Sunday through Tuesday June 1

To start off we have heard little about the incidents off the coast of Israel. We know the Turkish ambassador has been called home and that 10 have been killed. Where we are everything is normal. On our Sunday tour we left at 7:30 am in order to get to the Mt. of Beatitudes and Tabatha where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes. Since Israel has said that all Christian Churches must be closed on Sundays we were invited to participate in an out door worship service, we made it just in time to be let in the gates. It was a Catholic Mass mostly in German but he spoke English every once and a while. We were on the very edge of the Sea of Galilee and it was beautiful and we had a little wind to cool us even though we were under a shade shelter. We briefly got to look inside the little church.
Then we went to the Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mt. and took a little hike to see the lonely place that the Bible says Jesus used as his pray place. From there we went to Capernaum where Jesus often when and where Peter lived. We visited the ruin of a third century synogogue which is built over the ruins of the first century Synogogue where Jesus often visited. Then we went to Ceasarea Philipi, where Jesus asked his disciples "Who do you say that I am". The area is the head waters for the Jordan River. The springs and streams come from the Mt. Herman area. The water is so aboundant and fresh looking. But by the time the water gets to the Sea of Galilee the flow is not much. The Cave of the worship of Pan is also in this area. I had heard about some of the new discoveries there and it was great to see them. We hiked the stream trail and saw the springs flowing from the earth. Got home a little before supper and showered and napped.
Monday was the usual, start at 5:30 am, we thought that we were going to be moving big rocks that were not connected to the monumental structure we are looking for, however the area had not been mapped (drawn). So we continued to clear the dirt away. We now have four loci in our area. We found an early Syrian coin (when I say we I mean our entire group). Not much else except mixed pottery shards. We read the pottery from Friday at 4:00 pm this lasts about two hour sometimes, but is very interesting. The lecture at 8:00 pm was about the Jewish present at Bethsaida thru the many centuries. A few times there was no Jewish presence and then they came back. There was not ocuppation after the fourth century AD.
Tuesday morning I found an iron ring, and will be very interested in finding out its significance at tomorrow's pottery reading. We also found a door knoker??, a modern human skeletin which was immediately buried according to the Jewish law. It probably was a Syrian soldier killed in the 1967 war. And the find of the day was by another section, it was a small incinse altar with four legs. So I will post again soon.