On Tuesday morning we left our hostel overlooking the Sea of Galilee and headed toward the airport in Tel Aviv. Our flights were not till late night so we had time to make a few stops along the way.

Our first stop was at Tel Megiddo. Here you can see the large trench that was dug through part of the site. An interesting fact is that the palm trees at the site are native to California and grew from date seeds that were thrown away by the archaeologists who excavated in the early 20th century.

Through the trench you can look out on the Jezreel Valley where many battles have been fought through the ages. See: The Battles of Armageddon

When leaving the site I was able to walk through the water system and take pictures with no one around. The water system is fascinating and it really makes you think how much work was needed to dig the tunnels and shafts. I am glad that I don’t have to get water this way today.

After leaving Megiddo we stopped by the Legio Excavations where they are excavating the Camp of the Roman VIth Ferrata Legion. The excavations are by the Jezreel Valley Regional Project team.

You can find out more about the excavations by visiting the Jezreel Valley Regional Project website.

We then headed down to Caesarea Maritima, where we visited the Roman aqueducts as well as other areas. You can see more pictures from Caesarea Maritima by visiting my post Felix and Drusilla.

I also wrote about some of the original excavations at Caesarea Maritima  in a post that I wrote about a newspaper article found in one of my Grandma’s scrapbooks.

See: Biblical Parts to Get Study

We then headed to the airport. My flight was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, but I was able to switch to an earlier flight that left about the same time as the other group members. It is good that I took the earlier flight, especially with the problems in the United Airlines network today. My flight from Newark to SFO took off a little more than an hour before the problems started.

While at the airport in Tel Aviv I had to have one more Magnum Bar. This one is Creme Brulee flavored and is really good. I wish that we had more interesting flavors for Magnum Bars in the US.

Now to get some sleep before a long day of work tomorrow.

Steven