The Holy Land: Part 5 - Bethlehem to Jaffa!

Our trip was so jam-packed full of sites to see and places to go that I didn't realize just how many places we actually visited until I started writing up and trying to organize pictures to post on this blog! This being the fifth post on my same trip, I have tried to compact a bunch of places into one entry to save you all from the seemingly never-ending posts! So this one will include: Bethlehem, Mount Tabor, Bethany, Acre, Haifa, Jaffa and Tel Aviv. Let's start with Bethlehem....

Bethlehem was again a lot different than the Bethlehem I had pictured in my head! LOL Much more built up and populated!

Bethlehem

First stop........the Church of the Nativity!


With all the conquering and pillaging of this area going on by the Persians, this church was fortunately saved all thanks to a mosaic that used to be outside on the top of the front wall! Back in the time when the Persians were conquering this land, they destroyed everything that wasn't theirs or of their religion. Hence all the churches not being originals! However, there happened to be a mosaic of the Three Kings (The Magi) on the top part of the front wall of this particular church. Because the Magi were Persian and were wearing Persian clothing in the mosaic, the Persians saw the mosaic and left this particular church alone thinking it was some sort of building to honor them! Little did they know.....it happened to be protecting the birthplace of Christ! I thought that was pretty cool, not to mention humorous! :)

This is inside the grotto (cave) where Christ was born. It was PACKED with people and very hot down in here. If you look closely, you can see a lady bending down....that is the supposed actual birthplace of Christ on that rock slab. All of these people were waiting to crawl into that little hovel and kiss the rock......I couldn't get any close-up pictures of it without someone's backside blocking the shot!

Onto the Shepherd's Field!!! This hilltop is where the shepherds were when "the angel of the Lord came down and glory shone all around them and they were sore afraid." (Luke 2:8-20)

This is the small chapel that was built to protect the cave that has been used for thousands of years by shepherds.....

Inside the cave......this was actually pretty cool because it was very evident that it had been used for MANY years as a home.......that's why the rock above our heads is so blackened, from all the fires made in this old cave.

A view of modern-day Bethlehem from the Shepherd's Field!

Moses explained to us how the Crusaders took their cross symbol from the poppy......when you look in the center of a poppy, there is a black cross......they took that and using the red of the poppy, made a red cross their official symbol. :)

MOUNT TABOR

This is the Basilica of the Transfiguration, where Jesus was transfigured into heaven with Moses and Elijah at His side......on the top of Mount Tabor! (Matthew 17:2-5)

Inside the church...

The architecture was really neat inside!

Mount Tabor overlooks the Jezreel Valley where the 'epic' battle between the Caananites and Israelites took place when the rain poured down and the Caananites' chariots got stuck in the mud.

The Jezreel Valley........you can see the duststorm blowing in and making everything all hazy.

Further west up the valley, is the hilltop - Mt. Carmel - where the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal took place. God showed His awesome power when Elijah called down fire from heaven and God burnt up EVERYTHING surrounding the water-soaked altar! (I Kings 18:16-39)

This would be the famous hill of the awesome showdown! :)

Onto BETHANY.........the hometown of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha!

Down, down, down the 24 narrow and steep, slippery steps..........it was really hot and humid down here, not to mention extremely narrow and tight! Good thing I'm not claustrophobic at all!

At the bottom of the steps is the entrance to the tomb. You have to enter it crouching very low and going in backwards as the entrance is very small and very low to the ground. It was actually really cool! :)

Me coming out of the tomb! :)

The Church of Lazarus

Next stop.......ACRE or AKKO.......the Subterranean Crusader City. This place was really neat because a lot of it was well-preserved. It has many underground halls and rooms with beautiful stone arches.

The entrance.

Part of the Dungeon

The soldiers' toilets......

Onto HAIFA.........which happens to be only 40 kms south of the Lebanon border!

My first glimpse of the beautiful Mediterranean Sea! :)

Overlooking Haifa!

This is a pic of the Bahai Gardens.....they were BEAUTIFUL!!!! So green and pretty! :)

A close up shot of one of the port docks.

Another shot of Haifa and the seaside.......so pretty, eh? :)

From Haifa, we drove along the coast for a very brief stop in CAESAREA to see the remains of the ancient Roman aqueduct Herod built over 2,000 years ago. Boy was this thing built well with limestone blocks! Much of it still stands as it did a couple thousand years ago.

Parts of it are nearly buried beneath years and years of sand.

Us exploring the aqueduct!

From Caesarea, we continued driving up the coast to the ancient port city of JAFFA. It's referred to as Joppa in some Bible translations, but is where Jonah boarded the boat that later threw him into the sea before he was swallowed by a whale! (Jonah 1:3)

The entrance to the old ancient section of Jaffa.... parts of it have been around for 4,000 years!

Very narrow streets........with lots of steps!

The house of Simon the Tanner....where Peter stayed when he came to town and raised Tabitha from the dead. (Acts 9:36-43)

People still live in the old section....thought this was a pretty shot with all the blue. :)

A random mosque by the sea in Jaffa.

TEL AVIV.....we drove through the city and only stopped to snap a couple quick pictures on our way through, so here they are! :)

Tel Aviv

Lots of waves along the shores of Tel Aviv this day!

Last post coming soon!!!! I know, I know.......it's taking me forever! Gotta love the last weeks of the school year and all the craziness that goes with them. :)