, they go to the village to try to stop it. They were leaving to interview a Palestinian family whose house was burned by Israelis from a nearby settlement as retaliation for the death of a soldier in the North, completely unrelated to this family.

They give their findings to the UN, they use social media to publish human rights violations, they try to get newspapers back home to publish the stories (with minimal success), and they speak at least 10 times when they return home about their experiences. There were 4 people on this team - from Norway, England, Brazil, and Canada. The objective is to educate the world about human rights violations.