Around the World in 180 Days with D and N: Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee

From Nazareth we drove the short distance to Tiberias, on the Western side of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret in modern terminology). We had some trouble finding our accomodation, stopping in a large public parking lot to get our bearings An older guy in shorts, lugging a grocery bag, stopped to help. He directed us to about a 10 minute walk south and offered to accompany us (we found out we needed to be about a half a block north). We thanked him but told him we'd find our way. He said he wanted to give Nick a small present and gave him a bottle of apple juice he'd just bought. Many kindnesses, even with miss-directions!

We circled the sea/lake, stopping at a number of sites associated with Biblical mentions of Jesus' ministery. There were a number of 20th century churches, most built on top of Byzantine and older structures. There were lots of tour buses circling the lake, with many groups of pilgrims of various nationalities, accompanied by their priests, singing and praying as they visited the various sites.

The Jordan River flows into the northern end of the lake, and flows out of the southern end. We stopped at a baptismal site just below the southern outlet of the river, which claims to be the spot where John the Baptist baptised Jesus. Didn't see any baptisms, although people in white robes were cavorting in the water. It was a pretty commercial venue, with Jordan water for sale by the ounce or the gallon. We later visited what scholars assume to be the actual site, some distance to the south.