Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Meggido, Gideon Springs, Nazareth, and Cana

Caesarea, once a proud Roman port city dating back to the time of Pontius Pilate. This city was built by Herod the Great who ordered all boys under the age of two in or around Bethlehem to be killed in hopes of killing the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:1-18). We visited the monumental Roman amphitheater built in the days of Christ. Don Shire played "Majesty" in front the of amphitheater. See the video on the left.

Mt. Carmel, where Elijah held a contest against the false prophets of Ba’al (1 Kings 18:16-40). Underneath the statue is a panoramic view of Jezreel Valley which is where the Battle of Armageddon will take place. Don Shire played "Nothing but the Blood" while overlooking the Jezreel Valley. It was very windy up there so you will hear some wind noise.

Megiddo, overlooks the plains of Armageddon and the site of the 25 superimposed cities. Below is a picture of the city gates.

Gideon Springs
This is where Gideon's army drank water, which Nicole read from Judges 7. God instructed Gideon to select, out of 22,000, those men who lapped the water with their tongues like a dog; 300 men did that and the others were sent home. With those 300 men, they conquered the Midianites.


Nazareth, where Jesus grew up. Below the building in the middle with the black dome is a church that was built over Mary's house. In the background (close to the black dome) is another church which is built over the water source of where Mary would have drawn water. In one of those two places it is believed that Mary was told that she was going to be the mother of Jesus. Those two churches border the old city of Nazareth. Nazareth, at the time of Jesus' life, had about 300 residents. It was a rather insignificant city during Jesus time. Which is also why it was said "What good can come out of Nazareth". Nicole is reading scripture from Luke 4:14-22 in front of the church that was built over the water source.

Cana, site of the first miracle where Jesus turned water to wine (John 2:1-11). Here, a number of couples renewed their wedding vows. Below is a picture of a water jug the size that would hold 20-30 gallons of water. This is the same size jug that Jesus used to turn the water into wine. There are two churches that claim to be on the spot of this first miracle. We visited the one with the two towers in the pictures.