Our first visit outside of Jerusalem

After the incredible celebration of Mass at the Edicule of Christ's Tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, we did our first road trip. Our first stop was Caesarea Maratima. The fact that so many of the ruins survive testifies to the fact that the city was built by Herod the Great (who built for eternity). It was apparently a splendid city (e.g. Josephus Wars 1:408-15 & Antiquities 15: 331-41), which is easy to see from the ruins and the beautiful location on the Mediterranean.

We stayed at a Carmelite Guesthouse in Haifa. The sisters were most gracious hosts. It was also a lovely luxury to have air conditioned rooms, especially since the temperature was in the low 90's and the humidity was very high! Our next stop was Acre (modern Akko). Acre was the major port city before Caesarea was built. In medival times it was shaped by the Crusaders and the maritime powers of Europe. There is a large ruin of a fortress of the Knights of the Hospital of St. John that is most impressive. The el-Jazzar mosque is also very beautiful. This part of the trip, while not directly related to the Gospels, helps to contextualize the world at the time of Jesus through the 1st century.

Our first stop yesterday was to the Carmel on southern edge of Mt. Carmel at Muhraqa. This cite is traditionally identified with where the Prophet Elijah challenged and slew the prophets of Baal (1Kings 18:19-40). There is a statue of Elijah slaying a prophet in the courtyard of the monastery. This the chapel; the brass relief on the wall to the right is Elijah receiving food from the angel prior to his journey. It is a very simple and pretty chapel.

Our last stop was the famed ruins of Megiddo. The city was important because of it's location along the plain of the Valley of Jezreel at the head of a pass through the Carmel range along the ancient route between Mesopotamia and Egypt. King Solomon's city here was the 16th! There were a total of 24 cities built one on top of the other, making it an extraordinarily rich archeological site. Many, many battles have been fought there throughout history. In fact, the visionary St. John places the Last Great Battle (Rev. 16:16) here (har is mountain, so har-megedon is the Mountain of Megiddo).