We have spent a fair bit of time on the road so far, and it looks like there will be even more to come. One of the things that stands out, particularly in the cities and towns through which we pass, is how beautifully landscaped the roundabouts are.
Our first stop today was at Caesarea-Philippi. This was an ancient Roman city located at the southwestern base of Mount Hermon. The city is mentioned in the gospels of Matthew, and Mark. It was located within the region known as the "Panion" (the region of the Greek god Pan). Named after the deity associated with the grotto and shrines close to the spring called "Paneas". Today, the city, now no longer inhabited, is an archaeological site located within the Golan Heights. It is one of the three sources of the River Jordan which flows into sea of Galilee 250 metres below sea level.
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| Grotto of Pan |
According to the New Testament, it was here that Jesus asked his disciples, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" It was only Simon Peter who answered and said that he was the Christ, "The Son of the living God." In the following passages, Jesus says to Simon Barjona, "thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
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| Source of the Jordan |
Our next stop was Korazin, overlooking the Sea of Galilee from a beautiful garden setting. It is here that the "Sermon of the Mount" is supposed to have taken place. Although there is no exact location, there is now an eight sided Catholic Church, each side representing one of the eight beatitudes. It was built in 1936 of stone from Nazareth and Galilee, the places from which Jesus came.
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| Church of the Beatitudes |
Our third stop (and we were already on information overload) was the Sea of Galilee itself. Fortunately for our flagging energies, we were taken on a boat ride which was extremely peaceful.
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| Afloat on the Sea of Galilee |
Once back on land, however, it was back into the bus to go to a point on the Jordan River where it is supposed that John the Baptist baptised Jesus. This was a truly tacky site! While it is not surprising that so many "religious" sites have become commercialized, this was really over the top. Our guide, Ahron, is an archaeologist and his comment about the site was less than complimentary. His view is that it is most unlikely that Jesus was baptised anywhere near this place.
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| Baptism site in the Jordan |
For lunch we stopped at a restaurant which specialized in serving "St Peter's Fish," so named from the story in the Gospel of Matthew about the apostle Peter catching a fish that carried a coin in its mouth. Then it was on to Capernaeum.
After lunch it was on to Capernaum. Located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, it had a population of about 1,500. Archaeological excavations have revealed two ancient synagogues built one over the other.
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| Ancient Synagogue |
The town is cited in the Gospel of Luke where it was reported to have been the home of the apostles Peter, Andrew, James and John, as well as the tax collector Matthew and in the Gospel according to Matthew, the town was reported to have been the home of Jesus. here Jesus taught in the synagogue on Sabbath and healed a fever in Simon Peter's mother-in-law. It was to become the centre of his public ministry in the Galilee after he left Nazareth. Our guide confirmed that there is little doubt that this site is what it is proported to be.
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| St Peter's House |
The day wore on and our next stop was the Church of Multiplication at Tabgha. There is a church built on the site where Jesus fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. The Church has a wonderful 4th Century mosaic floor representing the miracle of the loaves and fishes reported in each of the gospels.
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| Mosaic Floor |
It was a great relief to stop at a winery in the Golan Heights for a wine tasting.
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| Golan Heights Winery |
Refreshed we drove further into the Golan where we could look out over the border with Syria. Here Ahron spent some time with us discussing the geopolitical realities of the Yom Kippur War. He had served in the Sinai during that conflict. Ahron's father was in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). Ahron had served his three compulsory years and now his children were doing the same. Every Israeli is required to serve in the IDF (three years for men and two for women) and then the men are expected to be a part of the active reserve until the age of forty-five.
Finally back to the Kibbutz, dinner and bed!
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