Sunday, August 5
I over slept this morning. Didn’t wake up until 9:00. After a hurried breakfast (eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, tuna fish sandwich with chese), we packed our stuff and checked out. Avis rent a car delivered a car to our youth hostel. We finally got on the road a little after 11:00. We wanted to find out a little about Beth Shan National Park before we headed north. We were glad we stopped. Beth Shan has always been a strategic entry point into Israel. It has had occupation there since 2000 bc or earlier. The Romans built some fabulous buildings there. Here is a picture of them from the park entrance to the tell. The Roman city was called Scythopolis.
What you cannot see in the foreground is the Roman Theater. It seated 7,000 and was quite impressive. Here is a picture of just the stage area.
Ever wonder how they transported those huge stones? Here’s a picture of how they did it. They made it an axle with wheels and then hooked it to oxen.
Ever wonder about public latrines in Roman cities? Here is what is left of the one in Scythopolis. It was complete with running water to wash away the waste. One would sit between two benches to do one’s business. According to the plaque, the Romans made no separate men and women’s latrines. Boy, Romans were weird. Here is a demonstration of its use.
The city was full of temples to Roman Gods. It had an elaborate bath house that began with an exercise routine, then a sauna, then a tepid bath, then a cold bath. According to the write ups, it was a place for Romans to socialize, play a few games of chance, do business, get a massage or when you were done, listen to a scholarly lecture. I don’t know about you, but I can’t see how anyone could have a serious conversation while sitting around naked and sweating. Boy, Romans were weird. The city came to a sudden end in the 8th century when an earthquake leveled most of the buildings.
After working our way through Scythopolis, we limbed to the top of the tell of ancient Beth Shan. Remember, before David became king, the Philistines controlled Beth Shan. When they killed Saul and his sons they hung their bodies on the walls of the city. They wanted all Israel to know, “We killed your king.” David eventually subdued the Philistines and made Beth Shan an important post in the north. After Solomon died, Pharoah Shishak sacked the city and burned it. According to one sign on the tell, there is at least one wall that archeologists have found that dates from Shishak’s burning. Here is a picture looking over Scythopolis from the top of the tell.
After leaving Beth Shean, we headed for Galillee, or Tiberias as it is called today. Our first stop was the Yardenit Baptism site on the Jordan River. Many think that this is close to where Jesus was baptized. Some Christian group runs the site and it is free to visit, unless you want to be baptized. In which case you are required to buy a white robe before entering the water. The robe is kind of like a super long t-shirt, and it costs $25.00. We went down to the water and took our shoes and socks off and put our feet in. Our toes must be pretty good stink bait. The fish sure seemed to find them tempting. Here’s a picture of the baptism area of the Jordan.
After this site we went to Tiberius. I managed to make a wrong turn and it took us a little longer to get through Tiberius than we expected. We found our room for the night, the YMCA on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and checked in. Then we travelled on up toward Capernaum. We saw a sign advertising a fishing boat from the first century AD at a boat museum. We stopped to see it. It was difficult to find, and when we found it, it had just closed. We travelled on to Capernaum. It was closed. Then we went to Bethsaida. It is open 24/7, and if you don’t mind walking from the gate it’s free! It is on the Eastern side of where the Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee. Philip, the son of Herod the great, built a nice house for his wife Julia there. Several of the 12 disciples were from Bethsaida. Jesus did many miracles there. It is an active archeological site. We walked around there for quite a while. What an awesome thought that Jesus used to walk there. Here are some pictures of Bethsiada.
Fisherman’s house at Bethsaida
Leaving Bethsaida, we decided to drive all the way around the Sea of Galilee. So our next stop was Kursi. Kursi was discovered a few years ago. Israel was building a new highway on the east side of the Sea and construction workers hit remains of an old Byzantine monastery built to commemorate the deliverance of the demoniac. The location was perfect for a herd of swine to run downhill and drown themselves in the sea. The park was closed for the day. But here is a picture of the slopes taken from the highway.
It was getting close to sunset. Here is the sun setting over the sea.
We finished our evening at an Israeli fast food restaurant. I had a chicken salad. It was excellent. It was filled with fresh vegetables and their own salad dressing. Jesse had a cheese sandwich. It was really good too. Now we are back in our room.
What you cannot see in the foreground is the Roman Theater. It seated 7,000 and was quite impressive. Here is a picture of just the stage area.
Ever wonder how they transported those huge stones? Here’s a picture of how they did it. They made it an axle with wheels and then hooked it to oxen.
Ever wonder about public latrines in Roman cities? Here is what is left of the one in Scythopolis. It was complete with running water to wash away the waste. One would sit between two benches to do one’s business. According to the plaque, the Romans made no separate men and women’s latrines. Boy, Romans were weird. Here is a demonstration of its use.
The city was full of temples to Roman Gods. It had an elaborate bath house that began with an exercise routine, then a sauna, then a tepid bath, then a cold bath. According to the write ups, it was a place for Romans to socialize, play a few games of chance, do business, get a massage or when you were done, listen to a scholarly lecture. I don’t know about you, but I can’t see how anyone could have a serious conversation while sitting around naked and sweating. Boy, Romans were weird. The city came to a sudden end in the 8th century when an earthquake leveled most of the buildings.
After working our way through Scythopolis, we limbed to the top of the tell of ancient Beth Shan. Remember, before David became king, the Philistines controlled Beth Shan. When they killed Saul and his sons they hung their bodies on the walls of the city. They wanted all Israel to know, “We killed your king.” David eventually subdued the Philistines and made Beth Shan an important post in the north. After Solomon died, Pharoah Shishak sacked the city and burned it. According to one sign on the tell, there is at least one wall that archeologists have found that dates from Shishak’s burning. Here is a picture looking over Scythopolis from the top of the tell.
After leaving Beth Shean, we headed for Galillee, or Tiberias as it is called today. Our first stop was the Yardenit Baptism site on the Jordan River. Many think that this is close to where Jesus was baptized. Some Christian group runs the site and it is free to visit, unless you want to be baptized. In which case you are required to buy a white robe before entering the water. The robe is kind of like a super long t-shirt, and it costs $25.00. We went down to the water and took our shoes and socks off and put our feet in. Our toes must be pretty good stink bait. The fish sure seemed to find them tempting. Here’s a picture of the baptism area of the Jordan.
After this site we went to Tiberius. I managed to make a wrong turn and it took us a little longer to get through Tiberius than we expected. We found our room for the night, the YMCA on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and checked in. Then we travelled on up toward Capernaum. We saw a sign advertising a fishing boat from the first century AD at a boat museum. We stopped to see it. It was difficult to find, and when we found it, it had just closed. We travelled on to Capernaum. It was closed. Then we went to Bethsaida. It is open 24/7, and if you don’t mind walking from the gate it’s free! It is on the Eastern side of where the Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee. Philip, the son of Herod the great, built a nice house for his wife Julia there. Several of the 12 disciples were from Bethsaida. Jesus did many miracles there. It is an active archeological site. We walked around there for quite a while. What an awesome thought that Jesus used to walk there. Here are some pictures of Bethsiada.
Fisherman’s house at Bethsaida
Leaving Bethsaida, we decided to drive all the way around the Sea of Galilee. So our next stop was Kursi. Kursi was discovered a few years ago. Israel was building a new highway on the east side of the Sea and construction workers hit remains of an old Byzantine monastery built to commemorate the deliverance of the demoniac. The location was perfect for a herd of swine to run downhill and drown themselves in the sea. The park was closed for the day. But here is a picture of the slopes taken from the highway.
It was getting close to sunset. Here is the sun setting over the sea.
We finished our evening at an Israeli fast food restaurant. I had a chicken salad. It was excellent. It was filled with fresh vegetables and their own salad dressing. Jesse had a cheese sandwich. It was really good too. Now we are back in our room.
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