On the Trail of Jesus

Sea of Galilee

Em and Vince didn’t get a lot of sleep last night because the group staying at the hotel had a big party below their window.

On the bright side, being the sabat, there was no traffic for getting out of the town.

Soon we see the Sea of Galilee which is really a big fresh water lake. The sea of Galilee is also the second lowest body of water in the world. The only surface water that is lower is the Dead Sea.

The Mount of Beatitudes is our first stop. This is where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount…we follow the tour busses.

Primacy of Saint Peter

We pass the Beatitudes and end up at the churches in Tabgha.

We first go to the Primacy of Saint Peter. The stone in front of the altar is where Jesus and his disciples had fish for breakfast.

Many people are walking into the water. I take off my shoes and socks. The gravel hurts my feet but I go in anyways.

The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes

Just 100 metres away is a second church called the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. The rock under the altar is where Jesus multiplied the bread and fish to feed 5000 people.

The Church of the Beatitudes

We see the Jesus trail which is uphill for over a km in 30 degree heat. Em and I vote
to take the car back to the Church of the Beatitudes.

There are a lot of pilgrims visiting (and green parrots in the trees). There are many separate services going on in the grounds of the church. The view of the Sea of Galilee is lovely.

This was the place where Jesus gave the sermon that begins with Blessed be the …. It is a beautiful and peaceful place.

Jesus’s Town of Capernaum

Back on the road again we head towards Capernaum, the Town of Jesus. This was Jesus’s base where he preached at the synagogue, found five of his apostles and performed numerous miracles.

The site is quite impressive.There is a modern church built above the ruins of Peter’s house. The ruins of the White Synagogue is over top of the synagogue where Jesus preached.

Arbel National Park

It is 31 degrees…hot, hot, hot. We head to Tiberias for some lunch. Not much is open because it is the Jewish Sabbath but we finally find an expensive Fish restaurant at the waterfront.

The waterfront is pretty but most things are closed. We head back to the car and drive to Arbel National Park for some great views of the Galilee area, The Golan Heights, and Mount Hermon. There are a lot of caves in the cliffs of Arbel. Hiking uphill in the sun is hot and we are ready to check into our Airbnb Apt. in Tiberias.

Tiberias

The apartment has an amazing view but it has really bad, almost absent internet. Thank goodness we are only staying here for one night.

Sabat ends at sunset so we head out at dusk for supper to the lakefront promenade. Almost everything is still closed.

We check out the water level surveyor for the Sea of Galilee which is located at the end of the promenade. It monitors how much water they can take out for irrigation.

It is getting dark as we pass the old Tiberias city wall. We walk and walk and walk. Desperate for food, we walk towards the golden arches. Also closed.

Supper in Tiberias

Finally we spot a convenience store with a pizza take out place in the back…everything made from scratch. We have to wait till their latest batch of dough rises  so we decide to eat dessert first. We buy and eat a home made dessert called Kunafa. It is totally delish.

After dessert, I watch our pizzas being made. The pizza has different toppings that I am not used to including corn, olives, tuna, eggplant, onions, and Zataar. Click here to see them make our pizza.

With tummies filled we head back to the apartment.