Sunday, February 27, 2011

Caesarea Phillippi

Caesarea Phillippi was the third big stop we made on our journey. You may remember that this is where Jesus asked his followers, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" Matt.16: 13-18. The scenery was incredibly peaceful with the many waterfalls and flowing water. This is where the Banias River is formed from the melting snow of Mount Hermon. As the water continues along its way it becomes the Jordan River and eventually flows into the Sea of Galilee.

The Greeks built a temple to Pan here. Pan was their half-goat, half-man god who symbolized nature. They called it Paneas. The ancient remains clearly show evidence of ancient sacrifices, old columns, and olive presses. There were ruins of walls from living quarters still being excavated. It was a nice hike up to the sacrifice area.

While we were there a group of about twenty young men, all armed with machine guns, were in the lower areas of the park. It seemed like they were having some sort of meeting, but were also having a good time joking around. It was a little unnerving to see so many armed people "hanging out."

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