GALILEE!!!

          Wow, not only did Galilee meet all of my expectations, but it exceeded them by far. It was such an amazing experience in so many ways.  The first day that we left was Monday July 5th.  That day on the way to the Sea of Galilee, we stopped by Caesarea first where we got to see ruins from Herod's man-made sea port, a hippodrome for chariot races, aqueducts, a big amphitheater, and other really neat things.  It was great to see the Mediterranean Sea from there because it was so blue and clear.  Then we went to Nazareth and saw the Church of the Annunciation where Mary may have been when she was told of the future birth of Jesus. in Nazareth we also went to the Church of St. Joseph where he was told of the birth.  We also went to a synagogue that was built on the ruins of another synagogue that Christ probably taught in and where he announced his divinity as the Messiah.  We also went to Mary's well, and then left Nazareth and went to Mount Arbel to overlook the Sea of Galilee.  Then we went down to our kibbutz place where we were staying called Ein Gev.  It was soooo beautiful.  We stayed in these awesome little house/shack things that were right on the beach of the Sea of Galilee.  

The sea of Galilee and the kibbutz where we stayed.

Caesarea

Mary's annunciation cave and church (Nazareth)

Church of St Joseph                                             Synagogue

Drinking from St. Mary's well

Northern end of Sea of Galilee from Mt Arbel

          The next day we took a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee and as we were going, we got to read the scriptures about how Christ called the waters of that very same sea, and how he walked on those waters.  It was such an amazing experience. Then we went to a place called Ginosar and looked at a boat from the time of Christ.  Next we went to the Mount of Beatitudes and read the Sermon on the Mount there. We also went to St. Peter's Primacy ("if ye love me, feed my sheep"), and Tabgha (miracle of the loaves and fishes).  We went to one other church later as well.  Then we went to Capernaum and saw Peter's house and a synagogue that was built over the ruins of a synagogue from Christ's time where He came and talked about how He is the living bread.  This is where Christ came and lived after he was rejected in Nazareth.  It was great being there because I definitely walked on ground that the Savior walked on.  Many other places are the traditional sites of places, but not necessarily definite, but this was definitely where the Savior was.  We also went to Bethsaida where Philip, Andrew, and Peter were from and called.  After that long day, we came back and swam and later that evening we had a huge bonfire. 

Sailing across the Sea of Galilee

Galilee boat from the time of Christ

Mount of Beatitudes

St. Peter's house at Capernaum

Capernaum with synagogue

Capernaum Synagogue

Monastery of the Twelve Apostles

          Our class is split into two, so we had a field trip one day, then the next day would just be class and then a free day. So on Wednesday, my class just had New Testament class and then swam, had an ultimate frisbee tournament, and just kinda hung out and read and stuff.  On Thursday, we went to Gamla, which is a Jewish place built on top of a cliff.  It was destroyed by the Romans after one of the Jewish revolts, and half of the people fought while the other half jumped to their deaths.  Then we went to Qazrin, which was another ancient Jewish village that had a synagogue and everything.  Then we went to Gadot which is a memorial for soldiers that were killed in the Syrian/Israeli battles of the Six Day Wars (Golan heights) and we got to see bunkers and a land mine field.  Then we went to a Byzantine church and monastery in Kursi (place with Christ sending the devils out of the man and into the swine that fell to their deaths).  Later that afternoon we went rafting down the Jordan River.  It was fun, even though some crazy Israeli boys tried to capture us and kept calling themselves pirates!! It was funny.

Gamla

Synagogue at Gamla

Qazrin

Gadot bunker and mine field

Jordan River and pirates

          Friday was just another chill day, but then in the evening we went to a fish restaurant where they give you the whole fish, and I ate a fish eye there!! Haha, it was kinda nasty, but not as bad as I thought it would be.  Then we went to Tiberias and did some shopping on the boardwalk there afterwards and I got a henna tattoo.  Then on Saturday we had church in Tiberias.  It was really great, and on the way back we stopped by Yardenit which is a place in the Jordan River where different groups of people go to get baptized. The LDS children here usually get baptized in the Jordan river too.  I think that is so neat! On Sunday, we went to Beth She'an (and Scythopolis) where Saul and Jonathan's bodies were hung and also Christ probably went through there often on his way to Jerusalem.  After that we went to a synagogue in Bet Alpha, and then some natural springs called Gan Ha-Shelosha to go swimming.  It was fun having the fish tickle your feet, and it was beautiful with all of the palm trees and everything.  Then we went to Nain, where Christ raised the son of a widow (Luke 7), and then Mount Tabor which is a possible site of the mount of Christ's transfiguration. 

Fish Restaurant

View from the Branch church building with my roommate

Yardenit/Jordan River

Beth She'an ruins

Bet Alpha synagogue with mosaic floor

Swimming at Gan Ha-Shelosha natrual springs

Mount Tabor (possibly Mt of Transfiguration) & church on top

          Monday was just another chill day on the beach, and I had some more time to read Jesus the Christ.  Then on Tuesday, we went to Hazor (ancient Canaanite city that Joshua took and where Jabin was king and was killed by Deborah and Barak).  Then we went to Dan (northern border of the kingdom of Israel where Jeroboam built a golden calf and Abraham saved Lot).  I got to see a gate that Abraham definitely would have passed through. CRAZY! It was beautiful in Dan because it is one of the heads of the Jordan River, so there were a bunch of natural springs and stuff.  Then we went to Banias (a.k.a. Caesarea Philippi) where Christ said the "Whom say ye that I am" thing to his disciples.  Then we went to Nimrod's Castle, which was an awesome fortress on a hill that was built by the Crusaders and rebuilt by Muslims.  Finally we went to the Golan Heights and say the Israel/Syria border and the road to Damascus.  Then we came back and had another bonfire.  I was chosen to have a cake-eating contest, which I won by the way.  I competed against one of my professors and another girl there, and it was fun to fight with my professor and smash cake in his face (he started it!!). 

Natural springs at Dan (one start of the Jordan River)

Gate of ancient Dan that Abraham definitely would have walked through

Banias/Caesarea Philippi and ruins of Temple to Pan

Nimrod's Castle

Syria/Israel border (Syria is in the background)

          On Wednesday, we went to Sephhoris, which was the Roman capital of Galilee before TIberias, and also where the Jewish Sanhedrin completed the Mishnah.  Crusaders were also there for a while.  They had some awesome mosaics there that are some of the best in the world.  Then we went to Akko, an important sea port which Paul visited and one place where Napolean was defeated.  We got to go through a crusader fortress there and see the Al-Jazaar Mosque.  Then we stopped the ruins of Chorazin (a place that Christ says "wo unto").  We went swimming again, and had another bonfire, and a testimony meeting.  It was a great day.  On the way back on Thursday (yesterday), we stopped at Megiddo, which is a place where King Solomon had some of his chariots, and is a place where many people say is the battle field of the final battle of Armegeddon (Megiddo -- Armegeddon).  King Josiah of Judah was also killed by the Egyptians here and many other things.  Then we went to Mt. Carmel to Muhraqa which is where Elijah challenged King Ahab and killed the priests of Baal.  Then we went to the Bahai gardens, and finally to the Templer Cemetery where two LDS missionaries from the 1880's were buried and a couple of their converts.

Sephhoris and mosaics

Akko and Al-Jazaar Mosque

Chorazin

Megiddo ruins and excavation

Mount Carmel and statue of Elijah

Bahai Gardens

          All in all the trip to Galilee was just absolutely amazing.  I know that I will never read the Bible the same again after having been to all of these sights in the Holy Land.  The scriptures seem to have literally come alive for me, and I feel like my connection to the Savior is so much greater now.  Yes it was great to be able to live on the beach for a whole ten days and enjoy the sand, sun, palm trees, and water, but it was so much more than that. This was definitely a life changing experience that I hope I never forget.