Bet She’an.
A Roman - Byzantine City.
In Roman times, Bet She’an was the leading city of the Decapolis and played an important role in history due to its geographical location at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley.
It is a town mentioned in Issachar (Joshua 17:11-16). In the biblical account of the battle of the Israelites against the Philistines on Mount Gilboa, Saul committed suicide and his sons were killed and their bodies hung on the walls on the mound, ‘Tel Bet She’an’.
Walking through the excavations reveal a remarkable city, one that incorporated all the glory of Rome and the best of Hellenistic culture.
The bodies of Saul and his sons were on display for all to see on this mound - Tel Bet She’an. King David was able to capture Bet She’an in a series of brilliant military campaigns that expelled the Philistines from the area pushing them back to their strongholds of Ashkelon, Ekron, Bath, Gaza and Ashdod.
Palladius Street.
A typical Roman Cardo or main commercial thoroughfare connected the upper city with the forum and marketplace. Looking into the distance towards where the remains of the temple are.
As I stand here looking down Palladius Street I am quite overwhelmed.
Over 2000 years ago, families lived and worked here. Now I was standing where they had walked, laughed and cried.
Can you hear their voices, the fishmonger calling out his wares?
The good mornings? Have you heard…? How fresh is this bread?
I will see you at the temple just now…!
The Amphitheater.
Roads leading to and from the Amphitheater.
Then we have the public toilets…very sociable…as Pastor Robert asked when we were all sitting there…’Does anyone have the Sports section?’ Hmmm…Yes…well…thank goodness…today we do coffee…so much nicer...don't you think?
And...just in case you were wondering...?
How did that work?
We will demonstrate it for you.
It's very cosy...and social.
Water flowed by underneath where you sat.
Well, it is time to move on...
Please return the Sports section, Pastor Rob.
Pick up your robe Linda and let us go...
I have to go and get the fish that Seamus is keeping aside for me and I haven't been to the bathhouse yet...
The Bathhouse.
Another very social and busy place was the bathhouse. It played a major part in ancient Roman culture and society. It was one of the most common daily activities in Roman culture and was practiced across a wide variety of social classes.
The pictures below are listed in the order that the Jewish people read…from right to left so as you look at the boards start on the right first.
I thought that I would add that to help you avoid embarrassment if ever you found yourself in a Roman bathhouse…the things that I do for you…
The Calderium - the hot room.
Either dry like a sauna or steamy like a Turkish bath.
It's been a glorious adventure to look back into the past whilst standing in the streets of this ancient city but the time has come to say goodbye to Bet She’an and for us to get back on the bus…it’s off to Jericho we go…
Jericho.
City of Palm trees (Deuteronomy 34:3; Chronicles 28:15) miraculously defeated by Joshua (Joshua 6). Rebuilt by Hiel (1 Kings 16:34). The place where Elisha made the axe head float on the water (2 Kings 6:1-7) and lastly, the place visited by Jesus (Matthew 20:29-34; Luke 19:1-10).
Traveling from Bet She’an to Jericho to see the remains of the walls of Jericho takes you into the Judean Desert. The contrast is startling and perhaps for the first time you begin to understand what it was like for Jesus to go into the Wilderness.
Yet here in the desert we find the wonder of a nation who has learned to grow and sustain various types of food in the desert. We drove past kilometers of Date Palms and other agricultural victories that survive under plastic and which help Israel to supply food for themselves as well as giving them the ability to export worldwide. The body of water you see here in the distance is the Dead Sea.
The fresh dates are for sale everywhere and are a wonderful treat especially the chocolate dipped dates.
Jericho - Lunchtime at the Jericho Temptation Restaurant and we get to meet Sam the camel who is not averse to giving welcoming kisses and nuzzles to those brave enough to cuddle up.
At the ruins of the walls of Jericho.
The Mount of Temptation.
The Mount of Temptation is said to be the hill where Jesus was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:8).The Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Temptation sits halfway up on the side of the mount. It is approximately 366 metres high.
It is incredibly hot and dusty and as we stand here one cannot help but think...this is but a small taste of what our Lord and Saviour must have experienced. Imagine 40 days without food...
It is time to go once more and we get back on the bus and we're off to see the Qumran Caves, the place that the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
Qumran.
The Qumran Caves.
This was an Essene settlement in the second century BC. The Dead Sea scrolls were discovered here quite by accident in 1947 by three Bedouin shepherds.
The cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
I stand amazed...imagine...it is believed that they were hidden there by refugees fleeing from the wars such as those who were headed for Masada. The scrolls date from the third century BCE (mid-Second Temple period) to the first century of the Common Era. before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD.
The Dead Sea.
Our final stop for the day - the Dead Sea. Called the Sea of Salt in Genesis 14:3 and the Sea of Arabah in Deuteronomy 3:17.
There is a thriving industry around the different minerals present in the Dead Sea. These are being extracted from the water. However, since they have established all these factories, the level of the Dead Sea has dropped drastically so they urgently need to find a solution.
An experience that we will not soon forget!
Amidst lots of laughter we floated about…the moment you lift your legs…they pop up to the top and it requires good core strength as well as upper body strength to be able to get your feet down again. Lots of fun, I enjoyed myself thoroughly!
The green that you see in these photos is plastic grass…you are after all in the desert!
The temperatures and the humidity are extremely high and just changing into your swimming gear is like being in a sauna but the water of the Dead Sea itself is just lovely…very temperate.
As you finish your swim, you are able to rinse off all the salt water before you get out of the sea. Great experience!
We departed from there to go to our next hotel - The Oasis Hotel.
I have never stayed in a hotel with such spacious rooms! Katalin and I each had our own double bed.
Beautiful!
Until next time...God bless you!
XXX
Sylvia.
