Let me share with you the history behind my trip of a lifetime to the country of Israel. That trip has been on my “Bucket List” for a very long time. So, when my pastor planned a trip to Israel, I jumped at it. I have been a member of Crestview Baptist Church my whole life. Having grown up at Crestview, I knew most of the twenty-one people in the group. In preparation for the trip, we all met at the DFW airport and flew out from there. We landed in Istanbul, Turkey, and then continued to Tel Aviv, Israel. We drove from there to Nazareth, which was the first leg of our phenomenal trip.
Meeting up in Dallas was like a homecoming. Apparently, I was the last to make it to the airport at the appointed time (I was on time). The airport in Istanbul was our first layover. It was phenomenal and almost indescribable, with marble floors, high ceilings that let in sunlight! I understand that it is one of the top ten airports in the world and is considered one of the safest. It is massive.
There were familiar fast-food restaurants and stores all over the airport. From the time we landed in Istanbul and deplaned, it took us 40 minutes to fast walk from our arrival gate to our departure gate. The airport was like the biggest mall I have ever been to. There was even a McDonald’s and an Arby’s, along with many other familiar shopping places.
From Istanbul, we had a short flight to Tel Aviv, Israel. After landing in Tel Aviv. We deplaned and were greeted by the owner of the Touring company (he helped plan the initial itinerary). We were fast-tracked through customs, and there were no issues with customs for any of our group. No one lost luggage, etc. From the time our group arrived in Israel, everyone, and I do mean everyone, could not have been nicer to us.
When we then took a bus ride to Nazareth, where we would be staying, it was dark, so we could only imagine what the countryside looked like, but as we entered the city, the first thing I noticed was the golden arches and a shopping mall. I thought, I’m saved (NOT). The food on the plane left something to be desired; I am not one for hummus, chickpea, or pickled vegetables. Luckily, I had taken beef jerky and peanut butter crackers to get by.
HISTORY
I hope that after reading my pages on my trip to Israel and the things I learned and experienced, your mind will be as blown as mine was. I will take you to each city and landmark we visited and share some of the countless Biblical facts and trivia that I discovered while in Israel.
Preparing for this trip involved far more than simply packing a suitcase. I took each city listed on our itinerary and learned everything I could about its history and the events that took place there. My preparation also included years of studying Scripture. During my adult life, I have read through the Bible seven times, and each reading experience has been different.
For many years, I struggled to read the Bible from beginning to end. Every attempt seemed to stall in either Numbers or Judges, and I would eventually put it away and try again a year or two later. Then one day, while listening to a podcast, I heard a suggestion to change the reading approach if the traditional method was not working. That advice changed everything. The first time I completed the Bible, I read the New Testament first, followed by the Old Testament. In later readings, I explored different methods, including reading the books chronologically and even alphabetically. An interesting discovery from reading alphabetically is that Revelation is not the final book.
As I prepared for Israel, I spent months studying the locations we would visit, yet nothing could truly prepare me for experiencing them in person. Israel holds such an immense depth of history that it almost feels impossible to absorb it all. Each day, I truly felt overwhelmed by all the information we were given.
Each day we traveled from sunup to dusk, I felt overwhelmed trying to process everything I was seeing and learning. Once we began touring, it became deeply real to me that Jesus physically walked this land during the first century CE. I also became more aware of the many civilizations that occupied and shaped the region throughout history, including the Roman Empire, which ruled Judea from the first through the third centuries CE, followed by the Byzantine Empire from 324 to 636 CE, and later various Islamic Caliphates beginning in 636 CE.
After the fall of the Byzantine control, several major Islamic Caliphates ruled over the area we now call Palestine and Israel. Their timeline is the Rashidun Caliphate, which ruled from 632 to 661( Muhammad had died, and they took over Israel). In 636 CE, Muslim armies conquered Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem was sacred to Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Under Umar Ibn al-Khattab, Jerusalem reportedly ensured protection for Christian holy sites. We also found that if it was an important historical site, there was a church or temple built over it.
From 661-750 CE, The Capital was moved to Damascus. During the Umayyad Caliphate’s rule, this was the time that most of Jerusalem’s most famous Islamic landmarks, including the Dome of the Rock, were built. From 750-1258 CE, the Capital was then moved to Baghdad. The Holy Land was still under their control, but was gradually distributed to local governors. This was considered the Golden Age of Islamic culture, art, and science.
Later, other Islamic dynasties, for instance, the Fatimids, Ottomans, and Seljuks, assumed control at different times in history, but all were descendants in some way from the Caliphate structures. The Crusader period was 1099 to 1291 CE. The Mamluk period, 1291 to 1517 CE. This was followed by the Ottoman Empire, which ruled the region from 1517 to 1917 CE.
After World War I, the League of Nations granted control over Palestine which included what we know as Israel to the British from 1920 to 1948 CE and this is followed by the modern State of Israel has been in power since 1948. Now, to put it into perspective, we are in the twenty-first century.
We had an initial itinerary that had been carefully planned for months before we left. However, after boarding our tour bus that first day, as we were all seated and leaving the hotel in Nazareth, headed to tour Caesarea and Haifa on what was the hottest day of 2023, our tour guide stood up, turned around, introduced himself, and our bus driver for the trip. What he said next would change the trajectory of our trip. He said, “I know we have an itinerary, but what do you want to see?” No one spoke up, so I explained, “History!”
I am not one to speak up in a crowd, but I briefly explained that we know and have studied our Bible (Remember, I have known everyone that was on our bus, which included our Pastor, his wife, several Church Deacons and their wives, worship leaders, Bible teachers, etc.) but this is where it all happened, so we want to see and learn what you can’t read on the internet or in a book, or see on the travel channel, we want to know the back story, learn and experience as much as we can in the time we have on the trip.
His response was this: “Ok, I understand, for instance, if you look out the window on the left side of the bus, as we pass by Megiddo, this is where they say Armageddon is supposed to happen.” My jaw dropped! Let me tell you, it was a huge open pasture with the most beautiful green grass that I have ever seen, surrounded by mountains; it was breathtaking.
This was only the first of so many times where I stood in awe trying to absorb every word that our phenomenal tour guides, who, I later found out, were professors at the University that is coupled with the “ABC,” which stands for the Association of Baptist Churches in Nazareth. These men were hand-picked for our group. That was a God thing!
DAY 1: Touring Caesarea and Haifa
The first day after passing by Megiddo, we traveled on to Caesarea and Haifa. The history behind Caesarea was that King Herod the Great built it for Caesar. It took 12 years to complete Caesarea Maritima. This included not just the city itself, but also the massive artificial harbor known as Sebastos, aqueducts, amphitheaters, hippodrome, palaces, temples, public buildings, and the roads. We were able to stand in the middle of this huge arena where chariot races and other massive events took place. Caesarea became a thriving commercial hub. Something else that is remarkable about Caesarea is that Herod built the harbor on an open coastline with no natural harbor for protection, making it one of the greatest engineering achievements of the ancient Roman world.
So the area that we toured was built from 22 BCE and completed around 10-9 BCE. I knew what BC and AD stood for, but I was confused when they were talking about BCE. So I asked. “BCE” stands for “Before Common Era,” it is equivalent to BC or “Before Christ” and is used in the same way.
When you walk into what was the racing arena, it is surrounded by walls. There was a small section that was carved into rows like stadium benches. What we found out is that archeologists are chipping away at those walls and carefully removing centuries of sand and pieces of clay pottery to reveal mosaics from the Byzantines and the original benches surrounding the arena. There were baths and other stones that remain standing as a tribute to what was there during that time in history. It’s on the ocean, and the view was spectacular.
Caesarea Trivia:
King Herod the Great built this enormous artificial harbor using Roman underwater concrete technology that was far ahead of its time. Paul was jailed in Caesarea for about 2 years before being sent back to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. Parts of this ancient harbor, due to natural disasters, have dropped into the Mediterranean Sea. The port fell out of us by the 16th century and was left to ruin.
Haifa
From Caesarea, we traveled to Haifa, which is a major port city on the northern Mediterranean coast. It is the third largest city in Israel after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Haifa, which sits on the slopes of Mount Carmel, was founded in the 1st century CE. and is known for its stunning views. Mount Carmel is traditionally associated with the prophet Elijah and his confrontation with 850 pagan prophets. As we toured, we followed the edge of the coast, which was quite intimidating. Our tour guide shared that some of the city had fallen into the Mediterranean Sea. Just the top was visualized under the massive waves.
Jerusalem- Jerusalem was my life-saver as I was about to starve to death.
Random trivia that I learned…..
Church of the Rooster – This is where Peter denies Jesus 3 times.
Here is the back story for Andrew, Peter, John and James son of Zebedee…. They were all followers of John The Baptist. A group of John The Baptists followers were standing listening to him when Jesus walked by John The Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God (?) and Andrew followed Jesus. Andrew was the first disciple that Jesus called and Andrew went to his brother Peter, that Jesus was the Messiah. Then Jesus went to John and James sons of Zebedee. They left their nets and followed Jesus.
Church at Cana was where Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into WINE. This church was small but the people were awesome. Also, we took the Lord’s Supper and the bread they offered was pieces of cinnamon bread…. Delicious!
Family history… John and James sons of Zebedee were related to Jesus, cousins! Mary mother of Jesus was the older half sister to Salome, mother of John and James. She was married to Zebedee. They grew up in Bethsaida. We know that when Mary became pregnant with Jesus she learned that Elizabeth, her aunt was pregnant with the baby who would be known as John The Baptist. As it began to sink in, I imagined that these boys, the fathers were fishermen, Jesus’ earthly father was a carpenter probably played together as children.
Mary Magdalene was possessed with Seven demons that Jesus drove out.. She was from the town of Magda. She was wealthy and probably financed some of Jesus’ ministry.
We visited the site where Elijah won the battle at Mount Carmel.
In some of the churches that we toured there was a dog in the picture of the nativity with the Shepherds. We were told that you can tell how the mood at the moment, depending on the dog, if his tail is waging then the atmosphere is one of happiness, if the dog is seated, then it’s solemn.
St. Ann(e) was Mary’s mother, Jesus’ grandmother. She was made a Saint. Her church is breathtaking with it’s cathedral ceilings and perfect pitch. We were allowed to sing and it was one of those unforgettable moments. Outside we met the White Monks. Next to St. Ann’s church was an old sunken area with boulders, rocks and weeds, as we read the plaque that stated that this was where Jesus healed the blind man. So talking about Jesus’ grandparents, his grandfather was also a Saint name Joaquin.
Another important bit of trivia that I learned was that any important historical location, in an attempt to save them, they built a church, Temple or Synagogue over it.
Jesus lived in the first century. Byzantines occupied Israel in the 5th century and ___________ occupied Israel in the 16th century. So many things happened between when Jesus walked the earth. One of the most incredible things to note, while we were touring _________ our tour guide told us that the beautiful decorative tiles that we were standing on were actually made in the 5th century. That was another earth shattering moment.
I have a deep respect for the people of that time. The reason being there were no flat roads. Everything was built out of stone. When they talked about walking from place to place, they may have had to walk up a mountain or around the Dead Sea or Sea of Galilee. Speaking of the Dead Sea, it was awesome not to be able to sink. There is so much salt that it doesn’t matter what you weigh; you are not going to sink. One of the men in our group stumped his toe on something while he was repositioning himself. He reached down, and what he brought up was like the salt block that we used for our cows; it was white, so even though the water is brown, the salt sitting on the bottom is not!
Dead Sea Trivia: They say the Dead Sea is drying up, it’s Biblical as well. I found out that there is mining happening in the Dead Sea, and that is contributing to the level dropping 18 inches per year. I was assured that they are working on a solution.
DAY 4: Touring Nazareth
Our tour guide for Nazareth was Azar, who is the President of the Evangelical College and a scholar in the history of Nazareth. This was a very informative tour. He walked us through parts of the city. We saw the well where the women would get the water.
Church of the Annunciation: You can’t cross your legs in this church.
Cana of Galilee – Jesus performed his first public miracle by turning a large amount of water into wine.
DAY 5: Touring Church Day
DAY 6: Touring Sea of Galilee
DAY 7: Touring Brit Shein
Disciples –
John was boiled in oil.
The fishermen were illiterate.
The second coming is mentioned 300 times in the Bible.
Money is mentioned 10 times more than any other topic.
Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is the Church that surrounds the hill where Jesus was crucified. Allegedly, the actual place of Jesus’ burial.
Why was Jesus born as a baby. A baby is born without blemish. Everyone was basically with God.
How do you receive peace? You can only receive a gift if you admit that you need it.
To say it was the trip of a lifetime is a drastic understatement.
Then, as we are looking at all the beautiful, breathtaking flowers that grow wild on the side of the road.
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