Day 12 - Magdala, Capernaum, Golan Heigh

Our day was spent primarily around (and on!) the Sea of Galilee.

Taking off from our hotel in Tiberias, we first arrived at Magdala, the site of one of the oldest synagogues in Israel, having been built around year 20 CE and destroyed around year 68. A menorah - the first symbol of Judaism (and before the Star of David) - is carved onto a stone found there, making it the oldest known representation of one in a Jewish context and likely carved by someone who had seen the Menorah in the Second Temple.

Capernaum – an ancient fishing village on the north shore of the Sea – is believed to have been the home of Peter and the place where several stories of Jesus’ miracles occurred. There also are two ancient synagogues, one built (of limestone) atop the other (built of volcanic rock).

Lunch was had at one of the best restaurants we’ve visited all trip. Glorious, glorious food.

Like all of our days here, the weather was glorious – sun shining with temperatures in the high 70’s to low 80’s.

But as we began to climb to a view atop the Golan Heights, the temperature dropped by 15 degrees until we reached the top, at about 3,800 feet. From atop Mount Bental – the location of an important battle during the 1973 fight for the Heights – we had views of Syria and Lebanon, as well as Mount Hermon, the tallest mountain (with skiing!) in Israel.

From the mountain we returned to the Sea for a short cruise on a boat named “Noah” with a dance instructor who led the group in the hora.

Our day ended with an Israeli wine tasting (we learned what made some wines “kosher”) at our hotel, followed by a delicious dinner in the town of Magdala.

We leave Tiberias in the morning and will spend our last night in Tel Aviv.

#aktravel #Israel #magdala #capernaum #GolanHeights #MountBental #MountHermon #Tiberias Magdalena Restaurant - מסעדת מגדלנה Tibi's טיביסRead more