We then visited the Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus was said to have given His Sermon on the Mount.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/mount-of-beatitudes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_of_Beatitudes
Next was a stop at the Primacy of Peter, where the disciples caught the boatload of fish. Time to wash the feet again in the Sea of Galilee. Can you believe that it is 630 feet or 210 metres below sea level (and it is fresh water, so not really a sea)?
http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist+Information/Christian+Themes/Details/Chapel+of+the+primacy+of+Peter++chr.htm
Lunch was served at a local restaurant called St. Peter's Fish. Yummy - and the beer is Golden Star dark lager!
Back on the bus, we passed by an Archaeological Site which they figure was Mary Magdalene's home.
We stopped in Tiberias for some to shop, then on to Cana which was where the miracle of water being turned to wine at the wedding was to have taken place. You could buy wine in almost every shop, but we settled for some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/cana
Then on to Nazareth to the well where Mary received the news from Gabriel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Orthodox_Church_of_the_Annunciation
We made it back to the ship just after it was supposed to have left, but we had no worries as apparently seven out of the ten buses were still out. We had another lovely dinner and were getting ready for the evenings entertainment when we finally set sail, almost two hours late. It seems to be the Mediterranean way.
We had some lovely table mates on the ship. They are Cypriots who have been living in South Africa since the war in 1974. They joined our bus on the second day and were very impressed with our guide. His name is Anton and he is a 75 year old retired school teacher; definitely a wealth of information especially regarding Israeli relationships. Here is a bit from Dale -
What we learned? The complexity and the sadness of the region is palpable when you visit. We felt safe but sensed that there was much behind the scenes. Too many walls and too many guns. An occupied people will not be happy and this news video shows a bit of that story. It was good to travel in the west bank and up to the Golan Heights to see the difficulty that exists in this 'Holyland'.
All-in-all it was a very informative and educational trip. It wasn't the spiritual experience I had hoped, but it was certainly well worth doing. And on that note, take care and God bless.
Love,
Laurel
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