Wine and woe at Bethsaida

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For ABC Wednesday, W is for wine and woe at Bethsaida.
The winegrower's house was given an appropriate passage from the Apocryphal book Sirach.

The famous verse Luke 10:13, "Woe to you, Chorazin, woe to you, Bethsaida . . ."

I took part in the early excavations of Bethsaida back in the early 1990s.

The site has come a long way since then and is open to pilgrims and tourists.
The dig is still underway, still directed by Dr. Rami Arav. 
If you are ever near the Sea of Galilee, pay a visit.
But watch your step, the town may still be cursed.  :/
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More pictures of Bethsaida at my earlier post.
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(Linking to signs, signs.)
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Woe to you, Bethsaida ...*

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I leaned over to take the "street" sign at eye level and out popped a reflection!
For  James' Weekend Reflections, of course.

Here is another shiny sign, this one reflecting rocks and August (2012) dryness.

The site is Bethsaida, of New Testament fame, located on the northern tip of the Sea of Galileee.
You can enlarge the photo twice and read about its history. 

Look, they even found the city gate at the end of the street!

I worked two seasons digging there in the early 90s.
Even my then-teenage daughter took part in one  of those expeditions.
We volunteers slept in straw huts ("bungalows") in nearby Katzrin, together with bugs and scorpions.  (Ugh, better to forget that part.)

I had not been back up to Bethsaida since then, and I was so impressed at the archaeological progress (on-going) and the unique signage and visitor paths.

I remember having to swing a pickaxe  to break up the concrete floor of a Syrian bunker so we could dig down to lower strata.
In the photo above I see that long-time director Dr. Rami Arav chose to leave one bunker in situ.
Syrian troops were up there on the Golan Heights, shooting down on Israel, until the 1967 Six Day War.

Not much shade at the site, but this tree offered some, complete with a bench.
The sign says "To a shaded meditation place."

Meditate on all what Bethsaida has seen over the millennia . . .
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* My post title comes from Matthew 11:21 .
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