Sea of Galilee, Cana, Magdala & Mt. of Beatitudes Tour

We drive towards northern Israel and the region around the Sea of Galilee. We first stop at Magdala, the birthplace of Mary Magdalene. We get to see the remains of an ancient Biblical era fishing village and the ruins of a synagogue dated to the Second Temple period.

We continue our drive through the beautiful countryside to reach Ginosar on the western bank of the Sea of Galilee. During Jesus’ lifetime, Ginosar was a flourishing town. Now it is a kibbutz. A drought in 1986 made the level of the Sea of Galilee drop and the frame of an ancient fishing boat dated to 100BC-70AD was discovered. We visit the Jesus Boat, as it came to be known during our stop at the Beit Yigal Allon Museum here.

We then proceed to the shore of the Sea of Galilee to enjoy a view of the Mount of Beatitudes. From here we make our way to Kfar Cana, the Biblical site that finds several mentions in the Gospel of John. It is believed that Jesus performed his first miracle here by turning water into wine at a wedding feast. We make our last stop here at the Wedding Church. This two-storeyed Franciscan church has twin bell towers and a domed roof. The Nave of the church bears the remains of a 5th or 6th-century Byzantine mosaic. We tour the church museum which displays several artifacts found during excavations. There are six wine jars on exhibit, and it is conjectured that perhaps one of them was the very jar used by Jesus to perform his miracle at the wedding.