Day 8

This morning I woke up and looked out the window and saw the sun rising above the Sea of Galilee. We had a full day ahead of us, visiting many sites where Jesus had preached or performed miracles. Our first stop of the day was Mt. Beatitudes, the site of the “Sermon on the Mount.” It is a beautiful property that overlooks the Sea of Galilee. After Mt. Beatitudes, we went to Banias (Caesarea Phillippi). The remains of an old temple are there. Also, this is the place where Jesus reveals Himself to His disciples. This again is another beautiful and peaceful place. We then drove up to Golan Heights and looked over the Hula Valley. We ate lunch at a Druse eatery. Druse are groups of people that inhabit certain parts of Israel and believe that Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, is their main prophet. They set up their own businesses in their community. We ate falafel and it was the best falafel I have ever had. Felafel here in Israel is so good. It is crispy on the outside but very moist on the inside. They put 4 felafel in a pita and then you add your own vegetables and salads. It cost $8 for a falafel and a drink. After lunch, we headed back down through the valley on our way to Ginosaur. In Ginosaur, there is a museum that contains the boat they found that they have dated as being 2000 years old. They believe this boat was used during the time of Jesus. We watched a short video that showed where they found out and how they were able to dig it out and transport it. It was not easy and took a lot of work. The only reason they found it was because the sea level was so low. After watching the video, we went into the room where the boat was. That was a pretty awesome sight. We took pictures of the boat and many bought some stuff at their store. They also had 4 computers with free internet so everyone was trying to check their e-mail. That was the last stop of our day. We went back to our hotel for dinner.