Today we traveled from Jerusalem up to the Sea of Galilee area. We took a look at the city of Sepphoris, and it was spectacular! There are tons of mosaic floors around the entire city. Almost every house we came to had a mosaic floor. There was one particular house where the mosaic was humongous. On one side of it was "the beautiful woman," which most people refer to as the Mona Lisa of Galilee, because she's not necessarily smiling, but she's pretty. And by the way, who in their right mind thinks that Mona Lisa is pretty? But I digress...
Sepphoris = awesomeness. I finally had to stop taking pictures of the mosaics, because they were everywhere. Even the sidewalks were mosaic! The U2 song Where the Streets Have No Name (go ahead and click on the link, because you know you're already singing the song in your head you might as well hear it :) wouldn't apply in this place, because the street were named by mosaics on the sidewalk. Awesome!
Coincidentally, Sepphoris was probably the place where Joseph and Jesus worked, because it's right across the hill from Nazareth where they lived. Sepphoris was being built by Herod Antipas (Herod the Great's son) during Jesus' lifetime and it required tons of workers. They probably would have worked there, seeing as how (and I warn you, I'm about to ruin your childhood) they were craftsman. Carpenters? Not likely. The Greek word actually means craftsman (go ahead and cry, you know you just died a little on the inside ;-). This is a desert people! I haven't seen a real tree in about 500 miles (besides Olive Trees which are very small). Just where in the world are Jesus and Joseph going to work as carpenters with no wood?! Everything in this entire country is made of stone. So, most likely, Jesus and Joseph were stone craftsman who helped build Sepphoris (go ahead, stick your head between your legs and cry like a baby).
We then went to the cliffs of Arbel, which overlooks the Sea of Galilee. I have four words for you people - in cred i ble. The view is spectacular! You can see the entire Sea from high above, from beginning to end. Absolutely breathtaking! Speaking of cliffs, if you've read my blogs before, you know that me and heights..well, we just don't see eye to eye. Imagine standing 1000 feet above pretty much anything with no rails and looking down. Fear just doesn't describe that feeling; however, I got that picture dangit! You see what I go through for you people? I put my life on the line! I'm out on the front lines taking it! I strike fear in the hearts...ok, I took that metaphor too far. But you get the picture. Scared.to.death! But the pictures and the view were WELL worth it!
We made our way down to Galilee, and it is absolutely a completely different world! This is the place where the majority of Christ's ministry took place. We are staying on the Mount of Beatitudes, which is the site where Jesus mostly likely gave the Sermon on the Mount. It overlooks the Sea of Galilee and it is one amazing view. There are gardens on the site, a convent, and a chapel. We walked around in the garden tonight after dinner, and it was amazing what we didn't hear! Unlike Bethlehem and Jerusalem, there were few lights, it was cool with a nice breeze, there were no car horns, no dogs barking, no idiots yelling in the street - what we heard was the birds and silence.
Can you imagine for Christ and his 12 disciples (or was it 11?) what it must have been like to go up to Jerusalem after sending 3 years in this paradise? Peace and quiet turned into madness! Except that we took the opposite route, and now we're peaceful. Which reminds me of my relationship with Christ. How many times in our lives have we been in a place where all we hear is background noise? Horns, people screaming, dogs barking - and then Christ brings us into a place of peace. I walked around the premises tonight by myself and it was serene. I needed that peace and quiet after 2 weeks of hustle and bustle. That same truth applies to our lives no matter where we are. Christ takes the hustle and bustle and makes it quiet again. He gives us peace in the midst of life's insanity. Remember that as you pray today and ask for peace. Shalom ya'll.
The amphitheater at Sepphoris
The view from the amphitheater. Sepphoris is set on top of a mountain, so the views were incredible. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden!
This is the entire ginormous mosaic I mentioned earlier. Near the bottom center you can see the beautiful woman. The entire mosaic is a story about Dionysus, the Greek wine god.
The beautiful woman/Mona Lisa of Galilee. Ain't she purdy?
This is the Cardo (the main street) in Sepphoris. You can see the ruts in the rocks from the wagon/chariot wheels. Also, look on both sides of the road - those are the sidewalks, and both of them are completely made up of mosaic tiles all the way down. How long did that take to lay down?!
The mosaic sidewalk. Amazing!
Close-up of one of the mosaics in a random house. Each house is like this! As you can see, the floors on all sides of this house are mosaics as well. Serious craftsmanship at work!
Close-up from the "Nile Room." I put this one up because this comes from a humongous mosaic depicting life around the Nile river. You probably recognize that Greek word up there, right? Yes, it says "AMAZON"
My favorite mosaic from the Nile House is the Centaur! How awesome is that?
Looking out over the city of Sepphoris. Every single house has a mosaic practically, so you can see how many there are!
Looking out over the Sea of Galilee from the Cliffs of Arbel. Stunning!
Another view. Across the Sea is Jordan.
The cliffs! I literally leaned out over the rocks to take this picture. Scared me to death! Terrified! But hey, I'm the photog for the group, I simply have to get the picture. To me these were the cliffs of insanity!!!
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