the good fight

Rome is the city of seven hills...one of them being Palatine Hill. This is where Caesar's palace is located. Once we were near the ruins of Caesar's palace we read Luke 2 where it talks about how Caesar sent out an order to tax the provinces. This was the decree that affected Mary and Joseph and had them traveling to Bethlehem.

Of course each new emperor wanted to add on to the previous one's home, so there was more than one palace on this hill. We were able to visit the portions of Caesar Augustus' home and the house that belonged to his wife Livia (she had her own next door). Brandon realized that the Caesar's palace in Vegas wasn't quite authentic. It was so amazing to look and see the frescoes painted on the walls knowing that they date back to the time of Christ. Frescoes is a type of painting or mural. It's painted on wet plaster and just becomes part of the wall. My pictures didn't do them justice.

This is also the place where we read II Timothy 4. This chapter is where Paul is saying his final good-byes. He says, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith..." (II Tim. 4:6-7) 

We don't know the exact location, but we knew he was sentenced to death on that hill. We walked down the road, the Via Sacra, that he would have traveled to his death. It was sobering.

The bottom of this hill is where the ancient Roman Forum was located. This is where Paul was imprisoned. This is also the location of Julius Caesar's murder and burial place.

At the end of this road is the Arch of Titus. Titus was a military hero. He was the man responsible for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, which I saw only a few days later. In celebration of the Temple's destruction, this arch was built. A section of the arch portrays men carrying off menorahs and other goods from Temple Mount. 

We also visited Pompeii and Herculaneum, near modern day Naples. These were cities located at the bottom of Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano that erupted in AD 79 and destroyed both cities. Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash. This preserved the entire city. Herculaneum experienced a little more damage because of volcanic rock, but still was preserved well. I loved exploring these cities. They were frozen in time. You could still see the ruts where chariots had worn down the rock in the roads. It was an amazing experience.