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Today, we turned our attention towards Jerusalem and left Tiberias on Route 90 South. Yardenit is our first stop. It is located just before the place where Route 90 crosses the Jordan River. It is a picturesque location with huge eucalyptus trees and quiet greenish water. Yardenit is a place of safe access to the Jordan River for Christian pilgrims.
Just a bit beyond Yardenit we passed Degania, the very first kibbutz. It was started in 1909 by Jewish pioneers from Eastern Europe. They worked hard and turned swampland and rocky soil into a beautiful farm. We traveled south for about 20 minutes on Route 90 and turned right on Route 717 climbing the mountain to Kachav Hayarden (The Star of the Jordan). This location is better known to us as Belvoir (beautiful view). This is the location of the most invincible fortress in the Holy Land.
The road up the mountain to Belvoir is a narrow one-lane and winds back and forth up the mountain. We have driven up in a driving rain on one occasion and I would not recommend that again. We had substantially decent weather this day, even though it was rather cloudy.
We joined together in our morning devotional looking out across the Jordan Valley. It was a memorable event. One could almost see the history before our eyes.
Bennie Ruth represents Vision Travel, our tour host, from Miami Florida (1-800-654-4544) operated by Nina Meyer. They do a great job. Thanks folks. Randy is Director of Development at NOBTS. Bet Shean is 8 miles south on Route 90. It has been continuously occupied for more than 5,000 years. The town is surrounded by water and receives rainfall on a regular basis. Several members of the group climbed to the top of the tel in the background. Our seminary was involved in the digs on the top of the tel that date to Old Testament times.
Bet Shean has a beautiful colonnaded street as pictured above that dates to the Byzantine period.
This was a large and important Roman City. It had many significant buildings and was the focus of economic activity for the area. When you walk through the open areas and up and down the streets you get a real sense of the majesty of this city.
The group climbed to the top of the old tel. This is the city where Saul's body was hung on the wall (1 Sam. 31:10). It is mentioned as a part of Solomon's empire (1 Kings 4:12). More coffee and water and all the other things one does before a long ride. We loaded up and drove down the Jordan Valley. We would quickly pass out of beautiful green surroundings to desert. It is a stunning experience as the beauty of the land unfolds. Hills rise on both sides of the Jordan. First were the hills of Samaria that soon gave way to the hills of Judea. The Old Testament unfolded before us. Also, to remember that this was often the way that Jesus would travel back and forth to Jerusalem increases the value of the drive. Wow. I love this trip.
We left Jericho and traveled down to the Dead Sea. We would return here on Friday but today we would visit Qumran, the home of the Essenes, maybe.
South of the plateau, the terrain is rugged and spectacular. Note the erosion. This is a combination of wind and water erosion. We left Qumran and went up to Jerusalem. We transitioned about 3,900 feet in altitude (1,080 feet below sea level to 2,820 feet above sea level) in approximately 25 miles. We went to the Lion's Gate (St. Stephen's Gate) first. We entered the old city on the eastern side of Jerusalem with a view towards the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives.
We have passed the halfway point in our Israel trip and now we have arrived in Jerusalem.
We sang in the Church of St. Anne. The echoes are heart touching and the sounds spine tingling. It was good!
We had had a long day and it was nearing a close. The bus would be waiting for us at Jaffa Gate to take us to our hotel. It had been a long ride and lots of walks since we had left Tiberias this morning. We had experienced the route that Jesus would often take from Tiberias up to Jerusalem. Every time we read the accounts of John the Baptist and Jesus' ministry in the New Testament our mind's eye will be alert to the nuances of the Middle East. When we read of the travels of various prophets and patriarchs in the Old Testament, we will have a much clearer understanding of what was happening. We can be grateful to God for the blessings of this day.
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Many groups have devotional and baptismal services at this site. The baptism of
Jesus by John (Matthew 3) is traditionally believed to be further south near Jericho, but
this location is a good place for Christian groups to memorialize their Holy Land visit.
The view of the Jordan Valley is
breathtaking. On a clear day, you can see Mt. Tabor, Sea of Galilee, hills of
Samaria, the Golan, Mount Hermon, and the Yarmuk valley which is the border between Syria
and Jordan. 
Belvoir
was a large fortress that was completed essentially as the diagram shows by the Knights
Hospitallers in 1168 AD. Note the inner castle that provided safety for the knights
from their mercenaries and serfs. This was ultimately a contributing factor for
their defeat. 
Saladin finally conquered the fortress in
the spring of 1191 and permitted the defenders to march out of Belvoir to Akko. The
castle was completely destroyed in the 13th century when there was some concern that the
Crusaders might return. 
We
completed our visit and headed back to the bus. Randy and Bennie Ruth arrived first.
The
upper part of the theater is missing but it was designed to seat 5,000. This is a
beautiful theater and certainly rivals the theater in Caesarea. There were many
dramatic presentations presented on the stage of this theater. It was a very popular
venue.
It didn't take but about an hour and a half
to get to Jericho. This was the prettiest sight there. A lot of building is
going on but the place is pretty grim. I don't know any of the answers to all the
questions that the people of this area are asking. 
The Tel is fairly undeveloped and begs for
a new excavation. None in sight as far as I know. There isn't much to see but a lot
to think about. We walked the area and looked around. As you can see by the
picture below, this was an area where Jesus traveled. The Mount of Temptation isn't
far from Jericho. 
This is the entrance area to the site. They are
doing a lot of work on their snack area and site entrance. The cafeteria here is
excellent and we enjoyed a good meal after we completed our site visit.
The ruins are situated on a little plateau
on the north-west shore of the Dead Sea. It is easy to visualize the austere
dedication of the people that lived at this site.
Immediately
to the west of the archaeological site are the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were
found. This is one of those caves.
The
road from halfway down in the Kidron Valley looks easy to walk up in this picture.
It isn't. The walk is strenuous. Our focus now would be to travel through the
Old City of Jerusalem to all of the sights on the Via Dolorosa. This is a memorable
experience. The key thing to remember is that the traditional sights may not be what
they say they are but the real thing is a stones throw from the traditional sight if the
traditional sight isn't the actual place. This is Jerusalem, the place where the
prophets were murdered. The city that God said He loved.
Immediately outside of St. Anne's is the
Pool of Bethesda. Jesus performed miracles in this place. He lives and because
He does we can. "Jesus loves me!"
I
love the street signs. We are here.
We are journeying on the Via Dolorosa.
Jeff
is talking every step of the way. He brought a real zip to the trip. "Go
get 'em killer!"
The folks are hugging the wall here while a speeding motorist passes. The
narrow streets carry a lot of traffic all of the time. 
Yvonne our TWA host and Mark her husband are discussing the events from the
time of Christ as we travel along the Via Dolorosa.
