Day #4 Caesarea and Nazareth

Acts chapter 10 connects the City of Jaffa, which we visited yesterday, with the city of our first stop today. Caesarea was the treasured city of the King Herod. It was also home to the devout and God-fearing Cornelius. As a Gentile Cornelius was excluded from the circle early Christians who were all Jewish. By divine messengers God brought Simon Peter up from Jaffa to preach the Good News to Cornelius at Caesarea. In becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, Cornelius and his family are first to break the barrier between Jew and Greek.

Some remains of Herod's great city Caesarea are still plainly visible today, including remnants of his 15 mile long aqueduct system. Also visible are the fortified walls of that city when it was under the control of the Crusader's. We learned about the military strategy behind motes, gates and secret escape routes.

Our day began with a lite chilly rain but by lunch time it was warm enough to eat outside. We enjoyed a stop along the way at a famous coffee/lunch shop called "Aroma." Israel boasts of being the only country to have run off the Starbucks franchise with its famous tasting coffee.

After visiting the stunning gardens of the Baha'i faith world headquarters located in Haifa, we ended the day in Nazareth. We saw what Mary and Joseph's homes may have looked like (houses made out of hand-made caves in the side of the hill). We also visited the famous "Church of the Annunciation" which commemorates the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary.