Galilee of the Gentiles

Okay, I know I am quite a few days behind on my blogging - it's mostly because we have fairly limited access in Turkey. I just wanted to give a quick run-down on our days in Galilee before I continued into stories about Istanbul, Izmir and Ephesus. And already, tomorrow, we leave for hour eight-hour bus ride to Greece!

In Isaiah and Matthew, the writers reference Galilee as "Galilee of the Gentiles." The phrase comes from a couple different sources. First, the location of the incredibly fertile and central Jezreel Valley brought the trade routes of various empires through Galilee, increasing the influence of the Gentiles and incurring a blend of cultures, worldviews, and religion. We focused a lot of our study on the Jezreel, its routes and mountains, and the stories which crisscrossed haphazardly over its soil. Among the most beautiful overlooks of the Jezreel Valley included the town of Nazareth.

The place that we stayed was called Ein Gev - and, literally, it was on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (or, "the Kennerit," as the locals call it). It's about the size of your average lake, nothing remarkable. In the evenings after every field study, we would rush down to the waves, laughing and diving and trying to stand on each others' shoulders as the sun soaked the sky with color. The light, the air, the water - it swelled one's heart to a wonderfully painful size. Galilee was one of the few places where we could truly say, He was here. This is where it began.

One of my favorite moments was when my friend Arielle came to our resort and spent time with me and our mutual friend Sally. We sat talking, sipping drinks by the shore, while she discussed the modern situation of the country as the military buzzed overhead.

We visited so many places in Galilee: Capernaum, Bethsaida (where four of the disciples were from), Gergesa (where the drowning of the pigs is remembered), Caesarea (where Peter met Cornelius and Paul left for Rome), the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish, rode on a boat on the sea (tourist trap...), the Golan Heights overlooking Syria, and so much more. One of my favorite places was Arbel - this is a huge cliff overlooking the stretch of Galilee, which we climbed down. We played in the caves below, where Jewish rebels had hid from Herod. I have it all down in my journals!

My father has been encouraging me to be thinking and working through the things I am learning. Sometimes, I feel I am so full of learning that I don't have room for understanding. I hope that during our eight hour bus drive tomorrow, I can work through the poetry, pictures, and impressions that I have been collecting, sort them by color and sound, and find the meaning.