Day Three

We have an early start as usual today and the word of the day is MAH-yeem (מים), which means water in Hebrew. This morning we are leaving Tiberius in a northerly direction to start exploring the Galilee and heading toward the mount of the beatitudes. After devotions we will be walking to the Greek named valley Heptoptiguy {Not sure of the Spelling here} (Land of the Seven Springs). These lands are very fertile because of the springs and after passing them we will continue on to Capernaum the fishing village, journey on a boat to the Decapolis, and finally see what is thought to be the remains of Peter, the apostles house.

After breaking for lunch we continued on to the Jordan River to witness the baptism of four people in our group. It was not quite how I expected it to be, the Jordan is a lot smaller than I had imagined from my readings. I guess that is one of the best things about taking a trip like this; your perspective is continuously being updated with facts that you can now see, touch and smell. Following the baptisms we then climbed Mount Arbel and returned to the boat museum. As we traveled Aaron mentioned that despite the current calm of the Sea of Galilee, it could and does have storms that get very rough. As a side note he also mentioned that Galilee was not a very big tourist attraction when the first pilgrims began to visit the Holy land. Up until the 12^th Century people only came and visited Jaffa, Jerusalem, and the Jordan. 

Some other facts about the area also include noting that Herod Antipas built Tiberius and that Capernaum was geographically right in the middle of Philippi and Tiberius. There is also a path running from the Mount of the Beatitudes to Chorazin, which we will be visiting tomorrow. Aaron also pointed out that this is the same area where the feeding of the 5000 men happened. The Jordan River is also the main tributary to the Sea of Galilee.

                          

Our tour of the town Capernaum, which was primarily a fishing town, included visiting a Synagogue made out of limestone discovered in 1894 by German Archeologists. This Basilica, Temple or Synagogue had 2 rows of columns dividing the structure. Our guide also mentioned that the positioning of the temple was also important and that it ensured people faced Jerusalem while praying. The Churches built in Jerusalem in the same fashion faced the temple mount.

After visiting the church we continued on to Peter’s house, which was the largest in the town and was believed to house 3 families that were living together. Around his house was built an octagonal Byzantine Church. Peter him self was originally from Bethsaida. And speaking of Bethsaida that is where we are headed next and then onto Ein Gev. As we traveled by bus Aaron our guide gave us a little background of the area that we were going to visit. He mentioned that the land was settled by Canaanites and called Geshur and where Maha the wife of King David and mother of Absalom was from. Israel was built on top of Geshur and Bethsaida was built on top of that. It was also noted that the biggest gatehouse in this city was even larger than the one found in Megiddo. The walls of the gatehouse were made similar to the ones in Caesarea, from volcanic rocks removed from the Golan Heights. It is also interesting to note that Jesus healed a blind man in Bethsaida and that this is also the same area that the casting out of demons into the swine happened. The Golan Heights is where they ran down the hills and into the Sea of Galilee. (Matt 8:31-33)

When we arrived at Ein Gev we stopped at a kibbutz for lunch consisting of Tilapia, which is a local fish. After the lunch we headed to the Jordan River to complete the baptisms and then visit the boat museum. It should be noted that at this time we videotaped a message to send back to APC sending greetings from the Holy Land.

 During our visit at the boat Museum we were informed that the ancient boat found in Galilee was over 2000 years old and from the time of Jesus. When it was first discovered it had to be held under water in an aquarium until it was injected with a special preserving wax formula in order to make it available to the public for viewing without fear of oxygenation. The ancient boat was found in 1996 the year in which there was a drought in the area revealing the find. Two brothers from the nearby kibbutz, Ginosar were the ones who made this discovery. It was transported to Yigal Allon Center and underwent 11 years of restoration.