Gail-Friends: My Trip to Israel

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

My Trip to Israel - Mount Carmel

Our next stop on the trip was Mount Carmel. Above is a picture from the top of the mountain, looking over the beautiful valley below.

Mount Carmel is where the mighty prophet Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal. It is one of the many amazing accounts of the power of ADONAI working through this prophet. I encourage you to read the story in I Kings 18:17-46.

Long story, short - King Ahab ordered his prophets of Baal to do battle with the G-d of Israel. He and his prophets lost the battle. Elijah showed them power of the Mighty One of Israel.

There is an old church here on the site. This would be one of the many churches visited on the tour. I enjoyed this because on my last trip, we did not visit any churches. I grew more and more fascinated by the beautiful doors in Israel. This is the first of many of my door photos. Can you see how the stone has been worn down by the steps of many visitors?

The church yard had a nice rock garden with interesting pottery.

I also noticed a great many stray cats, but never any stray dogs. I think I saw this same cat on my previous trip to Israel in 1996. Well, probably not, since that was eighteen years ago. Maybe a relative, right?

After the tour of the site, we were approached by a man who kept saying, "I am Druze. I am Druze." He offered us colorful bead necklaces for $1.00. The tour guide told us later that he is part of the Arab tribe called Druze.

One thing I noticed going up to Mt. Carmel was how dirty the streets were in the Arab areas. Trash was everywhere. Sadly, this scene was repeated in most of the Arab areas we visited. In contrast, the Jewish and Christian areas were clean and well kept.
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