Tel Aviv To Tiberias

I touched down in Tel Aviv, Israel, around half past seven on Tuesday 4 June. We were received by the local tour guide from Sar-El Tours & Travels, as well as a driver, after which we proceeded to Caesarea Maritama for breakfast (brunch?) and sight-seeing.

Caesarea Maritama was built by King Herod, the same king who ordered all infant boys to be killed in order to kill Jesus, as he had a dream that Jesus would threaten his position as king. It was built on the Mediterranean coastline, and some remnants still remained. Unfortunately, the rest of the fort are now in ruins.

Incidentally, Caesarea Maritama was also the place where Samuel took the ship four times to go around to preach.

 Entrance to Caesarea Maritama

 Remnants of the old fort

 This used to be a moat surrounding the fort, now all dried up

 The other side of the moat

 Interior of the fort (look at the window!)

 Behind the fort

 The place by the Mediterranean sea where we had breakfast / brunch

 The Mediterranean Sea

 This stretch kind of reminds me of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table

After exploring Caesarea Maritama, we went on to Mount Carmel, which has a wonderful panoramic view of the lands below, including Jezreel Valley. Mount Carmel is now a disused Carmelite church and monastery, and it was also the place where Elijah won the battle according to the Bible. In any case, the view on top is breathtaking!

 Stone outside the Carmelite church

 The church / monastery

These fruit are called "locusts", the fruit that Peter ate according to the Bible, not the pest that looks like a grasshopper.

 Told you the view from the top is breathtaking!

After this, we went on to Tel Megiddo, the site of the battle of Megiddo as claimed by the Book of Revelations in the Bible. Tel Megiddo is also known as Armageddon. One can see why, as although the place was built by King Solomon housing his castle and stables, now only ruins stand in its place. Still, it became a UNESCO World Heritage site and an underground cave where the water source is still survives to this day. We also had lunch at the cafe here.

 This used to be the beginning of the city gate

The cafe where we had lunch

After Tel Megiddo, we went on to Nazareth, the village Jesus grew up in, and where he helped Joseph in capentry work. The original Nazareth Village is gone, but there is a replica where people can go visit. This will be covered in detail in my next post. 

After visiting Nazareth, we went on to Mount of Precipice to have a panoramic view of the "new" Nazareth Village, before going to our hotel to have dinner and rest. And this concludes the first day of my Israel trip! More to come later!