Mount Arbel, Capernaum, Chorazin, & Mount of Beatitudes

Shalom from Nof Ginosar located on the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum. First a note that Stan Harris is very tired and is taking the night off from posting any photos. I know they are the highlight of this blog and Stan promises to double post photos tomorrow night to show shots of the places we visited both today and the ones we'll visit tomorrow. We had a long day today but a great day. We started up Mount Arbel first thing. Only God knows for sure, but it is a likely candidate for the mountain that is mentioned a number times in the Gospels that Jesus went up to pray, choose His disciples, etc.. The view of the Sea of Galilee from the top is stunning. By the time we got up and down Arbel, it was time for lunch. Afterwards we visited Capernaum (village of Nahum), Jesus' hometown during the years of His public ministry. It is a beautiful place and the archeological remains of the synagogue built in 400 AD are built on the visible foundation of the synagogue that Jesus taught in frequently. Next we went to the ruins of Chorazin very close nearby. It is about half the size of Capernaum but shows a great example of a Jewish insula - a large family living complex. The remnants of its synagogue are rough (black basalt stone) but significant. It is estimated that the populations of Capernaum and Chorazin (denounced by Jesus along with Bethsaida) were about 1500 and 600, respectively. We then went to the hill on the Sea of Galilee known as the Mount of Beatitudes and is considered the likely location of Jesus' most famous sermon - the sermon on the mount. It was very windy this afternoon and it produced white caps on the water. I now see how the Sea of Galilee can get rough enough to validate the Gospel stories of storms on it that impacted Jesus and His disciples. We then ate a lovely dinner at an out-of-the-way Israeli restaurant that our tour leader Danielle arranged. It was a great way to finish a long day. That's it for now. We have to meet early tomorrow morning at 6:10 AM for our next adventure. Shalom. Look for pictures tomorrow.