Armageddon and the Sea of Galilee

There are so many places that sound so familiar in Israel that a sightseeing frenzy threatens to overtake me and I have to choose to visit only a few sites and save others for another time. So Darryl (a fellow workshop partner) and I borrow a car and bravely go adventuring around biblical and historical sites that are reasonably close to our hotel. Our first stop is the Unesco World Heritage site of Tel Megiddo otherwie known as Armaggeddon. Yes, this is the place mentioned in Revelations 16:14 where the battle at the end of days will take place. It isn't much to look at now but this site has been inhabited since the neolithic period and its location allowed it to control the ancient trade routes. As it also had springs and fertile land it was the scene of many battles between the rival empires of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Canaan. It is a facsinating site and one which I have long wanted to explore.

Then we went further afield passing the towns of Nazareth and Cana before getting a little lost in Tiberias. It was a very hazy day unfortunately so we didn't have a great view of the Sea of Galillee which rather sneaked up on us. We pass Tabga, the place where Jesus allegedly fed the five thousand with bread and fishes. It is such a desolate place with hardly any towns or people around other than tourist buses, that I find it hard to believe that there were ever five thousand people here! Capernaum, an oft mentioned place in the the New Testament, has a pretty good ruined synagogue and as I look over the sea, I try to imagine Jesus walking on the water. It doesn't look that deep. Lots of his best miracles were performed here and there are a lot of devout followers paddling in the holy water. We have a wonderful lunch with yummy hummous and press on across the hills back to the Mediterranean crusader town of Acre or Akko as it is now called.

Again we got a little lost and as we were without a decent map, we wandered rather aimlessly through the Unesco world heritage listed old town which is very atmospheric if a little smelly. Luckily we eventually found the citadel and visited the knight's hall and refectory. This was another strategically important city and the site of many sieges, the most famous being that of Richard the Lion heart in 1191. In 1229 it was placed under the control of the Knights Hospitaller otherwise known as the Order of St John or the Knights of Malta. You could easily spend a whole day wandering around the windy streets and climbing the ramparts and it was a pity we had only a few hours. We were very worried about getting out of the city but followed a tour bus which we hoped was going in the right direction. Luckily it was and we made it back home through the rather dense traffic and congested roads, tired but satisfied.

We had a lovely meal with much red wine in one of the historic hostelries in Zichron-Ya'acov although I am surprised that the food is mostly European rather than middle-eastern here in this part of Israel. Salit organised an interesting local guide to take us on a walk through the village. It is one of the oldest of its kind in Israel and is different from a kibbutz as it is modelled on a European village. The life of the jewish founders was incredibly hard as they battled diseases, starvation and harassment from Turkish officials. They were helped by Baron Rothschild, known here simply as 'the Baron' who funded many different sorts of agricultural ventures. However due to the soil fertility the crops that grew best were the ancient crops of wheat, olives, wine and oil. It has a great view of the surrounding area including the Mediterranean coast. It is a very pleasant place to visit.