Walking Where Jesus Walked: Visiting Israel

I recently took a very meaningful trip. My husband and I visited Israel for a week. It was quite memorable, because as a Christian, it was surreal to actually SEE many of the places I had heard and read about so often in the Bible.

I would like to offer some highlights of Israel, so hopefully you can feel that you have a better understanding of the region.

First, some general observations: Israel is quite small. It is just 1/3 the size of Indiana. This is amazing, to think that such a small nation has been at the center of so many major world events.

Also, the terrain of Israel varies greatly. Our trip began in the northern part of the country, where the land was lush and green. As we traveled south, the land became much more barren and desert-like.

In many of the cities we visited, there was a stark contrast between Jewish and Arab areas. The Jewish areas were generally very neat and well-kept, while the Arab areas were trash-strewn and run-down. I say this not in a prejudiced way - it was just a very obvious fact!

One of the greatest pluses of the trip, for me, was being able to actually put a place with a name. So often, when I read a place name in the Bible, I just skim over it. Now, I can say, Ah ha! I remember driving by there! Visiting various sites makes them much more real and meaningful.

Here are some sites we visited:

QUMRAN: This is the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found (these contain the oldest and most accurate texts of the Bible). You can actually see the caves where the scrolls were discovered in 1947 by some Bedouin boys. This is also the site of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. The Sea has an unusually high concentration of salt, and many go into it for its supposed health benefits. I can't vouch for that, but it is really fun to swim in - the high salt content makes it impossible to sink!

SEA OF GALILEE: This 'sea' (actually we would call it a lake - we learned that when "sea" is used in the Bible it can refer to ANY body of water) was the scene of many incidents from the life of Jesus. You can ride across the Sea in 'The Jesus Boat' - yes, terribly touristy - but hey, we WERE tourists!