The
day after Christmas, seven of us climbed in a van and rode north
for a tour of a number of holy sites
around the Sea of Galilee. |
 |
Our
first stop was the Jordan river, in the area where Jesus was
baptized. The river is surrounded by trees and was a lot more green
than I expected. |
 |
 |
 |
Most
of the signs were not in English, so I don't entirely know the importance
of this chapel beside the Sea of Galilee, but the rock was built into the
chapel and is clearly holy ground (according to the sign). |
| Standing
beside the Sea of Galilee, I was amazed by its size. Phrases
throughout the gospels like, "when Jesus went back across the
lake..." and "let's cross over to the other side of the
lake," caused me to picture the Sea of Galilee much smaller than it
is in reality. |
 |
 |
 |
We
stopped in Capernaum, where we saw remains of a synagogue, which was most
likely built on top of the remains of the synagogue that stood in
Capernaum during the lifetime of Jesus. It was amazing to stand in the synagogue and realize
that I was standing in the very place where Jesus went to pray and teach. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Atop
Mt. Tabor, we saw the church of the transfiguration. We also had a chance to
climb on the rocks for some good views of the surrounding hill country. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
This fountain
flows down to the Sea of Galilee, where we had a nice view
(right)
Can you guess
what this was used for?
(left) |
 |
|
Tabgha is the
location of the feeding of the multitude. |
 |
|
|
|
|
One of the
most beautiful stops we made all day was atop the Mt. of Beattitudes,
where there is a very nice garden, a chapel, and great views of the hills
and the Sea of Galilee. |
 |
Reading
the beattitudes in the garden on the Mt. of Beattitudes |
 |
 |
|
After we got
back to Jerusalem, we stopped by the vegetable stand and used our limited
hostel kitchen facilities
(like butter knives for cutting vegetables) to make dinner for the group. |
|
|
|
|
