Thursday, December 26, 2024

Tel Aviv And Haifa

There have been several previous postings about Israel, but all have been about antiquities. Israel is also a modern country, and the best place to see the "modern" Israel is the city of Tel Aviv. 

Jerusalem is the country's largest city, but it is very difficult to discuss Jerusalem without delving into it's three thousand years of history. Tel Aviv is a "new" city, by the standards of this part of the world, and it is there we can see what Israel is today. Tel Aviv is on the Mediterranean coast.

Tel Aviv is a new city, but it is next to a very old city, that of Jaffa (or Yafo), which is now actually within Tel Aviv. Jaffa has been very much a part of the long history of the area. The following scenes begin at the Clock Tower in Jaffa, which was built during the Ottoman era. The first four images of central Jaffa are from Google Street View.





There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.0550617,34.7563354,3a,75y,50.13h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipM5-LugYXlYRil8tV2CvK21--t6mJTMcDTD4M4h!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipM5-LugYXlYRil8tV2CvK21--t6mJTMcDTD4M4h%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya110.414375-ro-0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120

These scenes begin on the beach. Sand is actually the reason that Tel Aviv exists. Buildings were located there because the soil was too sandy to be good for farming. The first four images of the beach at Tel Aviv are from Google Street View.














https://www.google.com/maps/@32.0806749,34.7800399,3a,75y,133.27h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1swvgi37Ugtm8u3AvKNz4QcA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3Dwvgi37Ugtm8u3AvKNz4QcA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D138.00902%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Proceeding inland from the sea in Tel Aviv, we come to this neighborhood.

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.0773246,34.8189441,3a,75y,349.5h,93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMxOUXc4BQ_q5DHWa7iJO0Uhf9HefAgtotYMf7n!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMxOUXc4BQ_q5DHWa7iJO0Uhf9HefAgtotYMf7n%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9999962-ya57.500004-ro-0-fo100!7i7168!8i3584

North of Tel Aviv, and near to Acre, we arrive at the city of Haifa. This is actually built on a slope of Mount Carmel at one of the few natural harbors on Israel's Mediterranean coast. 

Israel is, of course, the land of Judaism. But other religious groups have found a safe home there as well. The following images begin at the top of the Baha'i Gardens, which is the center of the Baha'i religion. The first two images are from Google Street View.







This is down in the city of Haifa.
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The Prince Miracle Of Niagara

How about a miracle that you can see here?

What no one knows is how much I miss the dog that we used to have. The dog's name was Prince and he lived from 1980 to 1993. Prince was a sheltie.

For thirty years not a day has gone by when I haven't thought about this dog. Prince is buried in a mass grave at a pet cemetery. I once got a traffic ticket when I went past the street where the pet cemetery was. I was so saddened and distracted that I neglected to stop at the intersection.

The thing that reminds me the most about Prince is the stars in the winter. The brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is in the constellation Canis Major and is known as the "Dog Star". The stars of the constellation look like a dog playfully jumping and that is just how Prince used to jump.

Prince used to hate vacuum cleaners and my mother used to have to shut him in the bedroom so that she could vacuum. Prince would scratch the door and these scratches are still there.

The Bible doesn't state whether animals can be in Heaven. But what I know is that God is the one who makes the rules and over the years I have asked God that Prince, as well as our other pets, might be in Heaven.

Something interesting happened recently, after I had made a charitable donation. For some reason I remembered a church near where I used to live as a boy on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. I was never in the church but the name of it was St. Andrews, on Morrison Street. I went through a childhood phase where I didn't understand why my parents didn't give me a middle name and I thought of adopting Andrew as my middle name.

I went to have a look at the church on Google Street View and saw something amazing. In the cloud, right above the bell tower and cross of the church, is an unmistakable dog that looks just like Prince as shown in the photo, as indicated by the red dot.

This is just like how Prince used to stand. He appears to be barking while looking upward, with his tail swished to his left, just like in the photo.

Here is a closer look. The green dot is on his head, you can clearly see his right eye and open mouth. The purple dot is his right front leg. The red dot is his right haunches and the yellow dot is his tail. This is also what his ears looked like when seen from this angle.

I used to often chase Prince to exercise him. On his back you can clearly see a figure running, below the red dot in the following image.

My parents completely spoiled Prince. There were these rectangular dog biscuits that he really liked. I can't remember the name of them. It got so that Prince had to have a biscuit to do anything, to go outside, to come back in, or to go to bed. The rectangular object in front of Prince, shown by the red dot in the following image, looks just like one of his biscuits. It looks like he is barking at something and will be quiet if we give him a biscuit, although even that didn't work with the vacuum cleaner.

This is absolutely awesome. I am going to see Prince again and it will be for all of eternity. God gave me a miracle like this so I could show it to you because you can have miracles too.

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Archeological Sites In The Holy Land

Here is a look at some biblical places in and around Israel. We have already seen the Temple Mount in the posting on this blog, "Esau And The Temple Mount" and "The Tomb Of The Patriarchs", so I won't cover those here. The scenes are either of ruins, or what the sites look like today.

Jericho, due to it's water supply, has been a settlement since prehistoric times. It is referred to, in the Bible, as the "City of Palm Trees". Jericho was the first Canaanite city that was captured by the Israelites, after they had been freed from Egypt and were making their way into the promised land. Jericho is not far from Jerusalem, but has a different climate due to it's much lower land elevation. The following scenes are of Jericho today. The first three images of Jericho are from Google Street View.




There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@31.8581396,35.4578181,3a,75y,1h,80t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMbpeqN8efbYP9IME_Uis7FEKgWtjH9WF6kxMk3!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMbpeqN8efbYP9IME_Uis7FEKgWtjH9WF6kxMk3%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-10.949902-ya1.5-ro-0-fo100!7i5660!8i2830

Early in the history of Israel, the Bible tells us that Jacob dug a well. A church has since been built over the well. The following scenes begin inside Jacob's Well Church at Tel Balata, which is believed to be the biblical city of Shechem, which is near the present West Bank city of Nablus. Shechem is a very important city in the Old Testament, and was the first capital of Israel after the country had split into Judah and Israel after the death of Solomon. Some people believe that the city referred to in the New Testament as Sychar is the same city as Shechem, because the two are in about the same place. The first two images of Nablus are from Google Street View.



https://www.google.com/maps/@32.2098341,35.2851343,3a,75y,84h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipP7Wr-46rqCrVq9Lm84V5FFrndnatYBK5DPKA2K!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipP7Wr-46rqCrVq9Lm84V5FFrndnatYBK5DPKA2K%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0.96354216-ya82.68229-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

The following scenes are of the remnants of Shiloh. This was the Israelite worship center in the central highlands. Shiloh was a predecessor to the temple that was later built by King Solomon. It is where the story of Samuel and Eli takes place. Samuel was raised in Shiloh. It was destroyed in an attack by the Philistines, about 1050 B.C. This was before King David established Jerusalem as the capital, and when a new religious center was built it was the Temple that was built there. This is why Shiloh was never rebuilt, it was replaced by the Temple in Jerusalem.

The first six images of the ruins of Shiloh are from Google Street View.







https://www.google.com/maps/@32.055804,35.289828,3a,75y,137.88h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOoQyFwDsfC3m2W_mzmLEKyAdfZov_EvihhmwAM!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOoQyFwDsfC3m2W_mzmLEKyAdfZov_EvihhmwAM%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya6.535701-ro-0-fo100!7i8192!8i4096

This is the Valley of Elah, where the confrontation between David and the Philistine warrior Goliath took place.

https://www.google.com/maps/@31.6882277,34.9495982,3a,75y,130.5h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipN7dClBRq6hhdHF7WGQy4AkS4MJ0SE3sekIK7cs!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipN7dClBRq6hhdHF7WGQy4AkS4MJ0SE3sekIK7cs%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya193.10532-ro0-fo100!7i7680!8i3840

Khan Yunis in Gaza, as seen today, is former Philistine territory along the coast. The area is still called "Palestine", after the Philistines. The name was given by the ancient Greeks. The Philistines were actually five independent city-states, which worked together. These were Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron and, Gath. The first three are still there, as modern cities, Gaza as a Palestinian city, Ashkelon and Ashdod as Israeli cities. Image from the Wikipedia article "Khan Yunis".


Does anyone remember Yasser Arafat International Airport? It was established in Gaza, as a symbol of peace, in 1998. Bill Clinton arrived for the opening ceremony. But it lasted less then two years before it was incapacitated by conflict. The remains of the runway can still be seen. But remember that this is where the Philistines and Israelites lived, and did battle with one another. The Philistines are not related to the modern Palestinians, but the heritage of conflict there lives on. 

In this image of Yasser Arafat International Airport, from Google Earth, it looks like the former airport is now used as gardening plots.


The following scenes are of Mount Carmel, for which so many churches are named. This is where the miracle contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal took place. God caused Elijah's sacrifice to miraculously burst into flame, even though it was soaking wet. Image from the Wikipedia article "Mount Carmel".


Megiddo is a site in northern Israel that has been settled for a very long time. In the Old Testament, this is where King Josiah of Judah tried to stop Egyptian Pharaoh Necho from passing through his territory. Necho tried to explain that he had nothing against Judah, and was on his way to help the Assyrians against Babylon. But Josiah insisted on stopping him, and was killed in the resulting confrontation. Necho took Josiah's oldest son as a prisoner to Egypt, where he died. He installed another son on the throne of Judah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim.

It was the death of the great king Josiah which seems to have led to the destruction of the Temple, and exile in Babylon. Assyria didn't last much longer and Babylon proved to be the new great power, although it never actually conquered Egypt. Jehoiakim's attempt to switch allegiance to Egypt which brought about a Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, and the subsequent destruction of the Temple and exile.

Armageddon is actually named for Megiddo. It is adjacent to the broad Jezreel Valley, where a major battle will take place during the Last Days of the world, just prior to the return of Jesus. The following scenes are of Megiddo. The first five images of the ruins of Megiddo are from Google Street View.






https://www.google.com/maps/@32.5851856,35.1844932,3a,75y,132.68h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipO5J_Oxy5NPWuL33X6URaLM0J5Rt5NmArhViNy_!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipO5J_Oxy5NPWuL33X6URaLM0J5Rt5NmArhViNy_%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya317.57886-ro0-fo100!7i6758!8i3378

When the Assyrians took the "Ten Lost Tribes" of Israelites into exile, scattering them around the Assyrian Empire, they brought in other people and settled them in their place. These settlers intermixed with the remaining Israelites, and by the time of Jesus were known as Samaritans, and the region as Samaria. There are still Samaritans today. They consider themselves as having the true Jewish religion, that was not contaminated by the later exile in Babylon. One difference is that Samaritans consider Mount Gerizim as sacred, rather than the Temple Mount. They believe that "Mount Moriah", that is referred to in the scriptures, is Mount Gerizim and not the hill on which the first two Jewish temples were built and around which the Temple Mount is now constructed.

Mount Gerizim is near Jacob's Well, that we saw above. That is where, in the Gospel of John Chapter 4, Jesus has his discussion with the Samaritan woman who came to draw water. The following scenes are of Mount Gerizim. The first three images, from Google Street View, are of the ruins of a Samaritan temple that was repeatedly destroyed by Jewish forces.




https://www.google.com/maps/@32.2005556,35.2733333,3a,75y,1h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPAAodI7hWVLqA-5SMoz4Lt2B7UFJuGN3wQ-i7U!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPAAodI7hWVLqA-5SMoz4Lt2B7UFJuGN3wQ-i7U%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya21.500013-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

There was an ascetic Jewish sect, in the time before Jesus, called the Essenes. They had a settlement in the desert, well away from Jerusalem which they considered as a hotbed of sin, called Qumran. The Essenes copied the scriptures, using ink made of powdered charcoal. They stored scrolled manuscripts in clay jars, and hid them in caves. The story is that, in 1946, a shepherd boy threw a stone which landed inside a cave, and he heard pottery breaking. This led to the discovery of what is known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are early copies of the Hebrew Bible. Here are some scenes around Qumran today. The first view of Qumran is from Google Street View.


https://www.google.com/maps/@31.7412663,35.4589996,3a,75y,100.09h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipM9OcKmOaytdKDQeFX8w8oE9fTcKFth3ujiwj_j!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipM9OcKmOaytdKDQeFX8w8oE9fTcKFth3ujiwj_j%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0.050001476-ya101.8162-ro-1.2155193-fo100!7i5376!8i2688

Masada is the high mesa where King Herod built a fortification. It is better known as the site where a large number of people sought shelter during the Jewish uprising against Roman rule. The Romans finally succeeded in getting to the top of Masada, but they won a pyrrhic victory. 960 people atop Masada chose to die by suicide rather than submit to the Romans. Isn't it something how history repeats itself? The same event would happen in 1978, at Jonestown, with almost exactly the same number of people. The first three images of Masada are from Google Street View.





https://www.google.com/maps/@32.501758,34.8922126,3a,75y,95.89h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPbCOyeM5Pn3YlgEdSdHMPu52ZgVzkzUD1DYGyO!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPbCOyeM5Pn3YlgEdSdHMPu52ZgVzkzUD1DYGyO%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya317.9713-ro-0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120

This is believed to be Jesus' Baptismal Site on Jordan River. This is where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

https://www.google.com/maps/@31.8369216,35.5461109,3a,75y,126.92h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOxsONxO4kKxnX5753p4alxOBVxI5OsY24iwwxk!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOxsONxO4kKxnX5753p4alxOBVxI5OsY24iwwxk%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya138.48843-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

The following scenes are of the ruins of Hisham's Palace in Jericho. This palace was not there in biblical times. It was built by the Umayyads, the second Islamic Caliphate. The Umayyads were great builders, and we have seen their mosques and palaces before on this blog. The Umayyads built the two mosques on the Temple Mount, Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock, the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, and they also once had a palace on the south side of the Temple Mount. The Umayyads also began the famed Cathedral-Mosque of Cordoba, in Spain. The first two images of Hisham's Palace are from Google Street View.



https://www.google.com/maps/@31.8826581,35.4597761,3a,75y,214h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipN3kIC3nyM8ng7xMcnO1eq5VYjaR2KEFteBOSxk!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipN3kIC3nyM8ng7xMcnO1eq5VYjaR2KEFteBOSxk%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9999962-ya46.499996-ro-0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120

In the far north of Israel, not too far from Nazareth where Jesus grew up, is the city of Acre. It is sometimes spelled as Acco, with Acre being the English name of it. Acre is built around one of the few good natural harbors on the coast of Israel, and it's history goes far back into ancient times. Acre has been a part of the usual parade of empires that have conquered through these parts.

But what it is best known for is it's role in the era of the Crusades. The attempts to regain the Holy Land from the Moslems were ultimately unsuccessful, and Acre ended up as the final stronghold of the Crusaders. It was the headquarters of orders of knights that protected and assisted pilgrims to the Holy Land. It was later destroyed by the Mamluk rulers of Egypt. We can see that it was later ruled by the Ottomans because there is a mosque, with a green roof, that is built in the same form as the Hagia Sophia, which effectively says "The Ottomans Were Here". The first three images of Acre are from Google Street View.




The following image is from the Wikipedia article "Acre, Israel".


The ruins of the city of Ugarit are not in Israel, but in northern Syria. It is thus not a part of the Holy Land. But I thought I would include it because it was a great and important city. Ugarit is believed to have been destroyed by the mysterious "Sea Peoples", who arrived in the Levant, as the eastern shore of the Mediterranean is known, about 1200 B.C. This seems to have been from where the Philistines came. The following scenes are of the ruins of Ugarit.

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6021271,35.7850361,3a,75y,116.04h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMjnrtb3gL9ykABUG3E1wVXVNT7jsVTA0CpGE0y!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMjnrtb3gL9ykABUG3E1wVXVNT7jsVTA0CpGE0y%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya105.80365-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352


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