The last thing I expected to see at Caesarea Philippi

Caesarea Philippi is known for being the place in Matthew 16 where Peter says to Jesus, "You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God".

In this region is this mountain and cave where the headwaters of the Hermon Stream (from Mount Hermon) flow out of the ground and form part of the headwaters of the Jordan River. 

What I learned on this visit there, that differs from my tour in 2017, is that while Peter said this to Jesus in this area, it's unlikely he said it right here at this cave. 

Why?

Because it's a place of pagan idolatry, and Jews would not have gone there. Jesus didn't need to—everyone know about this place, this rock. His play on words, "Upon this rock I will build my church" still makes sense whether or not Jesus was standing there. 

While today the cave is closed up (though still deep), back in the day, this is where the water flowed from—just like the spring where Gideon's men drank. It's was so deep they couldn't find the bottom, and it was believed that this was the gate to the underworld.

Next to this cave were temples to the pagan god Pan. People worshipped here, did vile acts, and sacrifices were made in this stream. This site says that children were thrown in; we know for a fact that goats were too. If the goats sank, then the sacrifice was accepted.

In 749 AD, the same earthquake that destroyed Beit She'an, Susita, and so many other places in Israel, also destroyed this place. At that point, the cave was closed in and the springs found a place farther south to stream from the rock.

The last time I visited this site, this is basically all I saw, along with more statues/pillars. So I was unprepared for the latest excavations:

It turns out that Augustus Caesar gave this town to Herod, who turned around and built a marble temple for Caesar in front of the cave. About 5 centuries later, a church was built right over those ruins.

Something that is very common in Israel that is that any place where it's documented that Jesus said or did something, the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, or another liturgical church came later and built a church there. So, I guess it shouldn't be that surprising—but I was only here 5 years ago and those ruins had not been excavated then! So that definitely shocked me.

It's also surprising to me, to see a church here at a place of pagan worship, even if Jesus did say that statement nearby (or right there). But, there you go... can't argue with proven fact. 

What do you think of this?

There's more to Caesarea Philippi than I thought!

The second thing I didn't expect to see at Caesarea Philippi was King Agrippa II's palace and an ancient city.

The walk there was gorgeous. We followed Hermon Stream from the grotto into the woods, and this North Ga girl's heart was soooooo happy! Forests, streams, and waterfalls—yes please!

Along the way, we passed some modern ruins, like a mill and a hydro-electric station. I was so thankful for the shade, the cold water to splash on my face, and excited for what we would discover. I've basically realized that pretty much any place you go on a tour, you've probably only seen a piece of the entire park. There just isn't enough time to see it all. So this was completely brand new to me!

Then, there we were: Agrippa's palace

He had a very sophisticated sewage system for his day.

The palace ruins actually span either side of a modern day highway!

And then, outside of the palace, there are ruins from the town, including a basilica (of course) and a synagogue.

High up on the mountain in the distance is Nimrod Fortress!

Inside the synagogue:

As we left this area of ruins and walked around the corner, we found the cardo (main street), which tells us this was a very big town. Now it's a nature reserve with ruins, but that's only what we can see. There's so much more underneath the surface (as always!).

At the end of the path, as we walked to the parking lot, we saw this building, another excellent example of how Israel builds on top of the old.

The sign explains how below this building and on the building itself are building materials dating back millennia. You can literally see the passage of time and the modernization of tools and resources as your eyes move towards the roof!

Wow, there was so much more to this park than I realized! I can't wait to go back and explore more... somewhere in the forest is a waterfall!

Weapons, armor, coins, and more from Gamla! (Part 3 of 3)

A few months after hiking Gamla, I got to go to the museum in Katzrin with the artifacts from the seige. To say I was freaking out was an understatement!

The Katzrin Archeological Museum has an excellent display (and air conditioning, haha) of more than just Gamla. It's too much for me to tell about in this blog, so I'm just going to focus on what I consider the crown jewel: the telling of Gamla's story.

In addition to the telling of this incredible discovery (a pristine site after 1900 years... other than natural damage, haha), we were able to see artifacts from the dig. Here's just a few:

spears and arrowheads!

a piece of a scabbard

part of Roman armor

coins

coins

oil lamps, weapons, and more

WOW! I still would love to see the suit of armor that was stuck in a ceiling, but I think that's in a museum in either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. So maybe one day!

I love being in Israel... you can enter into the story like no where else!

Into the Breach! (Part 2 of 3)

After its destruction in AD 67, the city of Gamla, once capital of the Golan, lay in ruin for 1,900 years.

Then, in 1968, it was rediscovered in a study of nature reserves (inside the park is an incredible reserve where you can observe birds, a waterfall, etc). So much here confirms that this is the real Gamla—the description of the city matches that of Josephus', plus the discovery of Roman weapons, armor, arrowheads, ballista balls, iron nails, and even coins.

Wow!

In the last blog, I only gave you the overview of Gamla. So now we're going on an up-close-and-personal tour! Are you ready?

Into the breach!

This is it—the literal breach of the wall. This is where the Romans first tried to get in and the soldiers got stuck in the switchback design of the city! WOW!

The ancient synagogue, built early in the first century AD, during the time of the 2nd Temple. It's actually one of the oldest synagogues ever discovered in Israel!

The mikveh

Remains from the structures dating to the 1st century BC (Hasmonean period):

The view from the partially rebuilt tower (because its collapsed is what facilitated the entrance into an destruction of the city, it was rebuilt to give visitors an idea of what it was like). 

The cliff where everyone jumped:

One thing that is interesting though... this is definitely Gamla. But no piles of bones or remains of the 9,000 Jewish people who died have been found. So... what happened to them? Did the Romans care enough to bury them in a mass grave? Did the birds (so well-known in this preserve) carry them off? 

Their remains remain yet to be found.

What do you think about the story and site of Gamla? Please let me know in the comments below!

Gamla: Northern Israel's "Little Masada" (Part 1 of 3)

When I first heard I was going to Gamla Nature Reserve, I kind of shrugged and was like, "I have no idea what that is."

Literally, I. Had. No. Idea. 

As in, this was one of the places that came to me as a great surprise, and I love it when that happens!

First of all, the views were insane. But the history is what took my breath away even more than the hike did (and it was a doozy!).

Located in the Golan, on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, Gamla is a small, camel-backed mountain surrounded by taller ones, nestled between two ridges and ravines. Originally built up in the early bronze age. It's believed the city walls existed before Israel's conquest of Canaan under Joshua. The area was known then as Geshur, and is mentioned in Joshua 13:11-13).

It was eventually resettled by returning exiles from Babylon, and Herod the Great re-settled peoples here in order to populate border cities. For about 150 years, this was the capital of the Golan, known for producing high-quality olive oil.

Streams flow on either side, and you can hear the water as you climb up. There's only 1 way in, and there was a 6 meter thick wall barricading anyone who wanted to enter. The mountain itself has a steep ridge ending in a sharp cliff. The people of Gamla lived on a slope on the eastern side. 

And that cliff is where they died. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The reason why Gamla is called "Little Masada" is because its story is very similar. But that doesn't make its heroism and heartbreak any less powerful. 

Gamla was built in such a way that they were able to thwart a 7-month siege of King Agrippa II and a Roman invasion in 66AD. Led by Vespasian, 3 legions of soldiers (each one between 4,000 - 6,000) laid seige and a month later, attacked. They entered the city and began to fight, but the pathways were switchbacks, and soon there was a giant bottleneck. Soldiers tried to climb on top of the buildings, and they collapsed, killing all of them.

2,000 years later, excavations revealed some incredible things, like a skeleton with armor stuck in the collapsed roof, with arrowheads and other weapons all around—literally just stuck in time.

This shook the Romans. NO ONE had been able to thwart them yet.

So they tried again.

One night 3 Roman soldiers dug under the tower, removed some stones, and the tower collapsed. Suddenly, they had access into the city.

According to Jewish historian Josephus, the people of the town knew this was it. It was over and they would be taken into slavery (or worse). So they climbed as high as they could behind the city, up to the cliff’s edge- then started jumping off. Once again, it was a choice between death or

slavery. Over 9,000 Jews died.

(the cliff they jumped off)

As we climbed entered Gamla and started exploring, looking at the mountains and ravines all around, a friend said to me, “Can you imagine waking up and you are surrounded by 3 legions of Roman soldiers, hearing the thumping of their weapons and armor?”

She imitated the sounds of the Orcs in Lord of the Rings marching on Helm's Deep, and suddenly I could see it—legions of Roman solders, covered in armor, swords and shields glinting in the sun, horses neighing: all proclaiming to the citizens of Gamla to surrender.

They stood to the very end.

Come back next week for part 2 of this series!