The End of the Galilee

This is it, really!  There is so much to the Galilee that it has taken me multiple posts to cover even a part of it.  However, there are a few more stops to make as we make our way back to Haifa.  As we leave the Mt. of the Beatitudes and travel toward Tiberias, there is a set of mountain peaks that dominate the lower west side of the Galilee.  Mt. Arbel extends to 380 ft. above sea level which does not sound very high until you consider that much of the area is below sea level. The split between them is a valley created as a part of the Jordan Rift valley which is the product of a geological fault.  The thing that makes this valley notable is that it is a huge weather producer.  The winds frequently sweep through this valley and produce storms on the Sea of Galilee.  This brings to mind a familiar story and the ancient boat from the time of Christ, which unfortunately was in one of my lost blogs.

Mt. Arbel

The Ancient Boat is a fishing boat from the time of Christ.
Can you imagine thirteen men in this boat in a storm?

And behold there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he (Jesus) was asleep.  And they went and woke him saying, "Save us Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?"  then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.                                                         Matthew 8:24-26

South of the Sea of Galilee, where it empties into the Jordan River, is one of two baptismal sites along the Jordan.  It is owned and managed by Kibbutz Kvutsat Kinneret and many Christian pilgrims come to Yardenit to be baptized every year.  What is believed to be the more accurate site of Jesus' baptism, Qsar el Yahud, is in a frontier area between Israel and the country of Jordan near Jericho.  After the Six Day War in 1967, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism decided to set up Yardenit as an alternative to the original site and so it was established.  Qsar el Yahud was reopened in 2011; however, Yardenit is still a popular place for visitors to the Jordan to be baptized.

Many visitors to Israel from around the world are
baptized in the Jordan at Yardinet every year.

 Our trusty GPS unit, which we lovingly call "Naggy Maggie" travels in our car and contains "current" maps of Israel.  In the US, she is quite trustworthy.  However, in Israel she is intermittent in her directions at best.  There are times that she is quite helpful but there have been times when she has sent us through every narrow alley that a location has to offer.  That is why I questioned her directions one day in March when my sister Ann was visiting.  We had just left Yardenit and I decided to turn her on rather than wind my way through Tiberias on my way home.  Just south of Tiberas, she directed me to make a left turn up a very steep mountain road.  Here is the sign that pointed up the road.  Of course, my reaction was "Switzerland, really?".  Should we do this?  Maggie did her job that day! As our car climbed the narrow s-curving road, we were treated to the most beautiful view of the lower Galilee that I've ever seen.  Now we take everyone who visits "up the road to Switzerland" as we travel back to Haifa.  So, I leave you with scenes from The Road to Switzerland.  Shalom until next time!