Day 3

Today got off to a shaky start. It was extremely windy and then pouring rain while we were loading our luggage onto the two tour buses. There were  rockets falling in Gaza this morning. Our local tour guide said the tension is due to the election coming up in January. We will be travelling North along the coast line and away from danger he assured us.

David Mainse also keeps a daily blog. If you check out his blog at www.100words.ca  from this morning you will find that he mentioned Ken and I by name in his personal reflections. Our new friends on the bus tease us that we are now famous!

It  was a real privilege to have David and Norma Jean Mainse as hosts on our bus today. They have so many personal stories to share as they have been coming to Israel since 1968! The tour guide gives the historical side and David Mainse gives the spiritual side to the sights we see.           

Our first stop was Caesarea.  This was an ancient seaport built by King Herod and also the place where the first Gentiles became believers when Peter came there as a result of an invitation from Cornelius a Roman soldier. Below are some pictures from the ruins that have been excavated.

 

Hippodrome where gladiators fought. They may also have had chariot races and many Christians were martyred here by being fed to the lions.

An ancient theatre.  Concerts are still held here in the summer.  Eric Clapton held a concert here about two weeks ago. If you are invited to perform here it means you are very good.

The next stop was Mount Carmel where Elijah killed the 450 prophets of Baal (I Kings 18).

David Mainse and his son speaking to the group on the top of the mount.

The view from the roof of a building on the top of Mount Carmel. It shows the Yizre'el Valley, also known as the Valley of Armageddon where the final battle between Christ and Satan will be fought. "The air force runway in the centre is where the Antichrist will land with his army", tongue in cheek comment made by David Mainse.

Our last stop of the day was at Megiddo (also known as Armageddon).  This was an ancient city which was strategically placed to guard important roads in ancient Israel. It was also situated beside the Yizre'el Valley an important source of food.

Above are excavations on the site of Megiddo (Armageddon).  At this spot archeologists have actually dug down through to the origin.  There were actually 25 cities built one on top of the other over many centuries as different powers took over.

Standing at the top of the stairs to an elaborate water system built so that the people of Megiddo could get water from the springs outside the city walls and not have to leave the city.



Ken and Marilyn contributed to this post.