Saturday morning was absolutely beautiful.   Breakfast was excellent. They had several different cheeses, yogurt, sour cream, pickled fish, boiled eggs, fried eggs, olives, tomatoes, cereal, cucumbers, pickles, butter, jellies, coffee, tea, a multiplicity of breads, and sweet rolls.

We traveled hwy. 92 north, hwy. 87 north, and west on hwy. 9088 to Katsrin Park. Katsrin is a reconstructed Jewish settlement that has the remnants of a synagogue built in the 3^rd century AD and likely was a 3^rd century AD olive producing community. The town was built on a high place, off from the main road, and used the stone walls of the back of the houses to form the outer barrier for the town.

Chorazin was a few miles west of Katsrin and 2 1/2 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. This was the site of a small Jewish town in the time of Jesus.  Jesus criticizes the town in Matthew 11:21. Chorazin, like Capernaum and Bet Alfa, has a synagogue with three aisles. Several of the homes at Chorazin have been reconstructed.  This site gives you a feel of what a small Galilee town might have been like in the time of Jesus.

The Mount of the Beatitudes on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee is immediately above Capernaum. This is a tranquil place of quiet beauty. The octagonal Church of the Beatitudes is built of local basalt and Nazareth stone. This church commemorates the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29).

We negotiated a safe parking place in the Mount of Beatitudes tiny parking lot and went into the site. We had a devotional in one of the garden areas and then took pictures and walked the site. The overlook of the Sea of Galilee is particularly beautiful. We voluntarily limited ourselves to just a few minutes and then traveled down the mountain to Capernaum.

"And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zubulun and Naphtali," (Matthew 4:13). Jesus called his first disciples here (Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John Mt. 4:18-22). He preached in the synagogue, where He healed a man with an unclean spirit (Mark 1:23-26). He healed many that were lame, dumb, blind and maimed (Mt. 15:29-31). Cured the Centurion’s servant (Lk. 7:1-10).

Capernaum lies 636 feet below sea level. It was once a fishing village and was the primary place of ministry by Jesus during His ministry. It is now an archaeological site, gardens and two monasteries.

They have built a "space ship chapel" over the House of St. Peter. There are many archaeologically significant items at this site. We looked at them, walked through the synagogue, and had a brief time of prayer. This was the place where Mark said "Jesus taught as one that had authority, and not as the scribes" (Mk. 1:22). My prayer is that I will become more like Jesus and less like me. Amen.

The Church of the Primacy of Peter is close by Capernaum. The present Franciscan chapel was built in 1933 over a 4^th century AD building.

Enclosed by the Church is the rock "Mensa Domini" venerated as the table on which Jesus offered breakfast to the disciples in John 21. We read this passage on the Seashore and shared together in prayer.

Next door is the Heptapegon, which means seven springs. The Arabic word is Tabgha. This site is the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes (Mark 8:1-9) which was built over a 5^th century AD edifice and dedicated in 1982. They have preserved some of the original mosaic floor.

We were ready for a good Chinese meal at the House in Tiberias. We had been traveling at a fast pace. Did I mention it was Shabbat? The House Chinese restaurant, non-Kosher, didn’t open until 1:00 and it was 11:45. We couldn’t wait so we headed for our next site, Cana in Galilee.

As we headed west, we stopped at that internationally known restaurant, McDonalds, at Golani Junction (hwy 77 & 65). A semi-quick lunch and on to Cana.

We drove through Cana (located 5 miles east of Nazareth), enjoyed the traffic, and located the Franciscan church that venerates the water to wine miracle of John 2:1-11. We continued on to Nazareth on hwy. 754.

Nazareth is full of traffic, and doing a lot of building. They have created a situation where the streets are nearly impassable. We didn’t have the time or patience to deal with the Nazareth traffic so we turned west on hwy. 79, on the edge of Nazareth and traveled on to Zippori (Sepphoris) National Park located 4 miles northwest of Nazareth.

Sepphoris dates from the 2^nd century BC. The Romans had begun a significant building program there during the time of Jesus. This particular site is important because of its well-preserved mosaic floors at the bathhouse (the Nilometer), and a Roman villa (Mona Lisa of the Galilee). Additionally, the site has a beautiful Roman road and a renovated Crusader era church on the top of the hill with a fabulous view of the surrounding area.

When we left Sepphoris, we drove west to the coast and then north to the Lebanon border where we turned east and drove to Goren Park to see the Crusader castle of Montfort. Montfort is the largest ruin in western Galilee. It was built in the 12^th century AD to protect Acre. The walk from Goren Park is one mile down into a valley and one mile up the other side. It is steep and we didn’t stroll across.

We have had a rugged, fast paced day and now it is advancing to dusk. We made one last stop at Rosh Ha-Niqra on the border with Lebanon. We walked up to the border and looked across. The view is beautiful from the hill overlooking the Mediterranean. Haifa and Acre are in the distance. We watched the sun set. It was gorgeous.

The nighttime drive from Rosh Ha-Niqra to Nof Ginosar near Tiberias took about an hour and a half. Highway 85 west, we were traveling east, was backed up for about 5 miles from Karmiel Junction. It made our drive much easier.

We had a good time at supper. Tom Brimmer’s wife, Becky, met us at Nof Ginosar. We enjoyed the fellowship and said farewells to Tom Brimmer. He had to be back in Jerusalem the next day for his Israeli guide classes.

Brian started with the funny stories and on the way home I was laughing so hard at one time that I had to pull over on the side of the road. I missed the turn from hwy. 87 to hwy. 92 because we were having such a grand time. Thorn and Jim noticed that the lights from Tiberias were almost out of sight. At about the same time we passed a tank base that we had passed before and we knew that it was only a few miles to the Syrian border. Quietness reigned and sanity was immediate. I u-turned and we made it safely to Ein Gev.