Tel Dan, Caesarea Philippi, Nimrod Fortress
HI FRIENDS!!!!! Same reasons, as always, for not being able to blog...computer only works sometimes (i am looking at buying a new one, like tomorrow ha), lack of time, and having to spend my extra time doing things to help prepare for whatever God puts in my future. And my future is ALL OVER THE PLACE. As in, not a clue what is to come (job, move, not move) but excited to be almost 30 and have the freedom to pick up and go where ever God says "Go".
I have so much to share. I look back at this year of blogging (since August) and think "wow Lord, I feel like you haven't let me write this year" and I also feel like He hasn't been using me very much. So much of my life is up in the air + lack of fellowship feelings + the frustration of my electronics not working = one big mess.
BUT.......and there is always a but......I spent time in Arkansas last week (which was soooo amazing) and returned home with a game plan and a mile long list of the things I needed to do "just in case" my life takes a sudden turn. And that is what I have been doing all week. I have never been more organized in my entire life. Not only is God giving me super-natural energy to work extra hard but my time with Him has been deeper and so much more intimate. All things that are just filling up my love tank.
He gave me Ps 73:26 the other day. "My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever."..............except I woke up that morning and Father said...
"Caroline, your health may fail, your spirit may grow weak, but I AM the strength of your heart, I AM yours and you are mine forever."
AMEN, AMEN. I can't explain my feelings that morning, except to say that it was like receiving the most amazing love letter. You read it and feel like a million trillion bucks!
I have much more to say and will blog about that soon. Now, lets pick back up with Day 6 hahahahahhaha...and yes I know it's march and I'm STILL writing about my trip. Forgive me. Enjoy the day..... it will be shorter on info and more pictures...
This was also the day my parents celebrated 5 healthy years since the kidney transplant!
We started off the morning bright and early. As you might remember, we had arrived at the Sea of Galilee where we would spend 3 nights.
Our first stop was Tel Hazor. I was still waking up/basking in the glory of having luggage and a new outfit on, that I don't have a lot of info in my head about this first stop.
Known in Joshua's day as "the head of all those kingdoms," the tell of Hazor is today the largest in Israel at 200 acres. At its height in the Canaanite period, the city encompassed the entire tell. Later when it was inhabited by Israelites, the fortified city included only the Upper City.
Some of the most impressive remains from Hazor date to the Middle and Late Bronze Ages when the Canaanites lived in the city. Many structures in the Lower City were cultic structures and included religious figurines or standing stones. Some buildings were lined with basalt orthostats.
Sadly, the only thing I really remember from the stop was a particular conversation we had about something we saw. A statue that was totally not appropriate and shed light on the dark side of a people that loved idols. Their abuse of sex and their love for worshiping sexual gods and stuff was just shocking to me. SHOCKING.
So shocking that I don't remember anything else hahahhahaha. I mean, you hear about it, you read about it in the bible, and then you actually see what they were wanting to worship and HOW and you can see why God as so furious. Then you remember that most of this is still going on in the world. Gal 5........
"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law"
Anyway, needless to say..it was disturbing. We then headed to the Hermon Stream Nature Reserve Banias
The largest of four sources of the Jordan River, the Dan Spring emerges at the base of Mt. Hermon next to Tel Dan. It flows for four miles before joining the second largest source of the Jordan River, the Banias Spring.
It was just beautiful. After spending days in the desert and then seeing trees with big beautiful yellow leaves....it was like a sweet gift! The wind was blowing and it was very cool outside. It was like the perfect fall day but in Jan.
ok....so I have been DYING to share this story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had just arrived at Tel Dan and decide that we should all take a bathroom break before we went on our walk. Now, I had made eye contact with a girl, I believe, earlier that day but did not know her face. I walked into the bathroom and headed straight for the mirror to examine my runny eyes and to see if my makeup was still holding up! ha! There was a girl at the sink that turned to me and said "Do you have a blog".....
HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THE BLOG WORLD! I said yes and we introduced ourselves and hugged! This is Laura above she was sooooooooo darling! I got to meet her husband too! They were traveling with a group from Chicago but live in Texas. Just the sweetest people ever. I linked her blog so just click on her name and go check them out! Such a small world! In fact, when we were in Jerusalem we kept running into their group ha! It made my day!
Here are some pictures from Tel Dan....it was just beautiful!
It was like the enchanted forest! I wish you could have been there. The colors, the fresh cool air...it was amazing
Dan.....Located at the foot of Mt Hermon and the Golan Heights, in the northeastern corner of the Huleh Valley, the Tel Dan Nature Reserve encompasses both a fabulous landscape and the ruins (and partially restored remains) of an ancient Israelite city. Both the city and the rushing river that flows through the Nature Reserve are named for the Israelite tribe of Dan.
The city of Dan was only named so when the Israelite tribe of Dan conquered it: “they called the name of the city Dan after the name of Dan their father (Judges 18:29).”
This is where we stopped, listened to the water in front of us, and read some powerful scriptures!!!
"He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water"....................
Jer 17......
This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
i brought that fig leaf home and dried it! The moments where we just sat and read scripture are probably one of my top trip highlights. Especially when you are sitting there listening/hearing/smelling/seeing trees and streams. I would always get emotional because the words in my bible were just coming off the page!!!
We continue on through the forest and then began to see ruins.... This is the High Place of Jeroboam.....
Nearly all archaeologists agree that this excavated podium (below) was the one that Jeroboam constructed to house the golden calf at Dan. Archaeologists now think the platform was roofed. Evidence of a four-horned altar has been found as well as religious objects such as three iron shovels, a small horned altar, and an iron incense holder.
our view looking into Syria......many battles, over the years, were fought in the valley pictured.
what you can't see in the pic below is that I am standing beside old war ditches and hide-out places from battles.
We continued on our walk and headed to...
The Middle Bronze Gate....
Built about 1800 B.C., this mudbrick gate was in use approximately 50 years before it was covered (and thus preserved) by an earthen rampart. The style of the gate is typical for this period; it is a "Syrian gate" with three pairs of piers and four chambers, like those found at Megiddo, Shechem and Gezer.
Its popular name is Abraham's gate, because Abraham traveled to Dan to rescue his nephew Lot. Genesis 14:14:
"And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan."
On the northern frontier of the kingdom, Dan was particularly well fortified. This gatehouse was built in the ninth century, probably by Ahab, and is part of a series of gateways discovered.
The foreground of this picture is the area of the discovery of the Dan Inscription which mentions the "House of David."
There was a podium for the Ruler at the entrance ....may have been a place for the ruler next to the gate or a place for an idol to be set up. 2 Sam 18:4 "So the king stood beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands." 2 Ki 23:8 "He broke down the shrines at the gates."
ok, so here is where my brain also goes to mush...i can't remember if we went to the waterfalls first or Caesarea Philipi...but remember that it is all in the same nature reserve.
the falls were soooooo beautiful.
Situated 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee and at the base of Mt. Hermon, Caesarea Philippi is the location of one of the largest springs feeding the Jordan River. The city is mentioned in the gospels of Matthew and Mark.
This abundant water supply has made the area very fertile and attractive for religious worship. Numerous temples were built at this city in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
again, we were coming off days in the desert and the sight of water was still breath-taking. I am so thankful that Yoni scheduled it that way. Desert to Water.....the constrast had the same impact on us as when we are feeling like our spritual lives are dry/thristy/barren and then God brings forth Living Water that makes us ALIVE and GRATEFUL!
here is my group as we listen to more scripture!
Then is was LUNCH TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my favorite time of the day hahahaha. They gave us boxed lunched and we enjoyed a picnic outside!
I was so excited to see what they consider a "picnic" lunch. I half expected another felafel but was suprised to see this.........
chicken and potatoes!!!!!!!!!! YUMMMMMMM
The gave us the freshest veggies I have ever had!!! Cucumber below....crunchy and YUMMY
i ate my first Persimmon...sooooo good!
and the highlight of the lunch was the best tomato on the face of this planet.........NO CRAZY chemicals...just real flavor. sweet mercy!
so good that i had to have my picture taken to capture the moment ha!
Then it was time to check this place out.... Caesarea Philippi
Apparently known as Baal Hermon and Baal Gad in the Old Testament period, this site later was named Panias after the Greek god Pan who was worshiped here.
There is no record of Jesus entering the city, but the great confession and the transfiguration both occurred in the vicinity of the city (Matt 16:13), then known as Caesarea Philippi.
A spring emerged from the large cave which became the center of pagan worship. Beginning in the 3rd century B.C., sacrifices were cast into the cave as offerings to the god Pan.
Pan, the half-man half-goat god of fright (thus "panic"), is often depicted playing the flute. This city known as Panias has been corrupted in the Arabic language to its modern name of Banias.
The cult of Pan originated in Arcadia, a pastoral region in Greece. Greek travelers, finding the landscape was like their homeland, established this area of worship to Pan
artistic drawing of what the area might have looked like...
"Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?" And they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ." Mark 8:27-29.
The population was not Jewish, so Jesus could teach the twelve in peace. Here, on a road outside of the city, Jesus asked one of the most profound questions that could ever be posed, "Who do men say that I am?" It is interesting to see where Jesus chose to ask this question, for there are few areas in all of the world with more religious associations than Caesarea Philippi
Adjacent to the sacred cave is a rocky escarpment with a series of hewn niches. We were told that statues of the deity were placed in these niches by depictions of such on coins of the city.
One niche housed a sculpture of Echo, the mountain nymph and Pan’s consort. Another niche housed a statue of Pan’s father, Hermes, son of nymph Maia. Inscriptions in the niches mention those who gave large donations.
Jesus was standing on a road in an area littered with the temples of the Syrian gods, a place where the Greek gods looked down, a place where the most important river in Judaism sprang to life, a place where the white marble splendor of the home of Caesar-worship dominated the landscape. And here, of all places, He stands and asks men who they believe Him to be. Peter boldly answers that He is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). Someone suggested that it is as if Jesus deliberately set Himself against the background of the world's religions in all their splendor and glory and demanded to be compared with them.
group taking a rest and learning all about the area... interesting conversations.
After leaning so much about Caesarea Philippi (including the great confession at Caesarea Philippi...followed by the great hour on the Mount of Transfiguration)...we head for our last stop of the day. And might I add....the best stop of the day!!!!!
"Castle of the Large Cliff".....is a medieval fortress situated in the northern Golan Heights, on a ridge rising about 2600 feet above sea level.
The fortress was built around 1229 by Al-Aziz Uthman, nephew of Saladin and younger son of Al-Adil I, to pre-empt any attempt on Damascus by the Sixth Crusade.
The Jews called it Nimrod Fortress after Nimrod, a biblical figure who according to tradition had lived on the summit: "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord" (Genesis 10:8-9)
it contains "secret corridors" — winding staircases and underground water cisterns with some of the original plaster still visible...
There are many examples of "loopholes" in the fortress —special windows that are narrow on the outside but wide on the inside. They were designed specifically for shooting bows and arrows or crossbows, giving the defender inside the fortress plenty of room but the attacker only a narrow slit as a target.
as you can see in the above picture...we were up really high and it was REALLY COLD!!!!
But what made the awesome fortress so fun was the fact that ALL THE GUYS got soooooo excited to run around and pretend like they were at battle! ha! they were all over the place like little boys. I just loved it!!! Below is the little entrance.....
one of the secret passage ways to narrow rooms.....
that had the small slits to shoot arrows out of...
it was in great condition!!!! and we just had the best time discovering everything. We were also the only ones there ha
hahahha ok this picture makes me laugh because Jason is standing and looking at one of the "bathroom holes" but when he turned to look at us it made it look like he was going to the bathroom! ha! gross i know but it was so funny.
look at this view!!!!!!!!!!!!
Damascus....
climbing down to see the water cistern....
and this is what we saw......
pretty amazing!
We played and played! Then it was time to head back and eat dinner. Here are two pictures of Nimrod as we drove away.
What i thought was so interesting is that they actually have a ski resort in Israel. We drove right by it and Yoni said the skiing is pretty good!!!!! that was so shocking!
I have so much to share. I look back at this year of blogging (since August) and think "wow Lord, I feel like you haven't let me write this year" and I also feel like He hasn't been using me very much. So much of my life is up in the air + lack of fellowship feelings + the frustration of my electronics not working = one big mess.
BUT.......and there is always a but......I spent time in Arkansas last week (which was soooo amazing) and returned home with a game plan and a mile long list of the things I needed to do "just in case" my life takes a sudden turn. And that is what I have been doing all week. I have never been more organized in my entire life. Not only is God giving me super-natural energy to work extra hard but my time with Him has been deeper and so much more intimate. All things that are just filling up my love tank.
He gave me Ps 73:26 the other day. "My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever."..............except I woke up that morning and Father said...
"Caroline, your health may fail, your spirit may grow weak, but I AM the strength of your heart, I AM yours and you are mine forever."
AMEN, AMEN. I can't explain my feelings that morning, except to say that it was like receiving the most amazing love letter. You read it and feel like a million trillion bucks!
I have much more to say and will blog about that soon. Now, lets pick back up with Day 6 hahahahahhaha...and yes I know it's march and I'm STILL writing about my trip. Forgive me. Enjoy the day..... it will be shorter on info and more pictures...
This was also the day my parents celebrated 5 healthy years since the kidney transplant!
We started off the morning bright and early. As you might remember, we had arrived at the Sea of Galilee where we would spend 3 nights.
Our first stop was Tel Hazor. I was still waking up/basking in the glory of having luggage and a new outfit on, that I don't have a lot of info in my head about this first stop.
Known in Joshua's day as "the head of all those kingdoms," the tell of Hazor is today the largest in Israel at 200 acres. At its height in the Canaanite period, the city encompassed the entire tell. Later when it was inhabited by Israelites, the fortified city included only the Upper City.
Some of the most impressive remains from Hazor date to the Middle and Late Bronze Ages when the Canaanites lived in the city. Many structures in the Lower City were cultic structures and included religious figurines or standing stones. Some buildings were lined with basalt orthostats.
Sadly, the only thing I really remember from the stop was a particular conversation we had about something we saw. A statue that was totally not appropriate and shed light on the dark side of a people that loved idols. Their abuse of sex and their love for worshiping sexual gods and stuff was just shocking to me. SHOCKING.
So shocking that I don't remember anything else hahahhahaha. I mean, you hear about it, you read about it in the bible, and then you actually see what they were wanting to worship and HOW and you can see why God as so furious. Then you remember that most of this is still going on in the world. Gal 5........
"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law"
Anyway, needless to say..it was disturbing. We then headed to the Hermon Stream Nature Reserve Banias
The largest of four sources of the Jordan River, the Dan Spring emerges at the base of Mt. Hermon next to Tel Dan. It flows for four miles before joining the second largest source of the Jordan River, the Banias Spring.
It was just beautiful. After spending days in the desert and then seeing trees with big beautiful yellow leaves....it was like a sweet gift! The wind was blowing and it was very cool outside. It was like the perfect fall day but in Jan.
ok....so I have been DYING to share this story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had just arrived at Tel Dan and decide that we should all take a bathroom break before we went on our walk. Now, I had made eye contact with a girl, I believe, earlier that day but did not know her face. I walked into the bathroom and headed straight for the mirror to examine my runny eyes and to see if my makeup was still holding up! ha! There was a girl at the sink that turned to me and said "Do you have a blog".....
HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THE BLOG WORLD! I said yes and we introduced ourselves and hugged! This is Laura above she was sooooooooo darling! I got to meet her husband too! They were traveling with a group from Chicago but live in Texas. Just the sweetest people ever. I linked her blog so just click on her name and go check them out! Such a small world! In fact, when we were in Jerusalem we kept running into their group ha! It made my day!
Here are some pictures from Tel Dan....it was just beautiful!
It was like the enchanted forest! I wish you could have been there. The colors, the fresh cool air...it was amazing
Dan.....Located at the foot of Mt Hermon and the Golan Heights, in the northeastern corner of the Huleh Valley, the Tel Dan Nature Reserve encompasses both a fabulous landscape and the ruins (and partially restored remains) of an ancient Israelite city. Both the city and the rushing river that flows through the Nature Reserve are named for the Israelite tribe of Dan.
The city of Dan was only named so when the Israelite tribe of Dan conquered it: “they called the name of the city Dan after the name of Dan their father (Judges 18:29).”
This is where we stopped, listened to the water in front of us, and read some powerful scriptures!!!
"He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water"....................
Jer 17......
This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
i brought that fig leaf home and dried it! The moments where we just sat and read scripture are probably one of my top trip highlights. Especially when you are sitting there listening/hearing/smelling/seeing trees and streams. I would always get emotional because the words in my bible were just coming off the page!!!
We continue on through the forest and then began to see ruins.... This is the High Place of Jeroboam.....
Nearly all archaeologists agree that this excavated podium (below) was the one that Jeroboam constructed to house the golden calf at Dan. Archaeologists now think the platform was roofed. Evidence of a four-horned altar has been found as well as religious objects such as three iron shovels, a small horned altar, and an iron incense holder.
our view looking into Syria......many battles, over the years, were fought in the valley pictured.
what you can't see in the pic below is that I am standing beside old war ditches and hide-out places from battles.
We continued on our walk and headed to...
The Middle Bronze Gate....
Built about 1800 B.C., this mudbrick gate was in use approximately 50 years before it was covered (and thus preserved) by an earthen rampart. The style of the gate is typical for this period; it is a "Syrian gate" with three pairs of piers and four chambers, like those found at Megiddo, Shechem and Gezer.
Its popular name is Abraham's gate, because Abraham traveled to Dan to rescue his nephew Lot. Genesis 14:14:
"And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan."
On the northern frontier of the kingdom, Dan was particularly well fortified. This gatehouse was built in the ninth century, probably by Ahab, and is part of a series of gateways discovered.
The foreground of this picture is the area of the discovery of the Dan Inscription which mentions the "House of David."
There was a podium for the Ruler at the entrance ....may have been a place for the ruler next to the gate or a place for an idol to be set up. 2 Sam 18:4 "So the king stood beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands." 2 Ki 23:8 "He broke down the shrines at the gates."
ok, so here is where my brain also goes to mush...i can't remember if we went to the waterfalls first or Caesarea Philipi...but remember that it is all in the same nature reserve.
the falls were soooooo beautiful.
Situated 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee and at the base of Mt. Hermon, Caesarea Philippi is the location of one of the largest springs feeding the Jordan River. The city is mentioned in the gospels of Matthew and Mark.
This abundant water supply has made the area very fertile and attractive for religious worship. Numerous temples were built at this city in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
again, we were coming off days in the desert and the sight of water was still breath-taking. I am so thankful that Yoni scheduled it that way. Desert to Water.....the constrast had the same impact on us as when we are feeling like our spritual lives are dry/thristy/barren and then God brings forth Living Water that makes us ALIVE and GRATEFUL!
here is my group as we listen to more scripture!
Then is was LUNCH TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my favorite time of the day hahahaha. They gave us boxed lunched and we enjoyed a picnic outside!
I was so excited to see what they consider a "picnic" lunch. I half expected another felafel but was suprised to see this.........
chicken and potatoes!!!!!!!!!! YUMMMMMMM
The gave us the freshest veggies I have ever had!!! Cucumber below....crunchy and YUMMY
i ate my first Persimmon...sooooo good!
and the highlight of the lunch was the best tomato on the face of this planet.........NO CRAZY chemicals...just real flavor. sweet mercy!
so good that i had to have my picture taken to capture the moment ha!
Then it was time to check this place out.... Caesarea Philippi
Apparently known as Baal Hermon and Baal Gad in the Old Testament period, this site later was named Panias after the Greek god Pan who was worshiped here.
There is no record of Jesus entering the city, but the great confession and the transfiguration both occurred in the vicinity of the city (Matt 16:13), then known as Caesarea Philippi.
A spring emerged from the large cave which became the center of pagan worship. Beginning in the 3rd century B.C., sacrifices were cast into the cave as offerings to the god Pan.
Pan, the half-man half-goat god of fright (thus "panic"), is often depicted playing the flute. This city known as Panias has been corrupted in the Arabic language to its modern name of Banias.
The cult of Pan originated in Arcadia, a pastoral region in Greece. Greek travelers, finding the landscape was like their homeland, established this area of worship to Pan
artistic drawing of what the area might have looked like...
"Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?" And they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ." Mark 8:27-29.
The population was not Jewish, so Jesus could teach the twelve in peace. Here, on a road outside of the city, Jesus asked one of the most profound questions that could ever be posed, "Who do men say that I am?" It is interesting to see where Jesus chose to ask this question, for there are few areas in all of the world with more religious associations than Caesarea Philippi
Adjacent to the sacred cave is a rocky escarpment with a series of hewn niches. We were told that statues of the deity were placed in these niches by depictions of such on coins of the city.
One niche housed a sculpture of Echo, the mountain nymph and Pan’s consort. Another niche housed a statue of Pan’s father, Hermes, son of nymph Maia. Inscriptions in the niches mention those who gave large donations.
Jesus was standing on a road in an area littered with the temples of the Syrian gods, a place where the Greek gods looked down, a place where the most important river in Judaism sprang to life, a place where the white marble splendor of the home of Caesar-worship dominated the landscape. And here, of all places, He stands and asks men who they believe Him to be. Peter boldly answers that He is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). Someone suggested that it is as if Jesus deliberately set Himself against the background of the world's religions in all their splendor and glory and demanded to be compared with them.
group taking a rest and learning all about the area... interesting conversations.
After leaning so much about Caesarea Philippi (including the great confession at Caesarea Philippi...followed by the great hour on the Mount of Transfiguration)...we head for our last stop of the day. And might I add....the best stop of the day!!!!!
"Castle of the Large Cliff".....is a medieval fortress situated in the northern Golan Heights, on a ridge rising about 2600 feet above sea level.
The fortress was built around 1229 by Al-Aziz Uthman, nephew of Saladin and younger son of Al-Adil I, to pre-empt any attempt on Damascus by the Sixth Crusade.
The Jews called it Nimrod Fortress after Nimrod, a biblical figure who according to tradition had lived on the summit: "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord" (Genesis 10:8-9)
it contains "secret corridors" — winding staircases and underground water cisterns with some of the original plaster still visible...
There are many examples of "loopholes" in the fortress —special windows that are narrow on the outside but wide on the inside. They were designed specifically for shooting bows and arrows or crossbows, giving the defender inside the fortress plenty of room but the attacker only a narrow slit as a target.
as you can see in the above picture...we were up really high and it was REALLY COLD!!!!
But what made the awesome fortress so fun was the fact that ALL THE GUYS got soooooo excited to run around and pretend like they were at battle! ha! they were all over the place like little boys. I just loved it!!! Below is the little entrance.....
one of the secret passage ways to narrow rooms.....
that had the small slits to shoot arrows out of...
it was in great condition!!!! and we just had the best time discovering everything. We were also the only ones there ha
hahahha ok this picture makes me laugh because Jason is standing and looking at one of the "bathroom holes" but when he turned to look at us it made it look like he was going to the bathroom! ha! gross i know but it was so funny.
look at this view!!!!!!!!!!!!
Damascus....
climbing down to see the water cistern....
and this is what we saw......
pretty amazing!
We played and played! Then it was time to head back and eat dinner. Here are two pictures of Nimrod as we drove away.
What i thought was so interesting is that they actually have a ski resort in Israel. We drove right by it and Yoni said the skiing is pretty good!!!!! that was so shocking!
and that is the end of that day! My next trip post is all about the Sea of Galilee and getting to take a boat ride on it. (you have already seen the video of me performing ha). I can't wait to share!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I am heading out to clean windows and finish some flower planting. I love spring! My soul wakes up and the sun just lightens my spirit! I love you. I am so sorry that I haven't been able to blog more. In the past it hasn't bothered me but lately I want to blog and share and it just have been one battle after another. I have hoping that is all coming to an end.
Talk with you soon! love you!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I am heading out to clean windows and finish some flower planting. I love spring! My soul wakes up and the sun just lightens my spirit! I love you. I am so sorry that I haven't been able to blog more. In the past it hasn't bothered me but lately I want to blog and share and it just have been one battle after another. I have hoping that is all coming to an end.
Talk with you soon! love you!