Our first stop this morning was in Ceasarea Maritima (to distinguish from Ceasarea Philippi). It was only a short distance north from where we were staying in our hotel along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Ceasarea was build by Herod the Great in 7 years. What remains of the amphitheater is mostly original and it was the place where Peter proclaimed the gospel when he was called by the Roman centurion. The acoustics were still very good, a few members of our group sang a song and it was very clear. Concerts are still given at this place.
Crusader's castle.
Just north of Ceasarea are the original waterducts. Water was brought from the springs at the Mount Carmel area (15K), both hot and cold water. 
Mount Carmel is a chain of mountains that cuts Israel in half. It is where Elijah built an altar and prayed to the Lord for rain. 
Sam (our guide) reading the story from Elijah from the Bible and talking about the great miracle by God.
The valley below is claimed to be Armageddon where the Lord will return on the last day. Hundreds of people camped out here at the turn of the century expecting it to be the end of the world and wanting to witness Christ's return coming from heaven. It shows that we do not know the day or moment...
Megiddo is an ancient village, now ruins, built on the top of the mountain. It was many times destroyed and built up again on top of the old ruins.
A pagan altar of the Canaanites, from before the people of Israel came to the Promised Land.
I am sitting next to a manger used for feeding the animals. It was a hollowed out rock and probably similar to the manger in which the baby Jesus was laid.
Remarkable is the tunnel that leads to a spring that was outside the city walls. We walked through the tunnel which was built by king Ahab and about 3000 years old. Our bus met us at the other side.
We saw a booth decorated with palm trees on the side of the road. This was the first day of the Feast of Booth and many Jews were celebrating this.
Our next stop was in Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up, which now has 100.000 inhabitants (only Arabs). Jews live in Nazareth Elite (Upper) see sign.
We went inside the Church of Annunciation, built by the Greek Orthodox on top of the authentic spring from the time of Jesus. It is where Mary got her water from and perhaps where the angel met her to tell her that she would conceive and be the mother of the Lord. We saw people in the church who washed their hands and face in the water from the spring.
We passed Cana of Galilee, the town where Jesus performed his first miracle. Yes, the local people use these places for tourism to 'make a living'.
We ended our day in Tiberias on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. What a wonderful day we had. We saw so much and had so much to reflect on. It is an awesome thing to be in the land where our Lord Jesus walked and talked.
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