The Sea of Galilee - on to the Mt of Beatitudes

A month after returning from Israel, I rue the decision not to take copious notes about our travels but to depend on names of places and my memory. I remember the feelings of being awed by every place we visited and marveling at each piece of art which had survived the centuries. It's the details that have fled the brain cells.

On Day 6, after leaving the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, we traveled through the Jezreel Valley around Mt Tabor, through Afula and back to the overlook that had I seen on my first day/hours in Israel--a repeat of my glorious first look at the Jordan Valley where my friends Doobie and Betty live.

A bit of an aside. A number of years ago a friend introduced me to Daniel Silva and his protagonist, Israeli spy-assasin-art restorer, Gabriel Allon. Silva writes one book a year, published each July, and I eagerly await each edition. It's pre-ordered through Amazon and downloaded the day of its release. Within three or four days, I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting for the NEXT book. I love the way Silva writes, his character development, his way with words and his ability to make scenes come alive.

According to the biography created by Silva, Gabriel was born and raised in the Jezreel Valley. I followed his footsteps as we traveled through the areas described in the multi-book series. 

Although the primary reason for the trip to Israel was to visit Doobie and Betty, a close second was to visit the land of Gabriel Allon. 

Those who have paid attention to recent news briefs may recognize the summit of Mt Tabor as the site of the Church of the Transfiguration which was recently vandalized.

The southern end of the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret), where I spent my first few days in Israel. This reprised the first view
I had of the Sea of  Galilee, Kibbutz Massada and the Golan Heights in the distance. I will always treasure this sight, and I long to see it again.

We had taken the "long way around" from Nazareth en route to Capernaum and the Mt of Beatitudes precisely because Gila wanted us to see this view. We descended to the valley floor and turned toward Tiberias, the largest city in the Jordan Valley and the source of the lights across the Kinneret the night before at Ein Gev. 

When I visited Betty and Doobie, they took me to Tiberias to experience a real "hole-in-the-wall" Israeli eatery. Crammed with people, noisy with Israeli voices, raucous with the clatter of silverware, I was overwhelmed--but not nearly as overwhelmed as when the platter of schwarma arrived. I became an instant fan. The "burrito" brimmed over with juicy, delicious meat and sauces, so much that I had to take fully half of it home to eat later. As we drove through Tiberias, I craned to glimpse the hole-in-wall again and wished I could savor another batch of schwarma or another taste of the kebab Betty had ordered. 

But we didn't stop. We traveled on to what Gila identified as the Mt. of Beatitudes, where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount and fed the multitudes. As we arrived, Gila told us that of all the sites we would visit on this tour, this was her very favorite, where she felt most at peace.

It was easy to see why. 

The site of the Mt. of Beatitudes is simply glorious with its view of the Kinneret and its manicured gardens.

Church on the Mount of Beatitudes

Magnificent altar inside the church

Mosaic gracing the church floor

Lovely gardens

I was there . . .

My favorite of all the views I captured at Mt. of Beatitudes

Our time at Mt. of Beatitudes went much too quickly, as happened at every spot we visited, but we had to make our way on to Capernaum, very close by, known as the home of St. Peter as well as the "town where Jesus walked."

That's the subject of our next post, coming up tomorrow (I hope).