Did the Magi stop here on the way to Bethlehem?

From where—and through where—did the wise men travel?

I've never really thought too much about this, although I heard once that they travelled through Petra (modern day Jordan) on their way to Bethlehem. So when I planned a trip over Christmas weekend to the Negev desert, which is south of Be'er Sheva, and therefore south of the boundaries of ancient Israel, I didn't expect to see any Biblical places, let alone find a Christmas connection.

While watching googlemaps on the bus south of Be'er Sheva to Mitspe Ramon, I saw Avdat National Park on the map. Then I saw it was originally settled by the Nabateans, the same people who lived in Petra. So then I knew I had to go.

The name "Nabatean" means "Cistern digger" in Aramaic, and their kingdom included northern Arabia, Edom (Judean Desert), Moab (Jordan), Hauran, the Negev, and Sinai. Their caravans of 10-20 camels carried spices, incense, medicinal plants, textiles, dyes, silver, and gold. Each camel carried 150-200 kilos (330-440lbs), and their handler walked before them.

The route was over 1800 kilometers (1120 miles!) in the desert—a 65-day trek. Along the way were stations where the caravans could rest, replenish provisions, and trade out camels.

It turns out that Avdat was station number 62 on the ancient Incense Route (Spice Route) from 300 BC- 300 AD that went from Yemen to Gaza, passing through Petra. So if the wise men did travel through Petra and then north to Bethlehem, they would have passed by Avdat. Maybe they even stopped there briefly! 

Could the star have been visible from here?

As with all ancient roadways, they have become modern roads. So, the highway that passes Advat is likely the Spice Route. 

After Nabatean King Rabbel II died in 106 AD, the Nabatean kingdom was annexed to the Roman Empire, who then built onto the area. After them came the Byzantines. So, on top of this tel is a WEALTH of archeological structures, not to mention the view!

We had less than 90 minutes to explore the whole structure, which was almost impossible. But we made it by just skipping a few areas that were less interesting to us. You can basically picture me running up the mountain, camera in hand determined to explore the entire tel. It was so much fun! 

So, here's part of my self-tour of Avdat, starting with a home from Roman times:

LOVE all these arches!

(a lot of wine was made here... they found 14 winepresses!)

The main complex at the top is HUGE! There were 2 Nabatean temples and 2 Byzantine churches (one was a monastery)... and it was all attached to a Roman fortress!

the entire complex from below (photos above and below)

Nabatean temple

just part of the view!

One of the Byzantine-era churches (the other was a monastery) and has graves with Greek-inscribed grave stones in it. Christianity came to the region during the Byzantine period, and it became the official religion. The remaining Nabateans accepted the new faith and replaced their script with Greek. 

Another Nabatean temple

Peek-a-boo!

I mean, this view!

Then, onto the Roman Fortress, which had a tower where you could view the entire complex:

In the photo above, the closer ruins are Nabatean, the farther ones (top right) are from the Roman army camp.

When you leave the fortress, immediately in front of you is a massive wine press and the remains of the Byzantine settlement, which was destroyed in a massive earthquake. Throughout the route through the 'neighborhood' there are some excavations and neat finds (apparently, somewhere in there is a Nabatean pottery shop):

Love the double arches below! #mcdonalds?

Then, you exit by the southern Roman tower (which, at the time I thought was locked, but 2 pictures above have people on top of it, so that was a missed opportunity):

Finally, you walk past the caravan (pictured above), and see one more Roman villa:

Talk about incredible! I love a room with a view!

And what a view it is!

The view towards the main part of the tel:

We made it down just as the park was closing, and while we waited for the bus, got to see the sun set (It sets at 4:30pm in the winter):

What an amazing adventure, which was extra-special because of exploring this place on Christmas day!

What did you think of it? What do you know about the wise men?

By the way, I hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year! See you then!

Return to Joppa

On the way back from Jerusalem on Christmas weekend, we made a really fun pit stop: Jafa (Joppa)!

I first went here on my tour in 2017. In fact, it was our first stop, which was pretty cool. But we had a packed day of places to go, so we didn't spend a lot of time there. Being there 4 years later, at Christmas, at sunset, was so fun.

Jafa is the oldest port city in the world. This harbor, where we watched the sunset from, is the same harbor where Solomon brought in cedars from Lebanon for the Temple.

Jafa is just south of Tel Aviv. Seeing this city sparkle in pink and gold in the sunset was beautiful to behold.

Jafa is also where Jonah was fleeing to when he got swallowed by the big fish. Last time, I was told that's where he was spit up, but that isn't true. I looked it up and the Bible says he was spit up in Ninevah. So I looked up Ninevah on googlemaps, and it is more than 750 miles away—surrounded by land! The only way the fish could get there was to swim around the land and then up the river. WOW!

Jafa is also where Peter stayed in Acts, specifically at Simon the Tanner's house (pictured below). He was staying here when God raised Tabitha from the dead through Peter in Acts 9 and when Peter saw the vision of the sheet with clean and unclean animals.

Wow! Last time,  my guide pointed in the direction of the house, so I knew exactly where it was. But we didn't actually go there. So this time we found it, though it was closed. But I realized the direction it faced meant that since Peter had been on the roof, he had been looking out over the same harbor while he'd been praying! SO COOL!

Studying here in Israel is allowing me to see places that make the Bible fill out in color and dimension, and I love it!

Celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year's in Israel (Part 2)

After Hanukkah, came my favorite season: Advent and Christmas! 

I had assumed that, since Christmas isn't a Jewish holiday, it wouldn't be celebrated here, and I was trying to brace myself for a very different Christmas.

Well, I was both right and wrong. It was a very different kind of Christmas, but it turns out that in towns like Nazareth, Haifa, Bethlehem, and even Jerusalem, there are areas of Christmas (or other holiday) festivals and celebrations! The weather also took a turn and became a lot cooler, as rainy season (winter) is here. So for this Georgia girl, it actually felt like Christmas!

The entire month of December, I got to enjoy these festivals, which was so fun. And then for the weekend of Christmas, I had the most different Christmas of all: spending it in Jerusalem, and actually spending Christmas Day in Bethlehem!

It was an incredible weekend, and it was also bit of a juggling game because late Christmas Even and most of Christmas Day were on Shabbat. So my friends and I had to make sure to get there before things closed, and that's why we decided to go to Bethlehem on Saturday. Besides, spending Christmas in Bethlehem... how many people actually get to do that?

And since the borders are currently closed to foreign tourists, thanks to Omicron, that meant there were only local tourists there—a very different from past years. I kept having pinch myself for how amazing it was!

On Christmas Eve, we got to Jerusalem in time to go to the Western Wall before Shabbat began, and then also went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Armenian Quarter after an amazing late lunch/early dinner. 

Christmas day, we took a bus from outside the Damascus Gate to Bethlehem. Our bus driver could have qualified for the Fast and the Furious! There was one point where I even closed my eyes, haha. But we made it, then walked to the Church of the Nativity, said to be over the cave that Jesus was born in. The line to see the cave was so long that we just walked around and then started walking to our other destination in Bethlehem: the Shepherds' Fields, also known as the fields of Boaz and Ruth. That was a long walk, so on the way back, I was so thankful to find a taxi!

The day after Christmas, time was short for us. We checked out of our Airbnb, went back to the Temple Mount, and this time we also walked up to the mosque above. That was my first time being up there. I didn't realize how big the area was up top! There's an amazing view of the Mount of Olives too. Leaving the Old City, we went to a busy shuk for spices and then headed out, stopping at the top of the Mount of Olives for a photo of the city. 

What an incredible weekend!!!

And honestly, after all of that excitement, and because the week after New Year's Eve is the week of finals in my Hebrew class, I kept the day much lower key—staying in my room, being a happy introvert, haha. So that might be a little bit of a let down to anyone who isn't an introvert, but I loved it. All I needed was my poodle, Annie, snoozing on my ankles. So, just for fun, here's a picture of her from last New Year's Eve:

We are just over a week in, so I'll say it again: Happy New Year!