Haifa, Sea of Galilee, Mount of Beatitudes
Tuesday was an exciting day--we are in Israel! Haifa is Israel's third largest city (250,000 people, 5 religions) and our gateway to Israel. In Roman times, the country was divided into Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, which comprised the whole northern section of the country, and was the largest of the three regions. Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, ruled Galilee as tetrarch. The Galilee area was the home of Jesus during at least 30 years of his life. The first three Gospels of the New Testament are mainly an account of Jesus' public ministry in this province, particularly in the towns of Nazareth and Capernaum. Galilee is also cited as the place where Jesus cured a blind man.
The Sea of Galilee is about 1-1.5 hour drive from Haifa. It was a beautiful spot, and we enjoyed our visit at a kibbutz for lunch.
The Sea of Galilee is fed by the Jordan River, rainfall and springs on the northern side. It's actually a lake, the Kinneret and is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. Storms come up quickly and violently, especially from the Golan Heights to the east.
Where we ate lunch after our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.
We had the joy of seeing whole families dressed for Purim, the festival of Esther--aren't the kids adorable?
The "Sermon on the Mount" is recorded in Matt 5-7 and Luke 6, but we don't know exactly where it was. One possibility is Mt. Eremos, between Capernaum and Tabgha. Tabgha is the traditional location for the calling of the disciples. The mountain is topped by a Catholic chapel built in 1939 by the Franciscan Sisters (Antonio Barluzzi, architect). The woman in the foreground was the oldest in our group--98 years old, and planning to attend her sister's 100th birthday party later this year.
I think this is the Church of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha. A church was first built here in the 380s, was enlarged, and in 1982 was replaced by the modern building.
The Sea of Galilee is about 1-1.5 hour drive from Haifa. It was a beautiful spot, and we enjoyed our visit at a kibbutz for lunch. 
The Sea of Galilee is fed by the Jordan River, rainfall and springs on the northern side. It's actually a lake, the Kinneret and is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. Storms come up quickly and violently, especially from the Golan Heights to the east.
Where we ate lunch after our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.
We had the joy of seeing whole families dressed for Purim, the festival of Esther--aren't the kids adorable?
The "Sermon on the Mount" is recorded in Matt 5-7 and Luke 6, but we don't know exactly where it was. One possibility is Mt. Eremos, between Capernaum and Tabgha. Tabgha is the traditional location for the calling of the disciples. The mountain is topped by a Catholic chapel built in 1939 by the Franciscan Sisters (Antonio Barluzzi, architect). The woman in the foreground was the oldest in our group--98 years old, and planning to attend her sister's 100th birthday party later this year.
I think this is the Church of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha. A church was first built here in the 380s, was enlarged, and in 1982 was replaced by the modern building.
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