From En Gev to Sea of Galilee boat, Cliffs of Ardel, Capernaum, Mt. of the Beatitudes, and Korazim and back to En Gev.


January 9, 2019
From En Gev to Sea of Galilee boat, Cliffs of Ardel, Capernaum, Mt. of the Beatitudes, and Korazim and back to En Gev.

Breakfast was a little later today and we were off at 8:00 am for our 8:00 am sailing across the Sea of Galilee.  We had a beautiful morning with sunshine and clouds and our trip across the Sea of Galilee was great.  When we set sail, the captain took out an American flag and played the Star Spangled Banner for the speakers as he raised the flag.  The largest city on the western shoreline is Tiberias and we had great views of the cliffs of Ardel, which we would be visiting.  
Breakfast Buffet

On the Shore of Sea of Galilee


Out Boat Arriving

Raising the Colors



Birds Suspended above the Boat

Tiberias


Cliff of Ardel
We put ashore at Ginosar and visited the ancient Galilee boat at the center next to the dock. In 1986 to brothers discovered the 1st century CE fishing boat when a severe drought and receding shoreline exposed the buried vessel.  The 2,000 plus years of being submerged in the water and sand had preserved the boat, which was encapsulated in polyurethane foam and floated to the center.  Here it went through an 11-year meticulous conservation process during which it was submerged in a solution of heated polyethylene glycol.  This material replaced the water in the wood cells and the ancient boat was preserved.  The boat is 8.2 m long, 2.3 meters in breadth, and 1.2 meters high and built in the typical ancient Mediterranean shell-based style.  A multiplicity of wood types (12) in the hull suggest it was owned by someone of meager means.  It has been firmly dated to 1st century CE.  We viewed the boat, which was on display in the center.


We then drove through Tiberias and connected with the road that took us up to the summit of the cliffs of Ardel where there is a cave-fortress nestled in the rock.  The Ardel plateau is a basalt highland sloping upward from the SW to the NE with the northeastern edging creating a magnificent limestone and dolomite cliff towering over the Ginossar Valley and the Sea of Galilee.  The highest point of the cliff is 390 m above the Sea of Galilee.  We saw this prominent cliff as we crossed the Sea of Galilee.  All of this is part of the great Syrian-African Rift.  The cliffs of Ardel are riddled with about 350 natural caves, which have been used since prehistoric times. There is a tradition associated with Ardel dating back to the Hasmonean period.  Josephus pinpointed the site of Arbel as we know it today.  He is the only historian who described the battle between the Galilean Zealots, who barricaded themselves in the caves on the sides of the cliffs at Arbel, and Herod in 38 BCE.  Herod overcame the rebels by lowering his best fighters in cages suspended by ropes.  The zealots were targets for the arrows and grappling hooks used to pull the rebels from the caves and drop them to their death.  
After parking the bus we walked the trail that took us to several overlooks on the summit with fantastic views of the Sea of Galilee, the Golan Heights, and Mount Hermon.

North Edge of Sea of Galilee




Mt. Hermon

The Seniors
Afterwards we drove back to Tiberias and had lunch on the outskirts of the town.
We then drove to Capernaum to visit this seaside city, which is prominent in several biblical accounts.  There are the remains of a rather large synagogue built over the earlier 1st century CE synagogue.  Also, we visited the supposed site of Peter’s house, which had been built over by at least two octagonal churches and now a very modern church through whose floor the excavation can be viewed.
Synagogue

Backside of Heart-shaped Corner Columns

An Arch

Stonework (Synagogue?)

Next, we visited the Mt. of the Beatitudes and the and the Francisco church built on the site.  A light rain fell when we arrived and this was followed by a beautiful rainbow.

Rainbow
We next drove to Korazim, which was a Jewish town mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud as renowned for the good wheat/barley grown there.  The New Testament mentions it as a city condemned by Jesus along with Bth-Saida and Capernaum.  Eusebius describes Korazim as a ruined city.  The central quarter of the town contains a synagogue, remains of three large buildings and a prominent paved square in the center of the quarter.  It was first mentioned in the 1st century CE as a town on the northern hill.  The Mishna and Talmudic periods (3rd-4th century CE) saw the town grow and spread southwards.  The town went through numerous renovations and changes over the centuries and a traveler passing through in the 16th century reported about Jewish fishermen living in Korazin.  What we viewed were excavations that revealed the town during the Mishna and Talmudic periods.  We saw the ritual bath and the remains of the synagogue
Ritual Bath

Houses

Approaching Synagogue

Synagogue

Seat for Reader

Head of Methuselah

Ornamentation

The last site we wanted to visit was closed for the day.  So, we returned via a short drive to En Gev and will visit Kursi in the morning.   The sun setting over the Sea of Galilee was quite pretty.

Dinner was at 6:45 pm and we need to repack for leaving tomorrow.

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