Category Archives: Travel

Transfiguration of Jesus Christ

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Mount Tabor where the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ of Nazareth believed to have happened — Luke 9:28-36

28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.

29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.

31 They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

 

 View of the village {Bedouin village Shibli}  from Top of the Mountain …Amazing Views !!!!

Chruch of Transfiguration Entrance

 View of the agricultural fields from Mt.Tabor

 Chruch Architecture …Everything on Mt.Tabor is breath taking .

 View of the Church Inside. Beautiful Paintings . Jesus Christ in White in the center with Moses and Elijah on either side and Disciples watching.

 

 View of the Main Chapel … a small group had a worship service when I was there. So could not go close enough as service was in progress. I sat by the entrance to listen to the service but it was some european language …couldnt understand a word …but amazing peace listening to God’s word in such a place like this …unknown language felt sweet as honey ….Hallelujah !!!!!

Mount Tabor is located in Lower Galilee, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, 11 miles (18 km) west of the Sea of Galilee, in Israel

Elevation 575 m (1,886 ft)

 

Accessibility

Mount Tabor is located off of Highway 65, and its summit is accessible by personal vehicle via Shibli’s access road. The peak itself is also traversed by the Israel National Trail.

Nowadays the reaching the top of the mountain itself does not demand great effort, but before circa 1,600 years ago one had to walk up no less than 4,340 stairs in order to arrive at the peak of the mountain.

Walking paths

There are two paths: the long track, which starts from the Bedouin village Shibli, length is about five kilometers long and a short nature track of about 2.5 kilometers at the summit.

The track which surrounds the mountain passes in well-developed Mediterranean woodlands. the color marking alternates to green at the eastern part of the track. Behind the monastery its possible to see remnants from the First Jewish–Roman War. In the path there is a view of the Jezreel Valley, Mount Gilboa, Samaria mountains, Mount Carmel, the Golan Heights, Gilead, the Lower Galilee and the Upper Galilee. On days with good visibility one could also see the Mount Hermon.

Israel National Trail goes up the mountain from mount Tabor the Gazit junction and the Shibli village, surrounding the summit and descends across the Arab village of Daburiyya towards the Nazareth mountains.

 

Jesus Tempted in the wilderness

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Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

Matthew 4: 11

 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

   “‘He will command his angels concerning you,
   and they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17)

 

 Genesis 3:6

6.When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Satan /Devil used 1. the lust of the flesh, 2.the lust of the eyes, and 3. the pride of life on Eve and adam

Again Satan /Devil used 1. the lust of the flesh, 2.the lust of the eyes, and 3. the pride of life on Jesus in the wilderness

here’s how –>

1. The lust of the flesh: 

Jesus was hungry after 40 days and nights of fasting …
verse 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
verse4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
When are body is hungry its easy to yield … so Lust of the flesh is an easy attack for the devil .

2.The lust of the eyes :

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

 

3. The pride of life :

verse5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

   “‘He will command his angels concerning you,
   and they will lift you up in their hands,
   so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

 

 

 

 

 

Actual Location ” Mount of Temptation”

Scriptures, Scriptures, Scriptures….Read them, Memorise them , quote them in every situation …Devil would be constantly using those 3 points to come at us , but with God’s words we can tell Satan to hush and get behind us .
 
Hope you are inspired and strengthened by this post.
 
God Bless you

True Happiness = a be attitude

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Mount of Beatitudes

Popularly known as Sermon on the Mount

Location : This hill is located between Capernaum and Tabgha 

Teacher – Jesus Christ of Nazareth

 

be·at·i·tude

1. supreme blessedness; exalted happiness.

2. ( often initial capital letter ) any of the declarations of blessedness pronounced by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

 

 

 

 

Matthew 5: 3-11

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, 2and He began to teach them, saying:

3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.

8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Also in Luke 6:20-23

There are spiritual implications in the terms poor, hunger , weep and hate.Jesus does not commend poverty,hunger,weep , sorrow and reproach in themselves .these sufferings bring blessings only when they are endured through discipleship for the son of man’s sake (vs 22)

Therefore ,poverty of spirit , hungering after righteousness, weeping over one’s sins and social ostracism for the sake of Christ are sources of blessing.

Poor: The term denotes the humble poor whose trust is in God’s help in the midst of their poverty

I thank God for the blessing to be at the ” Sermon on Mount ” location .

Hallelujah …Praise God !!!!!

 

Holy Land Pictures – Marah

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Bitter Waters Made Sweet

22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah

24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.

Below are some pictures from “Marah” Site

 

 

Jordan River Baptismal Place

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John 1: 28-34

 

“These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God..”

 

 

Matthew 3: 13-17

 

” Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” “

Mark 1:9-11

 

“At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Luke (3:21-22)

 

“When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

City at the bottom of a Lake

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A City That’s Built At The Bottom Of A Lake
This is an ancient city Seuthopolis, in Bulgaria, which was discovered in 1948.

Seuthopolis was an ancient city founded by the Thracian king Seuthes III, and the capital of the Odrysian kingdom since 320 BC. It was a small city, built on the site of an earlier settlement, and its ruins are located at the bottom of the Koprinka Resevoir near Kazanlak, Plovdiv Province, in central Bulgaria.

The ruins of the city were discovered and excavated in 1948 by Bulgarian archaeologists during the construction of the Georgi Dimitrov (later renamed Koprinka) Reservoir. However, it was decided to continue with the construction and flood the dam, leaving Seuthopolis at its bottom.


Six years later, a dam was destroyed and it was covered in water, ending up at the bottom of a huge lake.
And now they want to unearth and reconstruct the city. To make it a tourist destination and an important landmark.

How will they manage to unearth this sunken city?

They will build a huge circular shape-like dike that will surround the city. This dike is 1,377 feet in diameter and 65 feet high. Making an impression of a sunken city in the middle of the lake.
Tourists would be transported to the city by boats. And this marvel will feature hanging gardens, glass lifts, restaurants, cafes, shops.

The round wall, 420 metres in diameter, would enable visitors to see the city from 20 metres above.

And It would be illuminated at night. Nice!
This will be an exciting new destination. I hope it doesn’t cost a fortune.

MYSORE PALACE

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The original palace in Mysore was of wooden construction and was burnt down by a disastrous fire in February 1897, said to have started at the closing function of the marriage of Princess Jayalakshmammanniyavaru

The Maharani, then Regent, decided to build a new palace on the model and on the foundations of the old one. This should reflect the grandeur of the old Mysore Palace.Henry Irwin, who had at that point in time recently retired as Consulting Architect of the Government of Madras received the contract and his plans were approved.

The speed with which he drew them up can be appreciated by the fact that construction was inaugurated in October 1897 by Her Highness, the Maharani – only eight months after the fire [9].The journal Indian Engineering in its issue of October, 1898 speaks of the Government’s directive regarding reconstruction of the palace: “…in the reconstruction, stone, brick and iron should be the chief materials used, and that the use of wood and other combustible materials should be avoided wherever possible”. The estimated expenditure at the planning stage was Rs. 25 lakhs (Rs. 2 500 000).

The report goes on to record: “Mr. Irwin, of Madras, was given the work of preparing a suitable design, which, it should be said in fairness to him, he did most creditably. The design was adopted, Mr. Irwin paid a fee of Rs. 12 000 and the work was put in hand in August 1897. But in an evil hour the Durbar determined that the work should be carried on departmentally…”. A mistake was made, comments the editorial, in ordering manufacture of the bricks locally instead of getting them from Madras, as there was nothing wrong with bricks used for the new High Court building at Madras [also a Henry Irwin building]. As it turned out, the experiment proved a failure – according to the journal – both regards the quality of the bricks produced and the expenditure involved

Irwin’s fee amounted to just under 0,5% of the estimated total expenditure, modest also by modern standards. The construction of the palace was completed in 1912 at an aggregate outlay of Rs. 4 147 913, a cost overrun of about 66% compared with the original estimates. Considering the length of time of the construction period, also not bad.