Day 2: Mount Carmel and Caesarea

Day 2 here is practically completed. We are recovering from the intense jetlag we all felt yesterday. Linford arrived this evening, so all of us have now arrived. Five minutes ago I heard the Muslim call to prayer, and now I'm hearing the church bells ringing out 9:00. I really enjoy being able to hear both of these from the hostel.

Today is the Memorial Day in Israel. It commemorates those who have died in wars. This morning at 11, and this evening at 8 we heard a minute-long siren, reminding us.

Anton, a Maronite from Nazareth was our guide for today. He was full of knowledge about everything we passed. I feel that I will be receiving so much information here that it will be a big challenge to keep everything from merging together.

We started off our day at the top of Mount Carmel, where Elijah slew the prophets of Baal. We had some beautiful views over the plains of Jezreel and could view the hills where Nazareth is built in the distance. I was very surprised to see all the fish farms that have been constructed in the plains. This is an arid country (there are drip irrigation tubes everywhere), so I wonder how much water evaporates from those farms on a daily basis.

We then proceeded to Caesarea to see the Roman ruins. We walked along an aquaduct, and then wandered through the theater, hippodrome, baths and a French fort. Anton, our guide, led us through, allowing us to understand the significance of each ruin. At the left are columns where Herod had a palace and a swimming pool.








The hippodrome is in the background as we listen to Anton (in the white baseball cap, mostly hidden by the rest of us).











Our final stop for the day was Nazareth Village. We were surprised to see that it is actually located in the middle of Nazareth. It seems like a little oasis in the middle of this busy city. It was interesting to compare the simplicity of life in Nazareth in the 1st century with Roman life in Caesarea. Tara, a volunteer, led us around the village. She tied scriptural references into her talk seamlessly, and was incredibly enthusiastic. We will be returning to the village later to learn and volunteer.



Tomorrow, we look forward to meeting Father Chacour and to visiting Haifa.

This is actually Alison posting, not Megan (who took the photos). I wasn't able to maneuver the Arabic necessary to log in to blogger.com, so Megan signed me in through her gmail account. Thanks Megan!