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"Mount Tabor "

"Around the Church of the Transfiguration"
Lower Galilee, Israel

Wednesday, ‎December ‎25, ‎2013

Fifth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem

My Holy Land Trip

"Mount Tabor "

Lower Galilee, Israel

The high range road to Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

The church was built from three Naves which are separated by two rows of columns holding the arches. In the two bell towers on either side of the entrance to the building, there are two Chapels. The northern chapel is dedicated to Moses and it contains an image of him getting the Tablets of Stone on Mount Sinai, and the southern chapel is dedicated to Elijah the prophet and it contains an image of him in his confrontation with the Ba'al prophets on Mount Carmel.

(La Tenda Di Elia-The Curtain of Elijah, Franciscan Restaurant), Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

On the upper part of the church, above the altar, there is a mosaic which depicts the Transfiguration, and on the Transfiguration holiday on August 6, it is illuminated by the sun beams which are returned from a glass plate located on the church's floor.

From the the main gate, Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

A rock near the entrance of the church has an engraving in ancient Greek and beside it there is an engraving of a cross. Nearby there are the remains of the monastery of San Salvatore (Monastère St Salvador) which was established by the Order of Saint Benedict in 1101.

The main gate, Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

The Church of the Transfiguration is a Franciscan church located on Mount Tabor in Israel. It is traditionally believed to be the site where the Transfiguration of Christ took place, an event in the Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured upon an unnamed mountain and speaks with Moses and Elijah.

Passage to the Church of the Transfiguration:

The current church, part of a Franciscan monastery complex, was completed in 1924. The architect was Antonio Barluzzi. It was built on the ruins of an ancient (4th–6th-century) Byzantine church and a 12th-century church of the Crusader Kingdom period. There is a Greek Orthodox church located on Mount Tabor as well, dedicated to the same purpose.

A well near to the garden, Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

The church contains three grottoes belonging to the Crusader church. They were described by Jonas Korte, a publisher from Eldena, as "three chapels, with a small altar. They are called tabernacles, and they are said to represent the three huts which Peter desired to build, one for his Master (Jesus) the other two for Moses and Elias (Elijah)".

Franciscan Monastery, side of the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

There is a chapel in each of the two towers at the western end of the church. The Chapel of Elijah is located in the south tower; the north tower holds the Chapel of Moses.

Another gate just in front of the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

The Grotto of Christ is in the eastern part of the church. Steps lead down to a lower level containing a sanctuary roofed with a modern vault.

In front of the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

There is a chapel in each of the two towers at the western end of the church. The Chapel of Elijah is located in the south tower; the north tower holds the Chapel of Moses.

Mai Entrance of the Church of Transfiguration. On the wall is a huge Latin inscription with the passage from Matthew 17 - the transfiguration description. Mount Tabor:

In the upper part of the church there is a mosaic on a gold ground representing the Transfiguration. On Aug 6th, which is the "day of the Transfiguration" in some church calendars, the sun strikes a glass plate set into the floor so that the golden mosaic is briefly illuminated. 

Ruins of the Crusader and Byzantine churches are located in the north side, among the ancient walls is a display of ancient installations and other items. Mount Tabor:

The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported by the Synoptic Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured upon a mountain (Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36). Jesus becomes radiant, speaks with Moses and Elijah, and is called "Son" by God. The transfiguration put Jesus above Moses and Elijah, the two preeminent figures of Judaism.

View of the archaeological garden and the traces of ruins of earlier structures, left side the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Several mountains have been identified as the site of the Transfiguration, for example the tallest mountain in Israel, Mount Hermon. Mount Tabor is closer to the center of Jesus’ activities and therefore the Bishop Cyril of Jerusalem wrote in the year 348 that he preferred Mount Tabor to Mount Hermon. Thus Mount Tabor was accepted as the site of the transfiguration of Christ.

Ruins of the Crusader and Byzantine churches are located in the north side, among the ancient walls is a display of ancient installations Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Mount Tabor is a steep round hill on the north-east side of Yizreel valley. It played an important role in the biblical history, and tradition links it to the Transfiguration of Jesus. The hill is strategically located on the main north-south ancient road, and was an important fortress during the First and Second Temple, Greek, Roman and Crusaders times.

 Large platform on the left side of the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Armageddon. The word itself is awesome, ominous. The Apocalypse erupts, the forces of Good and Evil collide, and unbelievers are doomed. A battleground where the international highway between Mesopotamia and Egypt widened enough to accommodate armies, the list of warriors who fought in the Valley of Megiddo reads like a Who’s Who of warfare: Pharaohs Tutmose and Neco, Barak, Gideon, Sennacherib, Josiah, Saul, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Saladin, Turks, Brits and Israelis.

Large platform on the left side of the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor: