Petra Rocks!
Sorry for the nerdy pun, but it was just too good to pass up! So, hello from Petra, in the land of Jordan.
The things I've seen so far are just too amazing to describe--I've taken nearly 500 pictures so far, and have been journaling like crazy to try and document it all, because I know there's NO way I'll be able to remember it! Here are some of the highlights of our trip as my tired little brain can remember.
Tuesday
We left Tel Aviv and went to the city of Caesarea-it's a roman town where Paul sailed from when he was sent to Rome. (Acts 8:10, 9:30. 18:22, and 21:8-16)
It's been really interesting because this week is the celebration of pentecost in israel, and also the feast of the harvest, so that means that we've had an extra sabbath this week.
Then we went to Mount Carmel where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a spiritual "duel" (1 Kings 17 (i think))
Next to the city of Mediggio. This city has been conquered and rebuilt 25 times at least throughout history. The new people would just rebuild right on top of the old ruins, so it's like sedimentary rock of civilization. This is also the referenced location of the future battle of Armageddon(see the similarity in the name?) that John talks about in Revelation 16.
Then we drove to the roman city of Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee where we stayed for 3 days.
Galilee is this whole hilly northern region of Israel--kinda like referring to the hill country of Texas. There were many little Jewish villages that we visited.
Wednesday
Capernaum--where Jesus did a lot of miracles (healing of Peter's mother in law (Mark 1:21-24), healed the Centurion (Matthew 8:5-13), and where the paralyzed man was lowered through the roof (Matthew 9:1-8)). There were more recorded miracles here than any other place in the Gospels.
Bethsaida --a little bitty village where Jesus healed a blind man (Luke 9:10) and others in the streets.
We drove through the Golan Height up along the borders of Syria and Lebanon. Much of this part of Israel looks like a combination of California and Spain. There's amazing vegetation--lots of olive trees, mangoes, watermelon, cherries, wheat. Plus cows and bees which of course give us a land of milk and honey!
We then went to Caesarea Phillipi. This is where Peter first said that Jesus was the Christ, the son of God. That in itself is huge, but what became so clear to me is that this area was thought to be literally the home of Satan. The cave there was thought to be where Beelzebub lived, so for Jesus to bring his disciples here to make that statement was really a big deal. (Matt 16:13-20)
Next on to the Sea of Galilee for a boat ride across the lake. This was the lake where Jesus calmed the storm and walked on water. (I have a GREAT "reenactment" picture of this miracle!) It was so beautiful out there!
Finally, we went to a small mountain/hill that was like the one where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount ( Matthew 4-6)
Thursday
Tabgdha--where the feeding of the 5,000 (not the feeding of the 4,000--that was somewhere else) could have happened.
We drove through Cana, where Jesus turned the water into wine, then went on to explore the ruin of a Roman army camp called Zippori just outside of Nazareth.
In Nazareth, we went to the Nazareth Village--a place that could have been cheesy, but actually painted a wonderful picture of what Jewish life might have been like in those days. We learned about making olive oil, pressing grapes into wine, threshing wheat, tending sheep, weaving cloth, working with tools, life in the synagogue.
Then we drove to Mt Tabor--mentioned in the Psalms, but most known for being the mountain where Jesus' face was transfigured while in conversation with Moses and Elijah. (Matthew 17) God blessed him with the "this is my son whom I love" quote, which was also said at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan river.
The actual place of his baptism is not accessible these days, but we were still able to gather on the banks of the Jordan to pray.
Friday
Left Galilee and Israel to drive to Jordan. Crossed the border, and entered the land of the Old Testament. We passed Elijah's hometown (Arabid), and the place where Joshua brought the Israelites into the promised land.
Then on to the ancient Roman town of Jerash. This city was one of the ten cities of the decapolis that Jesus mentioned (Mark 5:1-20). It was absolutely amazing to see. Imagine the ruins of ancient Rome times 50 and preserved much better! So unbelievable!
Then we drove through the Jabbok valley (where Jacob returned to meet Esau after wrestling with the angel--Genesis 32) to Mount Nebo, where Moses went to view the promised land (he couldn't enter it, though). From there, we could see the Dead Sea.
We stopped in Madaga to see an ancient mosaic map of the holy land from 600 a.d. and then drove on to Petra.
Saturday
We spent today exploring the rock-carved city of Petra. These were the people that Obadiah was sent to prophesy to in the OT. The city is absolutely amazing--it's completely carved into a deep canyon made of beautiful red sandstone. It's also famous for being the scene in the Indiana Jones movie where Indy runs away from the giant rolling ball through the canyon.
If you're still reading--then way to go! It's been a non-stop adventure so far, so this long list is really the short version! We've been so busy experiencing that there hasn't been time for e-mail, so thanks for reading.
I'm learning so much and absolutely love having seen these places that I've read about. The Bible is coming to life more and more with each place. But we've talked about how even without being here, we're still able to have a personal relationship with Jesus every day, in any place in the world. I am truly so blessed to walk in his grace.
A few side notes:
The people on the trip are wonderful! I'm having a great time with the folks I already knew, and have made some very special new friends.
We've had our breakfast and dinner included each day, so there's been lots of bread, hummus,cheese, hummus, olives, hummus, kebab, hummus, tomatoes, and, well you get the picture. Great Mediterranean food!
The scripture references that I gave are the ones from my notes and I haven't had time to read all of them so far.
We leave tomorrow to go to the Dead Sea, then on to Jerusalem. Hopefully more then! Thanks for the prayers!
The things I've seen so far are just too amazing to describe--I've taken nearly 500 pictures so far, and have been journaling like crazy to try and document it all, because I know there's NO way I'll be able to remember it! Here are some of the highlights of our trip as my tired little brain can remember.
Tuesday
We left Tel Aviv and went to the city of Caesarea-it's a roman town where Paul sailed from when he was sent to Rome. (Acts 8:10, 9:30. 18:22, and 21:8-16)
It's been really interesting because this week is the celebration of pentecost in israel, and also the feast of the harvest, so that means that we've had an extra sabbath this week.
Then we went to Mount Carmel where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a spiritual "duel" (1 Kings 17 (i think))
Next to the city of Mediggio. This city has been conquered and rebuilt 25 times at least throughout history. The new people would just rebuild right on top of the old ruins, so it's like sedimentary rock of civilization. This is also the referenced location of the future battle of Armageddon(see the similarity in the name?) that John talks about in Revelation 16.
Then we drove to the roman city of Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee where we stayed for 3 days.
Galilee is this whole hilly northern region of Israel--kinda like referring to the hill country of Texas. There were many little Jewish villages that we visited.
Wednesday
Capernaum--where Jesus did a lot of miracles (healing of Peter's mother in law (Mark 1:21-24), healed the Centurion (Matthew 8:5-13), and where the paralyzed man was lowered through the roof (Matthew 9:1-8)). There were more recorded miracles here than any other place in the Gospels.
Bethsaida --a little bitty village where Jesus healed a blind man (Luke 9:10) and others in the streets.
We drove through the Golan Height up along the borders of Syria and Lebanon. Much of this part of Israel looks like a combination of California and Spain. There's amazing vegetation--lots of olive trees, mangoes, watermelon, cherries, wheat. Plus cows and bees which of course give us a land of milk and honey!
We then went to Caesarea Phillipi. This is where Peter first said that Jesus was the Christ, the son of God. That in itself is huge, but what became so clear to me is that this area was thought to be literally the home of Satan. The cave there was thought to be where Beelzebub lived, so for Jesus to bring his disciples here to make that statement was really a big deal. (Matt 16:13-20)
Next on to the Sea of Galilee for a boat ride across the lake. This was the lake where Jesus calmed the storm and walked on water. (I have a GREAT "reenactment" picture of this miracle!) It was so beautiful out there!
Finally, we went to a small mountain/hill that was like the one where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount ( Matthew 4-6)
Thursday
Tabgdha--where the feeding of the 5,000 (not the feeding of the 4,000--that was somewhere else) could have happened.
We drove through Cana, where Jesus turned the water into wine, then went on to explore the ruin of a Roman army camp called Zippori just outside of Nazareth.
In Nazareth, we went to the Nazareth Village--a place that could have been cheesy, but actually painted a wonderful picture of what Jewish life might have been like in those days. We learned about making olive oil, pressing grapes into wine, threshing wheat, tending sheep, weaving cloth, working with tools, life in the synagogue.
Then we drove to Mt Tabor--mentioned in the Psalms, but most known for being the mountain where Jesus' face was transfigured while in conversation with Moses and Elijah. (Matthew 17) God blessed him with the "this is my son whom I love" quote, which was also said at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan river.
The actual place of his baptism is not accessible these days, but we were still able to gather on the banks of the Jordan to pray.
Friday
Left Galilee and Israel to drive to Jordan. Crossed the border, and entered the land of the Old Testament. We passed Elijah's hometown (Arabid), and the place where Joshua brought the Israelites into the promised land.
Then on to the ancient Roman town of Jerash. This city was one of the ten cities of the decapolis that Jesus mentioned (Mark 5:1-20). It was absolutely amazing to see. Imagine the ruins of ancient Rome times 50 and preserved much better! So unbelievable!
Then we drove through the Jabbok valley (where Jacob returned to meet Esau after wrestling with the angel--Genesis 32) to Mount Nebo, where Moses went to view the promised land (he couldn't enter it, though). From there, we could see the Dead Sea.
We stopped in Madaga to see an ancient mosaic map of the holy land from 600 a.d. and then drove on to Petra.
Saturday
We spent today exploring the rock-carved city of Petra. These were the people that Obadiah was sent to prophesy to in the OT. The city is absolutely amazing--it's completely carved into a deep canyon made of beautiful red sandstone. It's also famous for being the scene in the Indiana Jones movie where Indy runs away from the giant rolling ball through the canyon.
If you're still reading--then way to go! It's been a non-stop adventure so far, so this long list is really the short version! We've been so busy experiencing that there hasn't been time for e-mail, so thanks for reading.
I'm learning so much and absolutely love having seen these places that I've read about. The Bible is coming to life more and more with each place. But we've talked about how even without being here, we're still able to have a personal relationship with Jesus every day, in any place in the world. I am truly so blessed to walk in his grace.
A few side notes:
The people on the trip are wonderful! I'm having a great time with the folks I already knew, and have made some very special new friends.
We've had our breakfast and dinner included each day, so there's been lots of bread, hummus,cheese, hummus, olives, hummus, kebab, hummus, tomatoes, and, well you get the picture. Great Mediterranean food!
The scripture references that I gave are the ones from my notes and I haven't had time to read all of them so far.
We leave tomorrow to go to the Dead Sea, then on to Jerusalem. Hopefully more then! Thanks for the prayers!
Labels: Travel
posted by Katie at 10:26 AM
2 Comments:
Absolutely amazing that you are getting to see so much!! I'm sure the Bible is coming "alive" for you as it did for us traveling in Rome and in Troas. Stay safe!! Can't wait to see all the pictures and to hear the longer version! Love, Mom & Gary
Katie, thanks so much for sharing! This is so incredible to read about! May God continue to bless your trip richly and with safety! Kelly
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