Israel Trip - Day 10

SITES WE VISITED/SAW TODAY:
Sea of Galilee
Interesting is how important this water is to the local culture,

 but how little tourism really takes place here. Evidently, there is a layer of salt water at the bottom of the lake but it is held in place by the amount of the fresh water (go figure?) above it. There is concern that if too much fresh water is taken from Galilee, that the salt water will mix with the fresh and make the entire lake useless for irrigation, drinking, etc.

Gadarenes / Gerasenes
I caught a glimpse of the area where it is believed that Jesus cast out Legion from the man from the Gadarenes. I could have spent a 1/2 day there contemplating that story on location.

Jordan River
We saw this river on our way to Dan. It is indeed a disappointment when you see it now as opposed to what it had to have been in the days of the crossing by the Israelites in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is more like a stream than river now.

Dan
This is the location of the beginning of the Jordan River.

Banias / Temple of Pan
What an amazing place to see. T

rue, pagan worship - still ruins, etc. of the cult worship that took place here.

Caesarea Philippi

Sea of Galilee lunch
We stopped to have a fish lunch at restaurant by the Sea of Galilee. The fish that is most common to the lake is the Tilapia. This is funny to me because I had grown up in Hawaii with the understanding that Tilapia was a bottom-feeder, a garbage fish, and was good only for bait for catching crabs. However, it was quite tasty and provided quite a lot of meat.

Capernaum (Kfar Nahum)

Mount of Beatitudes
We stopped for some time to meditate on the Mount of Beatitudes on the Sermon of the Mount. It’s very possible that Jesus preached His famous sermon here, but more importantly, it’s necessary to apply that sermon to our lives!

Cruise on Sea of Galilee
Here are some shots taken from the boat that took us onto the Sea of Galilee just before sunset. It felt good to be on the water again. It brings back memories of my teen years in Washington state when we took trips on our boat throughout the Puget Sound. From the lake, you can see so many places where Jesus ministered and traveled.