For the first time in several tries on recent international flights, I was finally able to sleep again. The secret: turning off the screen on the seat back in front of me, thus eliminating the blue light effect. I listened to audio instead.

It was great to have a personal welcome and escort through the terminal when we landed at Ben Gurion.

There are lots of intricacies in the arrival protocols, particularly with some COVID rules still in effect. But it’s good to see families traveling to be with other family members once again.

Our two separate groups unite at the “Welcome to Israel” sign, with John DeLancey, our tour leader.

After quarantining in our Netanya Hotel overnight, per COVID protocols, we were on the road early the next morning. Traffic in Israel gets heavier at each new visit.

Caesarea Maritima is our first stop, a port city built by Herod the Great, prominent in the New Testament. These are the excavated remains of Herod’s Temple.

Several decades ago an inscription mentioning Pontius Pilate was excavated here. (replica shown)

Our first briefing by John DeLancey was in the reconstructed Roman Theater, still in use today for concerts and other performances.

Our other leader, our Israeli guide Shlomo Ben-Asher, conferring with tour member Wanda at the Caesarea Nymphaeum.

Where the green grass grows now would have been the harbor in the first century. Here Paul would have boarded the ship that started his journey to Rome, accompanied by the Roman centurion Julius, Luke the physician, and Aristarchus from Thessalonica. [Acts 27:1-2]

After Caesarea we ascended the Carmel Range to see this beautiful view of the Jezreel Valley from the Deir Al-Mukhraqa Carmelite Monastery. In the middle distance is Mt. Tabor.

Along the road we passed the remains for an ancient tomb, much as the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea is described in the Gospel.

Soon we were in the Jezreel Valley, approaching Tel Megiddo (Har Megiddo or Armageddon in the Book of Revelation). With more than 30 layers of occupation, Megiddo is one of the most important sites of Biblical Archaeology.

We walked onto Tel Megiddo through the reconstructed Solomonic Gates from 3,000 years ago.

The remains of multiple temples, going back more than 5,000 years, have been excavated at Megiddo.

Underneath the green fields visible through this cut in the tel, lie the remains of a second century Roman Army camp, the largest such camp known in the eastern Mediterranean. In the midst of the trees just beyond the fields is an Israeli prison. Inside the prison, in recent years, archaeologists excavated the mosaic tile floor of a second century Christian prayer house, one of the earliest Christian worship buildings known.

The prison is currently in the process of being dismantled and moved, so that the archaeological discoveries there can be opened up to visitors.

Overlooking the Jezreel Valley to the north is Nazareth. We visited Nazareth Village, a living history museum in the center of this city of 90,000 people.

Nazareth Village is, of course, the home of a “carpenter” named Joseph (although to be more biblically accurate Joseph and his son Jesus were “builders” who probably worked with stone more than wood.

Other biblical-era crafts were also on display.

The first century synagogue replica was a highlight of Nazareth Village.

After our tour we were delighted to spend some time with Rasha, my IFES colleague, who lives in Nazareth and works with the Fellowship of Christian Students in Israel (FCSI).

At the end of the day we rejoined the rest of our group at our accommodations along the shore of the Sea of Galilee at kibbutz Ginosar. I am always delighted by the lights of the cities around the Sea of Galilee. “A city on a hill cannot be hid…In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” [Matthew 5:14,16]