March 5 - Mount Carmel/Jezreel Valley and Sea of Galilee

On our way up to Mount Carmel. The trees are nicely pruned from the bottom up by the goats.

Statute of Elijah slaughtering a priest of Ba'al (1 Kings 18). Mount Carmel is where Elijah confronted the people with who they would serve...YHWH or Ba'al with nothing in between and NO mixing of religion.

View from Mt. Carmel. Although there was a haze, the clouds, mountains, and valley were breath-taking.

A look down at an olive grove.

A hazy Jezreel valley - Valley of Armageddon

My favorite place to snap a picture of the valley

We found a John Deere tractor up there for Cal

A lady along the roadside

One of the many olive/cheese/vegetable/flower stands along the road

The fertile Jezreel Valley on our way to Tiberias

A haze over the Sea of Galilee with the Golan in the background. Beautiful!

City of Tiberias

See the tires on the right? Water is very important in Israel. The Sea has come up with the rains, but it still should be at the level of the tires.

A view of the Golan across from the Sea.

Walking on the waterfront along the Sea

A little girl on a motorized 4 wheeler. She was everywhere!

Seagulls

Fish anyone?

Many Orthodox live in Tiberias

Leaving Tiberias

It's a beautiful time of year after the rains. These green rolling hills will be totally barren in the summer.

Arriving at Merchavia, a Kibbutz near Afula.

Small buildings being restored.

One of these small buildings was where Gold Meir, Israel's 4th Prime Minister stayed for a time.

The main building of Merchavia with history following...

The building is now run by a Jewish couple who believe in Messiah. They run a bed and breakfast here with teaching sessions on Hebrew roots of the Bible. They also have an outreach to the poor, especially elderly Holocaust victims.

Banner in the synagogue. The Hebrew above the Menorah reads "Yeshua."

Erev Shabbat at Merchavia