Galilee, Part I

We're returning from a salmon dinner, walking along a ridge of the Golan Heights that overlooks the blue Sea of Galilee. This is Kibbutz Haruv, and accommodations here really are a cottage industry. Each cabin is surrounded by manicured lawns intermingled with sculptured flower gardens. Birdsong punctuates the sunset. Tomorrow morning, the Kibbutzniks deliver breakfast to our individual cabins. This is like a Disney movie. I think I'm gonna like it here.

It's been a couple of days since my last report, so I'll summarize some highlights.

BAHA'I, AND HOW ARE YA?
Reaching down toward the port of Haifa, the Baha'i Gardens is one of the beauties of northern Israel. The Baha'i faith, a relative newcomer among the mighty theologies of the region, holds this as a sacred site. A testament to color and serenity, the garden's 19 perfect terraces cascade in concentric waves. The photo doesn't do justice to its symmetry and grace.






NAZARETH WAS MORE THAN EXPECTED
At the time of Jesus, Nazareth was an insignificant village of about 300. It was several hundred years after his death that events important to Christianity were identified as having occurred in his home town. So I wasn't anticipating a major find in the Basilica of the Annunciation. This church turned out to be one of the most interesting architecturally and spiritually. The latest of five structuresu on the site, the 1969 complex impressed in many ways, including its status as the largest in the Middle East. An "upper church," almost anachronistically modern in design and scope, dominates an area filled with original art and mosaics from all the countries with major Catholic populations and rises to a 200 foot dome shaped like a white lily. But it was the "lower church" that had the most impact. A dimly lit sunken enclosure is built around the apse of a 5th Century Byzantine church previously on the location. This, in turn, is built around the grotto of Mary's annunciation, traditionally also her home. Overall, the site left quite an impact.






ROMAN RUINS AND CRUSADER FORTS
Caesarea was a pet project of Herod the Great, who wanted to create a Roman harbor to rival Alexandria. He proceeded to build an artificial enclosure that became an engineering marvel. Once completed, he expanded the area to allow Caesarea to become one of the major cities in the Province. A hippodrome, as in Rome, provided chariot races and gladiator bouts. But it was the large amphitheater, currently restored to its former state, that provided me the most interest. While I was there, they were setting up a big rock concert. But I also was aware that this was the site, in front of a cheering crowd, of the torture and execution of ten Jewish sages, including Rabbi Akiva, following the Bar Kochba revolt in the 2nd Century. It was hard to reconcile the two spectacles.

Caesarea also hosted a significant period under the Crusaders. But its archeological finds paled in comparison with the treasures of Akko (Acre). Here the Crusaders dominated for 400 years, creating one of the greatest ports of commerce in the Middle East. Remarkably, many of the Crusader structures remain undiscovered. As in much of the Middle East, entire levels of civilization are created over the ruins of a previously dominant resident. Such was the case of the Crusader ruins of Akko. We traversed miles of beautiful Gothic fortifications and reinforced tunnels, yet most are still claimed by sand and stone.






And the Crusaders were such an influential entity in the Middle East, until the Mamluks, an unruly Arab hoard, arrived in the 13th Century, outnumbered the Crusaders 10:1, obliterated them to a man and leveled all their construction. So much for sustainable urban planning.

Coming up: more from The Galilee