*By Tour Guide Henry Lochoff
Capernaum
Capernaum
In the picturesque region around the sea of Galilee where Jesus began his ministry 2000 years ago, there is a smorgasbord of activities from swimming in the Sea of Galilee and kayaking in the Jordan River, to visiting places of Christian interest.
There is Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee also known as “the town of Jesus”. There are several churches here that celebrate the life of Jesus and the Synagogue, where Jesus is believed to have preached and performed miracles.
At Magdala, a major first-century port on the Sea of Galilee, a centre of trade and commerce, and an exporter of salted fish, archaeological discoveries early in the 21st century have made it a burgeoning pilgrimage destination.
Contributing to its fame down the centuries is Mary Magdalene – revered as a saint by the Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches and one of the few persons named in the Gospels as being present at Christ’s crucifixion – who is thought to may have lived in Magdala or possibly born there.
The Jewish historian Josephus says Magdala had a population of 40,000 people and a fleet of 230 boats about 30 years after Jesus died.
Beginning in the 1960s, Franciscan archaeologists discovered Magdala’s paved streets, water canals, a marketplace, villas and mosaics — one depicting a sailing boat.
Buried in the mud covering a thermal bath complex were ceramic crockery, perfume jars, jewellery, hairbrushes and combs, and bronze applicators for make-up. As you can see, women were no different back then in the times of Jesus than today!
Magdala’s port once had a stone breakwater that extended into the sea and curved around the harbour to protect boats from the sudden storms that buffet the Sea of Galilee.
In 1986, the hull of the so-called “Jesus Boat”, a fishing boat old enough to have been in use during the time of Christ, was found in the lakebed near this ancient port of Magdala.
Only two and a half kilometers south of Capernaum located on the north-western shore is Tabgha (known in Hebrew as Ein Sheva). It is believed to be the traditional site of the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves and two fish (marked today by the Church of the Loaves and the Fishes). This narrative may well bring on grumbling stomachs.
Nothing that a walk into town would not rectify – there is no shortage of good fish restaurants on the Tiberius waterfront where keeping in the spirit of the narrative, one could tuck into a St. Peter’s Fish, named after the famous apostle.
Church of the Beatitudes
Popular with the Popes
For those whose legs still have spring in them and can wait a while longer until ‘feeding time’, there is the uphill walk – or a drive by car – to the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the placid surface of the Sea of Galilee. It was here that Jesus is believed to have delivered his most famous ‘Sermon of the Mount’.
The octagonal-shaped Church of the Beatitudes (to symbolize the eight beatitudes as described in Matthew 5:3-11) was built by the Franciscan Sisters in 1938 on the hilltop. Pope Paul VI left his cloak for permanent display in the church after his 1964 pilgrimage and in March 2000, a crowd of over 100,000 gathered to celebrate a Mass with Pope John Paul II.The Pope’s message focused on young believers,calling on them “to choose the path of good over evil.”
A Dip in the Jordan
No visit to the area is complete for Christians without visiting the spot where the Jordan River flows from the Sea of Galilee southwards to the Dead Sea, and is believed where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
In modern times, scores of pilgrims don white robes and get baptized in the same spot.
Nearby Kibbutz Kinneret hosts a Visitors Center that includes a place to rent or buy a white robe, shop for souvenirs, eat, shower and change. Several baptismal pools can be reached by following the ‘Wall of New Life’ created by an Armenian artist from Jerusalem, which depicts the account from the Gospel of Mark (1:9-11) about the original baptism.
After a full day, including some fun activities like swimming, kayaking or sailing, it will again be time to eat. One fun option is to take a boat across the Sea of Galilees to the popular fish restaurant at Kibbutz Ein Gev – it is the largest restaurant around the lake area.
Bon appétit! or as we say in Hebrew – be’tei’avon! (בְּתֵאָבוֹן)
Henry Lochoff was born in Johannesburg and lived in Pretoria for many years, “which explains my strong accent”. Having practiced as a Chartered Accountant since immigrating to Israel in 1977, he decided in 2012 having reached the age of 64 to begin a new stage in life and realize his dream of becoming a licenced Israeli tour guide “so I could show people from all over the world our beautiful land of Israel.” Many of these visitors are from South Africa. Henry lives with his wife Lynn in Hod Hasharon, a city in the Central District of Israel located approximately 10 kilometres east of the Mediterranean Sea.
