one long day

Richard and I by the Mediterannean!

Blake picked me a flower!!

The ampitheatre seat numbers

At the hippodrome

Aquaducts at Caeasarea Maritime

The excitement arose as the departure for the Athens airport drew nearer and nearer. We left at about 11 p.m. to begin our long anticipated journey. It was unreal, the fact that we were heading to Israel! The trip had been cancelled and then rescheduled and almost cancelled again due to air strikes on the Gaza Strip. I know its for our own good, but the idea of coming to Greece and not going to Israel just about broke everyone's heart. The day we found out we had the opportunity within grasp again, the entire classrom broke out with yelling, dancing, and bodily movements. ha, it was a joyous day, and one of many days i will never forget.

The Athens airport was our first stop. The sign read Tel Aviv, flight 301. That was me. :) I got in line, with all 46 of us, next to the back with Calle and Ben. We ended up just plopping down in the middle of the airport lobby because we had a long wait ahead of us. Our heavily packed sacks made great pillows. I talked with Ben, Calle, and Cody for a long while, and eventually we made our way to the front check in stand. Passport in hand, bags tagged, and a ticket coming my way. i was set, all i had to do was lug my luggage over to the right stand. After the check in process we had an hours worth of time to kill before security so a group of us went wandering. We ended up at an open stand, where typically a person sits at the desk. Cabot got out his music and we all danced to it, and hung out for a good amount of our time. Before we headed through security i bought a new moleskin to journal in, because i haven't been able to find any leather bound journals throughout the parts of Greece i have explored. Security was liek any other, except there were about four of them, you thought you were done, and ready to finally sit down, but nope. there were always more. Time flew by as the excitement was uncontainable and we eventually made it through, and took our seats on the plane. i sat next to molly mccoy. We talked almost the entire 3 hour flight, which was really good. She had teh idea to look up the Biblical places that we were going and read teh Bible story about them prior to our arrival. So we took the time to talk amongst ourselves and i really feel as if it was a God thing. It went deep, talking spiritual, and then emotional, just about the problems we both have in life, and where we are at, and finding out who we are, as an individual. We also talked about hte whole jumping clubs thing. i didn't realize that this had more of an impact on people than i ever would have imagined. i mean, i still love those girls, but i never fully explained it, or wrote them why i did jump. i feel like i should still do that. i really appreaciate the time we had to get to knwo each other. we both agreed that we feel as if we can talk about things and are on the same level, maybe because of the past, and the trail our lives have ridden. it was a blessing to get this all off my chest, becasue i felt, at this time, like i still didn't really know anyone on the trip. the plane started descending and we made our way off the plane to find our luggage. bathrooms was a great stop, but i will never appreciate an american bathroom more than i did after this trip. starting in israel really wasn't bad, but i thought it was at the time. toilet paper will forever be treasured when i know it will accompany me in the stall, without paying for it. we went to get our luggage, and then realized we were at the wrong terminal area. soo we went searchign again and found the right luggage claim. Everyone foudn their bags and we headed to find our bus. Exhaustion was written on all our faces, because most people had not slept on teh plain, and it was now morning, with a full days activities. We seated on the bus, and i sat next to Blake. We were supposed to get breakfast at this local restaurant by the sea but it wasn't open yet. soo the directors decided that we could park the bus and sleep for an hour. i fell right to sleep, but tossed and turned the entire time. these seats were hard to sleep in. i woke up because blake needed to get off the bus. he hadn't slept at all and it was so cramped he just was gonna get off. so i let him out, which was quite a task.

first off, it was pitch black. second, the floors were covered with people sprawled out. there was no wehre for me to step. ben was seated across and up a row from me and he woke up, so i just climbed on top of him. he held me from falling while blake made his way out. then cody wanted through, so i couldn't get back to my seat. he sat in my seat for me to go by, which wan't going to work, but somehow we maneuvered a way aroudn the mess. a yell from the front woke most of the rest of the bus up, as blake stepped on someone. ha, what a night. the bus started rollin about ten minutes later and we went to get breakfast. everyone had that tired look on their face as we walked through the doors to get food. anything, just something to eat.

well, jk. i got the story wrong. we had a few stops before breakfast. it was about 4 am now, after the bus started rolling. we then went to the aquaducts in caesarea maritime. we had about ten minutes there, which was not enough time. we climbed up on the actual aquaducts and i had some trouble getting up, and down, as well as many of the girls. no worries though, richard caught me and broke my fall. calle got some fun pictures of us jumping off part of the aquaduct, but i don't have those pictures yet. the directors rushed us back to the bus and we haeded onward with our tour of Caesarea, once capital of the Roman province, to see the Roman and Crusader remains and the harbour from which Apostle Paul was taken prisoner to Rome. We stayed here for quite a while. i ended up straying from the group with a bunch of people. we got talked to about it later, but cabot, calle, blake, molly and i took more time at the places as we went through them. we caught up with everyone after they were already seated on the bus. we didn't realize they had made their way back.

now we made it to the restaurant. as i was entering i could hear the girls started whispering in front. as i got closer i knew what was going on. there was a table of young israeli men who had the same idea we did. breakfast, at the same restaurant. they were all very good looking. this woke us up right away. one of the girls was trying to get a picture so we stood in front of them so they could zoom in and get th back picture. ha... crack me up. i just wanted FOOD! which, the food was different. this wa the first of many cultural experiences with food. there was a lot of fish and seafood, with different sauces, yogurts, or cheeses. im stil not entirely sure what there was and what i ate. i got a huge bowl of cereal that looked similar to kellogs frosted flakes, minus the frosted. and then tehre was like chocolate muffin cake looking things that i indulged in. and some fruit. and bread. i went to get some drink, and was unsure of what the ooptions were. there were four different types of brown powder, all a different shade. i jsut wanted coffee, or hot chocolate, which ended up being two of them. they weren't bad, but my favorite was teh chocolate powder in milk. it didn't mix well with just cold milk but it still tasted good. after breakfast, mark and i went for a walk down on the beach as people were finishing up. we stood at the sea and just walked around. it was good to be in the open breeze after all the time on the bus, and the night ride on the plane. it was a moment to relax, but was quickly stripped as we hear people holler over that it was time to leave. soooo back to the bus it was.

We continued on to Herod's Palace and the Hippodrome. We walked in, past the gates and found ourselves at the Hippodrome first. The Roman Hippodrome is in Caesarea Maritime, next to the Mediterranaean Sea.

Caesarea Maritima ("by the Sea") is located on the shore in the center of Israel, in the middle between Haifa and Tel-Aviv. It is the site of one of the most important cities in the Roman World, the Roman capital of the province of Judea at the time of Jesus, and a Crusader fortress along the road from Acre to Jerusalem. Today, Caesarea is a large and interesting national park which a great place to visit while exploring the Holy Land.

History of the place:
Initially, Caesarea was a Phoenician site in the Persian period (6 to 3rd C BC). The Phoenicians, the maritime merchants of the ancient world, used the natural bays and the nearby rivers in order to establish a port, one of many ports that they set up along the shore stretching from Tyre down to Gaza. The city flourished at the Greek period. Later, in the Roman period, King Herod created it into one of the largest cities in the Roman World, and called it after his patron, Augustus Caesar. The site was an important Roman city, and played an important role in the history of Ancient Israel. It later decayed after the Arab conquest, and returned to glory with the Crusaders. After their retreat the city was left in ruins, and its stones were reused in buildings throughout the region.

We explored the Hippodrome first, and Wallid, our guide, gave us a history about it. We visited the amphitheater and were not the only group there. As Wallid told us the historical background of the place, I noticed that there were about five other groups spread out among the seats. I have no idea who these people were or where they were from, just that they were experiencing this place in its entirety as I was. As we were finishing up, one of the groups started singing in English, and we joined them. It was beautiful. Powerful. We don’t even know these people, but we can bond through a song, and the lyrics. Worship to a Savior. The Savior. I just love how passion for one thing can connect people in ways that are indescribably. And I love how I have the freedom to worship God. This was where Herod’s Palace was. He was the one who tried to kill all the babies so that Jesus would not remain alive, and I am in his palace, worshiping the one he tried to destroy. God is wonderful. :)

After our worship sesh, we roamed and meandered our way to the waters edge. Wallid talked to us yet again, and then we had about 40 minutes free time. I spent most of my time taking photos and dipping my feet in the water. Everyone was just excited to be in Israel, at the Mediterranean Sea, and a chance for free time. We would not be gettin much of a taste of any free time during our adventures.

We all had to rush back to the bus because the entire group had lost track of the time, and we had lots to do for the rest of the day. So we jogged back and were on our way. Next up on the schedule was to visit Mt Carmel.This site was not exactly what I expected. I mean, I know that we went to the tourist attraction site with the outlook to the city, but in my mind I have a different picture. This is the place where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. If I could go back in time this would be one of the items on my list of things to view. This event is fond in 1 Kings 18. Elijah seems so calm. He tells the people to make a sacrifice to their god, Baal, the altar is prepared and is accepted if the god sends fire upon it. They spent the entire day leaping, calling and cutting themselves to bleed to their Baal. But, as the day carried on, no sign of the god had been made. Then Elijah prepared an altar for the Lord God of Israel to accept. He had an abundant amount of water brought to soak the wood and place of the sacrifice. [4 pitchers x 3] As soon as he called upon God, fire was sent from heaven and consumed the altar. I cannot imagine how I would be able to handle this site. GOD sending FIRE from HEAVEN. It came out of literally nowhere. This takes faith, and Elijah is a great example of a fearless leader of God.

The site, as i previously stated, was too touristy for me, at least where our group went. We went up some stairs and were on a small platform outlooking the city. Here we experienced another session of knowledge from Wallid. (who is GREAT by the way! the best travel quide ever!! so knowledgable, and willing to share, and i got an opportunity to get to know him on a personal basis later, and it changed my life.) It was freezing up at the top and Ben gave me his jacket. The boys on our trip are too nice!

Well we made our little treck back down and then went inside the little chapel that was there. Here we sang praise songs to the Lord. I LOVE LOVE LOVE singing in tightly enclosed stone buildings. The sound just reverberates off the walls, and echos, and like, ahhh its just so great. You have to experience it to know what im talking about. i tried to capture it on my video camera and got some of it to cherish for days to come.

And then, it was back to the bus! There was a surprise for each of us, waiting on our seats. A bright yellow aristotle travel cap. ha... they were great. i still have mine. We left Haifa via the Carmel viewing Druze Village, and then went on to visit Mt. Precipice. We pulled up and five of us girls and a few guys had to use the bathroom, in a major way. We went the opposite way as teh group and went searching. Nothing was found and the guys left us. So, we went around a corner, and luckily someone had some kleenex's. So, the five of us girls let go as we faced the city of Tiberias. Definately a bonding experience. ha, and then we hurried to catch up with the group. We made it to the peak of the mountain and overlooked the city. BEAUTIFUL! the sky had cleared up some from earlier and you could see as far as your eyes could take you. it was here that i met some israeli boys. they pointed out where they lived, you could see their farm. They spoke pretty good english too. And then we had to leave, and go back to the bus.

We continued to Nazareth and saw the oldest Church of the Annunciation with Mary's Well. And then we went to the Nazareth Village. This was a walk through a small museum, and then an outside tour with a setup of old days, where you could watch a shephard with his sheep, and then a lady making a rug. This was not one of my favorite sites, but it did make for some good pictures. It might have been because this day was never ending, and my body was about to shutdown. After the village, we finally headed to our hotel in Tiberias. There was a continental dinner, which we soon found out was normal at hotels. The chicken was bomb! sooo great! and there was an assortment of too much food to try everything. The soup was really good as well, and the humus! wow! I indulged and then was ready for an early sleep. Oh! and there were a bunch of Nigerians staying with us! I made some new friends!