This was a very different day for me personally. We drove around the southern point of the Sea of Galilee (by the way the Israelis don’t refer to it as the Sea of Galilee any more) and drove along the border of Jordan & Syria for a good part of the day. As you know, Israel doesn’t have the best of relations with most of her bordering countries and even though any where around the Sea of Galilee is pretty close to the border…it was different being able to take pictures of these other countries! Israel has a peace agreement signed with Jordan, so it’s pretty quite with them. Syria and Lebanon are the two that give them the most trouble. Jacob said that Syria has been just letting Lebanon do the dirty work and they just support them. Sounds like the last “major” conflict was 3 yrs. ago when Lebanon started firing into Israel, nothing of late going on…so don’t worry! As we drove up this mountain by the fence that borders Jordan, we passed a military truck that was sweeping the shoulder. Jacob said they do that so they can watch for foot prints of anyone coming over the border. Most of this day was spent learning some history of Israel and the surrounding countries and why Israel needs the support of the US. I won’t get political on here, but it’s been fascinating to hear.
We stopped in at an Olive Oil factory. They let us sample different olive oils and explained how they were made. They also make lots of different skin products, so we all tried those until we were so greasy we had to stop. I think they had about 10 different things for us to sample!
The Golan Heights used to belong to Syria, but after the Six Day War, Israel pushed Syria back about 20 miles from the Sea of Galilee, which has made it easier for them to protect themselves. The Syria border did go within just a few yards of the sea’s edge. We drove all the way north of Israel to the mountains between them and Syria & Lebanon. Then back south toward Caesarea Phillipi. On the way, Jacob showed us some settlements were Druze’s lived. Most of us had never heard of this group of people. They originally came from Egypt, but didn’t agree with Islam, so they separated from them and moved to the high hills of several different countries. They can only have one wife. They must marry another Druze or leave. Their scriptures are not written so it’s very secretive as to what they believe and worship. A person can not be converted into the Druze, but must be born into it.
Then we arrived at Caesarea Phillipi, which was the furthest north of Jesus ministry. It’s where Jesus asked the disciples “Who do people say I am?” It’s also the best guess where the transfiguration happened. It’s a beautiful area, with a creek running through, coming from the melted snow. It’s been very hot this week, so any chance to sit and put your feet in the water is a nice relief! So I did! Next we drove south to Hebron waterfall and took a nice hike down to the falls. Also a nice cool break! Then back to Tiberius for our last night here.
We stopped in at an Olive Oil factory. They let us sample different olive oils and explained how they were made. They also make lots of different skin products, so we all tried those until we were so greasy we had to stop. I think they had about 10 different things for us to sample!
The Golan Heights used to belong to Syria, but after the Six Day War, Israel pushed Syria back about 20 miles from the Sea of Galilee, which has made it easier for them to protect themselves. The Syria border did go within just a few yards of the sea’s edge. We drove all the way north of Israel to the mountains between them and Syria & Lebanon. Then back south toward Caesarea Phillipi. On the way, Jacob showed us some settlements were Druze’s lived. Most of us had never heard of this group of people. They originally came from Egypt, but didn’t agree with Islam, so they separated from them and moved to the high hills of several different countries. They can only have one wife. They must marry another Druze or leave. Their scriptures are not written so it’s very secretive as to what they believe and worship. A person can not be converted into the Druze, but must be born into it.
Then we arrived at Caesarea Phillipi, which was the furthest north of Jesus ministry. It’s where Jesus asked the disciples “Who do people say I am?” It’s also the best guess where the transfiguration happened. It’s a beautiful area, with a creek running through, coming from the melted snow. It’s been very hot this week, so any chance to sit and put your feet in the water is a nice relief! So I did! Next we drove south to Hebron waterfall and took a nice hike down to the falls. Also a nice cool break! Then back to Tiberius for our last night here.
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