He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you (Mark 16:7)

Our first stop today was Bet She’an, one of the cities of the Decapolis. It has no biblical significance, however, it has great archaeological significance being one of the best preserved Roman cities in Israel.

The Cardo, the main shopping street of a Roman or city. The columns would have been roofed covering shops/market stalls behind them.

 

Bet She'an was destroyed by a major earthquake in the year 749... some of the Roman columns and other ruins have been left as they fell.

The 7000 seat theatre was built in the 1st century

Next stop was Tabgha, the site of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. The church is very simple and features the famous mosaic of the loaves and fishes which dates from about the year 470.

The very simple Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fishes... in front of the altar is the famous mosaic. The mosaic is laid next to a large rock, which has caused some New Testament scholars to speculate that the builders of the original church believed that Jesus stood on this rock when he blessed the fish and loaves just before the feeding of the crowd who had come to hear him.

 

Also at Tagbha was the Church of the Primacy of Peter. This church, on the edge of the Sea of Galilee remembers when the risen Jesus asked Peter three times, “do you do love me?” (John 21:1-17) and entrusted Peter with the care of his flock. Over the mensa Christi where Jesus prepared the breakfast the church was built.

The limestone rock in front of the altar, the "Mensa Christi", (table of Christ) is considered the spot where Jesus is said to have laid out a breakfast of bread and fish for the Apostles, and told Peter to "Feed my sheep" after the miraculous catch,

After a fish lunch, (though the fish in the Sea of Galilee have been over fished so it comes from a fish farm), we went to Capernaum and visited the synagogue where Jesus taught… though actually it was a newer synagogue built on top of the one that was there in Jesus time. We also visited the church built over Simon Peter’s house which became a very early church. Capernaum was destroyed by an earthquake in 746.

The synagogue

The church over Simon Peter's house... as seen below.  Successive churches were built around Peter's house... now the church is above it.

 

We then went for a cruise on the Sea of Galilee before visiting a recently found ancient boat thought to be in use in Jesus time. Even though it was so hot so when we arrived at Tiberias Leona and Steve were the only ones keen enough to go swimming in the Sea of Galilee.

There are no icebergs here Leona

 

The ancient boat... on the wall behind it (below) you can see a sketch of what it would have looked like.