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Capernaum

Capernaum, in the Galilee of northern Israel is a Biblical village. It sits not far from other important Christian sites in Israel. These include Bethsaida, the Mount of Beatitudes, and Tabgha, as well as the Jordan River and Tiberias on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Today the town of Kfar Nahum (Talhum in Arabic) stands where Capernaum once stood. The site attracts thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world every year.

In Biblical times Capernaum was one of the main trading villages in the Gennesaret area. It was a vibrant and prosperous part of Palestine, home to about 1,500 people many of whom were fishermen. Many travelers, caravans, and traders passed through Capernaum on the Via Maris. It was main trade route connecting Damascus in the north and Egypt in the south. There remains a Via Maris highway mile stone in Capernaum today. The village was thought to have prospered from the 2nd century BC to the 13th century AD when it reverted to a simple fishing village until the 1800’s.

The late establishment of the town explains why Capernaum is not in the Old Testament. The town is deeply significant to Christians as it features prominently in the New Testament. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, brought up in Nazareth, and preached in Jerusalem but it was the significant Galilean Ministry years which he spent in Capernaum and where he performed many of his miracles. Capernaum became his home and the Bible calls it Jesus’ “own city”. Matthew 4:13 tells us that Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum after meeting temptation in the wilderness. Here he met James, John, Peter, Andrew all fishermen and Matthew a tax collector, five of his future disciples.

Description from Tourist Israel

Old City Christian Quarter

The Christian Quarter is one of the four quarters of the walled Old City of Jerusalem, the other three being the Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter and the Armenian Quarter. The Christian Quarter is situated in the northwestern corner of the Old City, extending from the New Gate in the north, along the western wall of the Old City as far as the Jaffa Gate, along the Jaffa Gate – Western Wall route in the south, bordering on the Jewish and Armenian Quarters, as far as the Damascus Gate in the east, where it borders on the Muslim Quarter. The Christian quarter contains about 40 Christian holy places. First among them is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christianity’s holiest place. Most of its residents are Palestinian Christians, despite their dwindling numbers.

The Christian Quarter was built around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is the heart of the quarter. There is a cluster of churches and monasteries surrounding it. The quarter contains few residential houses, which are mostly concentrated in its southern-eastern part. Most buildings are religious, touristic, and educational in character, such as the Terra Sancta High School, the Lutheran School, the St. Pierre School, and the Collège des Frères at the New Gate.

The quarter contains souvenir shops, coffee houses, restaurants and hotels. The shops are concentrated in the west–east market street, the David Street, and along the north-south Christian Quarter Road, or simply Christian Road. Some of the hotels, such as the Casa Nova Hotel and the Greek Catholic hotel, were built by the churches as places for visitors to stay. Others are private hotels.

The quarter contains some small museums, such as the museum of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. In the southwestern part of the quarter there is a pool called Hezekiah’s Pool or Patriarch’s Pool that was used to store water for the area.

Neot Smadar

Kibbutz Neot Semadar is located in the Southern Negev Desert of Israel, about 60 km. north of Eilat. The Kibbutz was established in 1989 by a group of friends interested in creating a learning community that focuses on cooperation and creativity in daily life. As individuals in a dynamic community, the residents learn what it means to live together as co-learners, observing ourselves in everyday activities and relationships. The interest in relationships extends to the environment through organic farming, desert architecture, water recycling, The Art Center, winery, and more. Today there are 90 adult members (families and singles), 70 children of various ages, and about 50 volunteers of all ages. These volunteers, from Israel and from abroad come to Neot Semadar to find a fresh and independent perspective on life.

Timna Park

One of the largest parks in Israel, Timna Park, is located in the center of the Edom Valley, in the Arava, approximately 25 km north of Eilat. The Park is home to spectacular geological sites and formations which can be explored by foot, bicycle, and car.

The recently opened Visitors Center illustrates the importance of the Park’s geological, historical, and archeologic sites, using advanced technological features. Sites to see are the archaeological remains of Solomon’s Pillars, the Arches, the Chariots, the famous Mushroom Rock, the Temple of Goddess Hathor, and the “Hill of the Slaves” which offer visitors an exciting opportunity to ‘travel back in time’ to an era in which the world’s most ancient copper mines operated in Timna, thousands of years ago.

In addition, Timna offers unique entertainment options, combining ancient times with modern accommodation and leisure facilities. This new upgrade in Timna Park allows visitors of all ages, adults, children, science and nature lovers and sports addicts to have an exclusive and experiential vacation with educational benefits, with breathtaking Genesis views.

Cave of Elijah

The Cave of Elijah is a natural cave that appears in the Hebrew Bible, where the prophet Elijah took shelter during a journey into the wilderness.
The exact location of the cave is unknown, but architects found this cave as the “Cave of Elijah” on Mount Carmel approximately 40 m above sea level in Haifa. For centuries, it has been a pilgrimage destination for Jewish, Christian, Druze and Muslim people. Another cave associated with Elijah is located nearby, under the altar of the main church of the Stella Maris Monastery, also on Mount Carmel.

The name of the cave is also known as el-Khader in Arabic The Druze regard the Cave of Elijah as holy, and they identify Elijah as “El-Khidr”, the green prophet who symbolizes water and life, a miracle who cures the sick.

En Afek Nature Reserve

The En Afek Nature Reserve preserves swampland and waterway sources the majority of which have been lost in Israel. Along the swamp pathway (walkway built over the swamp) in the Reserve, visitors “float” over a swamp surrounded by rich riverbank vegetation and colorful water birds.

Tel Afek, also spelled Aphek and Afeq, is an archaeological site located in the coastal hinterland of the Ein Afek Nature Reserve, east of Kiryat Bialik, Israel. The site is what remains of the biblical town of Aphik, which is mentioned in Joshua and Judges as belonging to the Tribe of Asher. According to Biblical history, this area was part of Cabul and was given to Hiram I by Solomon as a reward for various services rendered to him in building the First Temple.

Stella Maris Monastery

The Stella Maris Monastery or the Monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for monks is a 19th-century Discalced Carmelite monastery located on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Another Carmelite monastery of the same name is reserved for nuns and is located higher up on Mount Carmel. The complex of buildings, including the lighthouse, is known as “Stella Maris”. The Carmelites form to serve and live the Gospel for their spirituality. Their knowledge of spirituality comes from the experiences of the “great prophets” of the Discalced Carmelite Family: Teresa of Jesus, John of the Cross, Therese of Lisieux, Edith Stein.

The monastery’s main church resembles the shape of a cross. Its dome is decorated by colorful paintings based on motifs from both the Old and New Testament: Elijah rising to heaven, David stringing his harp, the prophet Isaiah, the Holy Family and the Four Evangelists. Latin inscriptions of biblical verses are written around the dome.

The altar stands on an elevated platform situated above a small cave associated with Elijah. The cave can be reached from the nave by descending a few steps and holds a stone altar with a small statue of Prophet Elijah. The altar above the cave is dominated by a statue of the Virgin Mary carrying Jesus in her lap and holding the Scapular in her right hand, known as Our Lady of the Scapular. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the patroness of the Carmelites, and as such is known as “Our Lady of Mount Carmel”. New embossments dedicated to Carmelite figures are hoisted on all four corners of the central hall. On the western wall of the church is a large organ that is played during religious ceremonies and at special church music concerts.

Image contribution:
Shmuliko, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons;
Iliakriv, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Tiberias Hot Springs National Park

The Tiberias Hot Springs National Park, aka Hamat Tiberias National Park, displays one of the most spectacular mosaics of ancient synagogues in Israel. On the site, where the Hot Springs of Tiberias flow, there is also a beautifully preserved 18th century structure of a Turkish Hamam.

The Hot Springs – within the national park, 17 thermo-mineral springs flow at a temperature of about 600C, with a saline concentration of 36.5 gr. per liter, the majority in the form of chlorides of sodium and calcium and some potassium, bromide and sulfate. The water flows in a system of underground channels to the Tiberias Hot Baths. The channels are built with chimneys to release steam pressure and visitors to the park can see the steam pouring out of them. Surplus water that does not flow into the Tiberias hot baths are collected in a pool located on-site.

The surplus water, and the water returning from the baths after use, is collected in a Mekorot facility located within the site, and is conveyed to the National Saline Water Carrier. The Severus’ Synagogue is located within the precincts of the ancient town of Hammat Tverya, close to the southern wall and the gate of the city. This synagogue underwent three stages.

The first synagogue was built about 230 CE, on the remains of an earlier public building. From this synagogue, which was apparently destroyed in the 3rd century, only a small piece of mosaic remains that is displayed at the southern edge of the central mosaic, on a slightly lower level.

The second synagogue existed in the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, and left behind a glorious mosaic floor, one of the earliest discovered in synagogues in Israel. The mosaic is divided into three panels. The northern section shows two lions, flanking nine inscriptions in Greek memorializing donors; in the middle – a spectacular Zodiac surrounding an image of Helios, the sun god; and in the southern section – the Ark of the Torah with Jewish symbols such as two seven-branched candelabras, a shofar and a lulav.

The synagogue underwent preservation, restoration and reconstruction, and it is surrounded by glass walls enabling eye contact with the scenery, remains of ancient residential buildings and the later synagogue.

Berko Archaeological Park

The Berko Archaeological Park in Tiberias contains the ancient remnants of the city of Tiberias from the time the city was established by Herod Antipas in the first century CE, until the Fatimid Dynasty in the eleventh century CE. The park is extremely impressive and presents in a fabulous manner the past of the city of Tiberias. The park also contains a green corner with paths, gardens and archaeological finds, including an ancient Roman gate, a theater which had seating capacity of seven-thousand people and a drainage system that is a thousand years old. The park also hosts various music and theater public events. The Berko Archaeological Museum provides a fascinating glimpse into Tiberias of the first century.

Bet Yerah (Khirbet Kerak)

The archaeological site of Bet Yerah (“house of the moon”), also known as Khirbet Kerak, is not mentioned in either Biblical or Egyptian records, but excavations here have uncovered evidence of a settlement dating from the Bronze Age right through to the period of Arab rule.

The site, 10 kilometers south of the Hamat-Tiberias hot springs, includes a jumble of remains dating from various eras. The best preserved remnants include a bath complex dating from the 4th or 5th century and a 3rd century Roman fort. There is also a Byzantine church and a three-aisled synagogue dating from the 5th century. The tell of Khirbet Kerak lies where the Sea of Galilee empties into the Jordan river and the terrain rises 15 meters above the level of the lake. It is triangular in shape and approximately 1.2 km by 380 m (at its widest point), covering 60-75 acres. The Jordan river runs to the south, although it previously (until at least the medieval period) ran north and west of it.

The tell of Khirbet Kerak was at certain times the site of two twin towns, Bet Yerah and Sinnabris.

Site Tag: Archeology