Capernaum - Where Jesus Walked

Capernaum.

There are a lot of sites in Israel that are "iffy".  There are disputes as to if this place or that was the exact "spot" that such-and-such happened.  After all, it's been over 2000 years.  But not Capernaum.  Here there is no dispute.  Everyone agrees to the authenticity of the ruins of Capernaum.

"Leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum" (Matt 4:13).

Jesus lived here.  Jesus LIVED here!

Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen living in the village.  Matthew the tax collector also stayed here.

It's just an amazing thought. 

We started out in a marvelous garden.  There were benches under a large grove of trees (I found out later they were olive).  It was so peaceful.  So happily peaceful.

Quiet.  People spoke in hushed voices.  I remember there was a breeze.  It was so nice.

We all sat on the benches and Fr. T read to us from the Bible.  I wish I could remember which verse he read.  Capernaum is mentioned in the Gospels 16 times so I have no idea which one it was. But I remember it was wonderful.  I closed my eyes and was basking in it....until Hillel (our Jewish guide) jumped in and started giving us a detailed history lesson.  I think Fr. T was not happy about it, I know I sure wasn't.



On and on about the archeological significance of the place, the history of the Jewish people and how they lived 2000 years ago.  It was interesting, but it wasn't spiritual.  Hillel droned on and on with facts and to tell the truth, I was annoyed.  When some tour helicopters flew over and drowned him out, I was guiltily glad!

Actually, it turned out that Hillel is an expert on Capernaum and a premier archaeologist in Israel.  We were blessed to have had someone so knowledgeable for our guide.  Unfortunately, none of us realized that at the time.  He was trying to give us the rich history and archeological significance of the Jews in this place, and I was interested in connecting spiritually with Jesus in his hometown.  sigh.

We saw lots of cool things, in the court yard there is a display of industrial stone tools that were used at ancient times for farming, such as several olive oil presses, stone jugs, etc.

As we walked along, we could see the foundations of buildings built from the local (black) basalt rock.

As we walked down the path, we came to The Synagogue.

the Synagogue where Jesus preached in Capernaum, Israel

This was THE spot where Jesus preached.

the Synagogue of Capernaum

Actually, this is the "White Synagogue" which was built of white limestone at the end of the 4th century A.D. over the Temple Jesus knew in his day.

You can see the black, basalt rocks common to Capernaum under the beautiful white stones of the later synagogue. 

Jesus taught here. 

"Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught."   Mark 1:21

"Jesus then went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath,

and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority."    Luke 4:31-32

"These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum."    John 6:59

 

 "When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home."  Mark 2:1

"After this, he and his mother, (his) brothers, and his disciples went down to Capernaum and stayed there only a few days."  John 2:12

Jesus made his home here. He lived his daily life here. They knew him, he was their "Teacher". He preached and he healed. He cast out demons.  He went to synagogue here.  He shopped and worked and lived day to day there! He walked all those streets.

This is where the Gospel of Luke says Jesus healed the centurion's servant and raised from the dead the daughter of this synagogue’s leader.

This is where the Gospel of Mark says Jesus healed a man possessed by an evil spirit.

the excavations in Capernaum, Israel

I couldn't.  I just stared out at the ruins and could not comprehend what I was looking at.  I was in complete awe of where I was!

Still to this day I cannot attend Mass without thinking of the black stones of Capernaum.  They come to my mind each time I say,

"Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the words and my soul shall be healed."

Capernaum with the Sea of Galilee in the background

"Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”"  Matthew 9:1-2

Christ Heals a Man Paralyzed by the Gout. Mark 2:4. Engraving by Bernhard Rode, 1780.

 "A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”"  Mark 2:1-5

 

Wow.  I mean seriously - WOW. 

Across the ruins from the Synagogue is St. Peter's house.

Although it would have been a simple dwelling 2000 years ago since Peter was just a fisherman, now there is a very odd-shaped church built over it.

This is where the story from both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark tell us that Jesus left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon (Peter) where his mother-in-law was sick with a fever.  Jesus grasped her hand and helped her up.  The fever left her and she waited on them.  And this was the place!!!

Under the Church in Capernaum is the House of St. Peter

There is archaeological evidence that shows pilgrims have been coming to this spot for centuries, leaving behind carvings of crosses, names, blessings and inscriptions on the walls.  Excavations have revealed pottery and lamps dating back to the end of the first century!!

The weird-looking church has a glass floor in the middle which looks down into St. Peter's house.

Under the glass floor of the Church and House of St. Peter

St. Peter's house is mentioned in the diaries of ancient pilgrims.  Egeria made her pilgrimage in 381, which she said included the original walls: "In Capernaum the house of the prince of the apostles has been made into a church, with its original walls still standing."  and in 570, the Piacenza pilgrim reported that "the house of St. Peter is now a basilica."

To the right of St. Peter's house are some areas for outside prayers services, mass or private meditation.

 
There is also a tiny bit of shoreline in this area, which a determined pilgrim can get to.

I was mesmerized. 

Time had marched on in Capernaum.  Civilizations had come and gone, buildings had risen and fallen...but that shoreline across the sea could not be much different than when Jesus gazed upon it 2000 years ago. 

 

I felt so at peace.

Too soon, as is always the case on a tour, the group was moving on and I had to leave.  Before I did, I pulled out a bottle I had been carrying for just such an occasion and scooped up some of the precious water.  Water that Jesus had swam in....fished in....walked on.

As we made our way back to the entrance of the archaeological park, we stopped before a statue of St. Peter.

 

I was sad to leave and wished I could have spent many more hours in Capernaum, contemplating all the events that had taken place there.  Maybe some day I will get to finish my meditations and again bask in the peace of Jesus' hometown.

What's For Dinner? Food in Israel

ORDINARY TIME

There are many references to being lost in the Gospels:  lost coin, lost sheep, lost child, lost son.  These stories remind me of feeling lost and confused when it came to eating in Israel.

Seriously?  What IS that??  (looks like they are roasting the Tasmanian Devil!)

Meals.  This was, to me, one of the most frustrating things about the trip to Israel:  the lack of explanation of the foods, and how to eat them.

mystery food - my first meal in Israel

The photo above shows my very first meal in Israel and I couldn't identify very much of it.  


The foods were not what I was used to, which I was expecting & fine, but since I couldn't even put a name to them I had no idea how to eat them!  This was not what I was expecting!

The first night I sampled something they told me was "shish-ka-bob".  I saw right away that it didn't look like anything we had back home with that name.  But I wanted to experience everything so I tried two of them.

I believe one was beef and one was lamb.  At first I thought they had bones sticking out of them, like a chicken leg, but quickly figured out that those are cinnamon sticks!  (makes them look gross if you ask me, just the meatball would have a more appetizing appeal!)  I ate them just as they were, and I have found out that I probably was suppose to dip them in something, but no one explained anything so I probably didn't like them due to not eating them correctly.

Since returning home, I have looked all over the internet trying to figure out more about these "shish-ka-bobs".  Nothing looks like the ones above with the cinnamon sticks, although we saw them at multiple restaurants so clearly they were sort common.  

I discovered they are called "Kebabs".  My American mind must have added the "shish" to the name!  Funny how our minds work!  LOL!

I found this recipe at Allrecipes.com:   http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kofta-kebabs/    The guy that posted the recipe said  

 "These kebabs have 6 different kinds of spices; the first time I smelled them I knew immediately that I had to find the recipe. The most affordable way to purchase the spices is in bulk at either a health food store or an Asian or Middle-Eastern market. They are very good! Serve with yogurt, flat bread, lettuce, tomato and cucumber."  

 Another website suggested   

 "break off a piece of pita, dip it in the sauce, and wrap it around the kebab - a true delight."   

Several of the websites posted a specific dipping sauce called "Tzatziki Sauce" which appears to mainly consist of yogurt, cucumber and lemon juice.  Ah-ha!  So that's how to eat them! 

 Wait.  

Yogurt is milk-based, so since mixing dairy with meat is a big no-no (not kosher) I don't know how in the world these two items are ever served at the same meal.  ???

I'm going to assume that I was not offered tzatziki sauce with my kebabs when I had my first meal in Israel because it was dinner, and all the restaurants we went to, save one, were strictly kosher.  In fact, I'm going to guess that since we only had dairy at breakfast, I never experienced tzatziki sauce!  Ha!

Another thing I noticed right away was the absence of ice.  I don't think I saw an ice cube the entire time we were in Israel and nothing was served very cold, not even the milk.

Several times we were given either hummus or oil or both, and multiple little plates of veggies and pita bread.  It was like getting chips & salsa & queso at a Mexican restaurant.  

Hummus appetizer - or maybe it's the first course of the meal?

Yikes!  That's a lot of options!!!  Course, we had no idea what to do with it, but everyone was happy to experiment!

 I don't know what some of the options were, but carrots?  Beets? 

Onions?  Pickled corn?

So frustrating.  I guess I was expecting that on a group tour of a foreign country we would be guided...hence the name Tour Guide?

American Cheeseburger with traditional toppings

For instance:  I would not take someone completely naive about a hamburger and expect them to walk up to a salad bar and know what was usual or common to put on it.  Yes to lettuce, no to cucumbers, yes to onions, no to pineapples, yes to pickles, no to salami, yes to mayonnaise, no to whipped cream.  (no comments from all you people out there who are saying they eat cucumbers on their cheeseburger!  I'm trying to make a point here).

I would want a guest to my country to enjoy the different American foods and would guide them to embellish the meals in the usual American way.  Get what I mean?  I would not expect them to walk up to a breakfast bar and know that gravy doesn't go on the peaches.

Breakfast Bar in Nazareth

So when faced with giant buffets of foods I can't identify and have never eaten before, I just wish our tour guide would have given us a lesson in eating.  Just one, just a quick one.  Not only kosher (a whole experience and story in itself!!!) but come on, give us a clue what this stuff is and what to do with it!

I was so confused....like the first time I had Falafel.

A Falafel is a deep-fried ball made from ground chickpeas or fava beans, or both.

Falafel

On the first day, we stopped at a cute little roadside place between Haifa and Mt. Tabor that was just picture-perfect with a fountain and olive trees in the courtyard!  It was like a postcard!  I was in Mediterranean-tourist heaven!

The main food, the falafel, was put into a pita pocket, put on a plate and handed to me.  Then I was directed into the next room, which was completely dedicated to embellishing options!!

Where to begin?

I didn't know where to start...did they go on the falafel?  Were they side dishes?  Desserts?  Heck, I didn't know!  And, I can tell you that I must have done a really bad job, because my meal was nothing I cared to duplicate, that's for sure.

Yuck.

To me, it was like a 1/2 cooked hush puppy anyway.  I think that the most common "topping" is a sort of vinegary-coleslaw (no mayo since that would be mixing meat & dairy - not allowed when eating kosher!).

I avoided falafel the rest of the trip.

Now, Shawerma on the other hand, I fell in love with!

The first time we had shawerma, we had stopped at this crappy little hole-in-the-wall on the side of the road between Nazareth & Capernaum.  (the owners were super duper nice though, despite the dilapidated, junky look of the place)

There were only two choices on the menu:

Falafel & soda 

OR
Shawerma & soda

Well, I didn't have a clue what shawerma was, but I sure as heck wasn't having another falafel!  LOL!

Mom and I were leery of whatever this was (the price: NIS 28 (shekels) = $9.00 each!) and since we didn't like the falafel, we decided not to gamble this time and split one. 

Shawerma!  Yum!

It was YUMMY!!!

Turns out, shawerma is grilled turkey (or lamb or chicken or don't tell me) with cabbage & other veggies and some kind of tart-tasting sauce.  And it was good!  I wished I had gotten my own!  (But then Mom popped up and bought us both ice cream bars, so I was a happy camper!  LOL!)

Well I liked them very much and ate shawerma all over Israel, but the best one I had was in Bethlehem.  It was our only "Christian" meal of the trip and so there was no observation of the kosher laws.  Which meant this shawerma featured a creamy-dreamy milk-based sauce on it which just "made" the meal for me.  Ahhhh.  It was really, really good. 

The folks who ran the restaurant were super nice (as were the other patrons!).  When I told them how much I enjoyed the shawerma, they insisted I come see it cooking!  How cool!

And, I never would have imagined how they did it!  But I'm sure you've guessed:  it's the grilled Tasmanian Devil!  LOL!

Shawerma cooking on it's odd-looking vertical spit/grill

They pile up all the sliced meat (usually turkey or lamb) on the huge, rotating skewer first thing in the morning.  As the outside cooks, the slice it off and sell it.  When it's gone, it's gone for the day, because they start fresh every single day.  No wonder it's so yummy!

When we were in Old Jerusalem, we had stopped for lunch in a cute little courtyard and I again had shawerma.  It was back to kosher, so not as good at the lunch in Bethlehem, but still good.  Each time I had shawerma was a unique experience due to the different veggies that came on it, how large or shredded they were, the oils or vinegars or whatever sauce they used - I would imagine like going around my town and eating cheeseburgers in various cafes and restaurants.  Anyway, I went to the bathroom and could see into the kitchen from the stairway so I snapped this quick, slightly out-of-focus, picture.

Clearly it was later in the day or a more popular restaurant, but I was lucky to get my shawerma before it ran out for the day!  LOL!!

I was happy to figure out some things on my own, or by comparing thoughts with my fellow travelers and thoroughly enjoyed my last meal in Israel which was a feast!

It was dark so I have no idea where we were, somewhere between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.  But the restaurant was really neat, with a beautiful little garden surrounded by tropical flowers and plants and a little stream.  I couldn't get any pictures worth a darn because it was so dark, but I'd sure like to eat there again!

Besides the normal appetizer of the hummus/oil/unidentifiable veggies, we were given unlimited chicken skewers which were a big hit with our group and we enjoyed a fun sword-fight along with eating them!

Sword fighting with skewers of chicken

J. & Jule get into the act

K and Mom having a silly sword fight

Another fun aspect to this meal was because we were headed to the airport, and because most of us were over-weight on our luggage, we were all "getting rid of" wine we had purchased in Cana!  LOL!  It was a fun meal to say the least!

Just one more word about being confused about eating in Israel.  Guess what this is below?  I thought it was salads & cheese!  LOL!!

Ice Cream Bar in Israel

2012 Pilgrimage to Israel