Jarom in Jerusalem: Galilee- Day One (and the day before)

Well we got back from Galilee just a few days ago and there is a ton to report on! I’ve included scriptures so check them out! So get ready….

Note on school: The day before we left to Galilee we had a paper due at 1:00. I’m pretty sure I didn’t do as well as a job as I could have on it, but I think most other people probably did worse. We haven’t received our grades for those classes yet, so I don’t know how I did yet, but it any case I’m glad those classes are behind me. I think I made the most of them, but they were hard to deal with sometimes with all the other things to do here. Now the only classes I’m taking are New Testament and a continuation of my ancient near east studies class. Boy I’m glad those other classes are done. Anyway, we had a paper due at one so I spent the whole day writing it. We had a service project that I would have liked to have gone to but didn’t because of the paper. Anyway, after the paper was do me and two others left to walk over to West Jerusalem to an open air market and buy some dried fruit for the trip. We also walked around West Jerusalem looking for this clothing store that apparently donates money to charity if you buy a shirt. Sounds like a gimmick to me. Well, we looked for some ice cream too, couldn’t find what we were looking for, and eventually went back to the Jerusalem Center to pack and get ready for our trip to Galilee! I should mention that I watched half of Harry Potter 7 that night. I’ve been so busy I haven’t allowed myself to watch any movies while here, but I was so glad finals were over I did then. The next day we left bright and early to Galilee.

Well, the first day of Galilee was fun! We first drove through the West Bank to see some scenery that we’d never see again, because we took a different route back. We first went to Bet She’an, also known as Scythopolis. Ancient cities were always built on hills for protection, but by the time of the Romans cities expanded and were built at the bottom of the hill. Thus was the case as in this city. The Egyptians and Canaanite ruins were on top of a hill and the Roman city ruins were below. In this part of the Holy Land basalt stone is more plentiful so the street was made of black basalt, although the other parts were made of Marble, in Roman Style. Basically the story of this place is that it was controlled by Egypt and/ or Canaanites for awhile until Joshua took it. Later, it was here where Saul and his sons were hung on the walls after they were killed at Mt. Gilboa (1 Sam 31:7-13). The men of Gabesh-Gilead, which is right across the Jordan Valley, then came and got the men off the walls. Other than that there was some ancient Egyptian carvings, some old mosaics, and lots of really big columns from Romans times there.

We then drove through the more fertile areas in Northern Israel, through several valley systems including the Joknean Pass where in the novel The Kingdom and the Crown by Gerald N. Lund a fictitious battle takes place. We then arrived at Nazareth, where both Jesus grew up and Mary was announced to she’d be having Jesus. The Christians in Palestine have been having a rough time for many years. Nazareth used to be mostly Christian Arab but now is being replaced by Muslim Arab. There is a huge Christian church there, the largest in the Middle East, and Muslims wanted to build a mosque right by it and make it taller. There was such a controversy that eventually the Israeli government stepped in and said no mosque. Anyway, they still erected a big sign with a quote from the Koran that said anyone who doesn’t believe in Islam will be a looser in the afterlife. P.S. it actually used the word looser. When we were in Bethlehem a week before they also had erected a mosque right next to Nativity square, which when the call to prayer went off, it was so loud my hands jumped to my ears. I can’t help but imagine they made it so loud on purpose, just next to a Christian site to show a superiority of Islam over Christianity there. I’ve felt things like that have been on purpose and I find it unfortunate that it takes place.

Anyway, so in Nazareth we went to this place where they have tried to re-create what life in Christ’s day would have been like. It was a little like how people dress up as pioneers at Nauvoo to show what life was like in early America. The people there had really clean clothes, but other than that it was nice to have a visual how things might have been, how people harvested grain, herded sheep, did carpentry, crushed wine, wove things, that sort of thing. Do you know why you crush grapes with your feet? It’s because if you use anything else you will break open the seeds and the juice will be bitter. I didn’t know that. They also had a exhibit that had a recreation of a Roman cross and armor, synagogue, as well as little lamps they used to have back then. After that we went to a Christian church that was built upon the remains of an old synagogue. Thus it possibly may have been the site where Jesus announced he was Jehovah to the people of his village and where they tried to stone him. (Luke 4:13-30). The story of Christ being rejected by his own village has always been one that has touched me and made me appreciate the courage of the savior in doing what his father wanted even if it meant rejection by those whom he grew up with.

After that we went to the Church of the Annunciation, built in commemoration of the angel announcing to Mary she’d be the mother of the son of God. AS I stated earlier, it’s the biggest church in the Holy Land with who huge levels, and a shrine that contains the remains of an older, more ancient church. The current church was a more modern church, owned by the Catholic Church, and had many art pieces donated from all around the world to adorn the inside and outside of the building. It was impressive. The monks seemed to know BYU faculty pretty well. After that we went to Mt. Arbel, which is right over the Sea of Galilee. From there we could see the whole valley; Migdal where Mary Magdalene was from (Migdal= Magdalene), Capernaum, and a lot more places we’d visit the next few days. It was an impressive site and it was exciting to stand above and see nearly all the places I’d read about so much of in the Gospels. Ever since I was younger I’ve entertained the thought of maybe someday going to BYU Jerusalem or just Israel and seeing all these things. I even made a list of things to do in my life in elementary and put on there to learn Hebrew (well, hey I did take a 1 credit class here!). What adds to the splendor of Galilee is that it’s pretty much undeveloped. With the exception of Tiberius, which is on the sea shore, and a few towns not directly on the sea shore, the place is unsettled, which gives views of hills, valleys, and a lake which can easily be imaged as that of Jesus. In other places of Israel there are either big cities around historical areas (like Jerusalem), or just plain empty deserts, but here in Galilee things are green and beautiful, and it’s so easy to imagine where the stories took place and what things were like. Our teacher told us the Israeli Government doesn’t allow for more building there, only on previously developed land, although we weren’t given an explanation of why; maybe to preserve the beauty of the place, maybe because it’s so close to the Syrian border.

We then drove to the east side of the Sea of Galilee (also known as Lake Kinneret or the Sea of Tiberius in the NT) where we’d stay the rest of our time there. A Kibbutz there owns a beach resort in which we stayed. It was really nice, and the air conditioning worked great, which was important because it was hot and humid there! A kibbutz is a community based on socialistic ideals where basically everyone works and everyone shares from the profits. Back 80 years ago the Kibbutzes were very strict and sometimes people weren’t allowed to own anything, not even their own clothes. But now things are changing; just last year the kibbutz we stayed at changed a policy and allowed people to own their own houses, while still living on the Kibbutz. People at our Kibbutz, other than taking care of the resort, own cows, banana trees, and do fishing. The beach was a small strip of sand, although we got to go swimming because it was summer and things were warm enough.