Day One of the sight seeing in Israel is in the books for our little group from Central and it couldn’t have been more perfect. We began the morning at Herod’s magnificent palace and royal grounds at Caesarea on the Sea and ended it tonight on the Sea of Galilee. I won’t bore you with very many details — mainly I just want to post a few pictures here and let people who care know that we’re all doing OK and having a great time in Israel. Plus, It’s almost 10:00 Thursday night and I’ve got to get to bed.

Most of our morning was spent walking around Herod’s masterpiece palace and theater on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. We marveled at the architectural genius of the Roman appointed King of Judah; David Carver found a full quarter of a clay jar in the dirt behind one of the ancient storehouses, complete with half a handle and nearly a full rim; and we probably all had a little too much fun with the word “vomitorium.” After that, we took in the breathtaking views of all the Promised Land from high atop Mount Carmel. And then we finished the day climbing all over the ancient ruins of Megiddo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather has been absolutely wonderful — in fact, a few of us might have gotten a little too much sun today. The food has been better and more than anybody expected. It’s a true honor to be learning so much about God’s holy land from Anton Farrah, Bill Humble’s guide for nearly 20 of his trips to Israel (Yes, Nathaniel, something very good can come out of Nazareth). And the company I’m with is a true blessing. So far, David is the front runner for the “Best Pottery Find” award and the “Most Likely to Singlehandedly Spark an International Incident” award. Ted and Elaine are both making impressive runs at the “I’ll Eat Anything on the Buffet No Matter What It Looks Like” recognition. And Steve is in the early lead for “Comeback Tourist” after throwing his back out walking down to breakfast and then climbing up and down all 183 steps into and out of Ahab’s water supply well at Megiddo this afternoon (Salon Pas gets the assist).

Shalom,

Allan