Capernaum, Mount of the Beatitudes, Tel Dan

Our journey May 25 took us to Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Ruins of ancient houses all around the synagogue.

Underneath the white synagogue are foundations in local black basalt stone, which excavators believe to belong to the "Synagogue of Jesus" - the synagogue that was in operation when Jesus taught there in the 1st century.

This black stone is one believed to be an actual stone Jesus would have walked upon, located at the corner of the synagogue.

The northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Statue of the apostle Peter in Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee.

Aren't these the cutest bus traveling companions? We were so happy we had air conditioned buses driving us to all our destinations when the temperature rose to the high 90s some of the days we were in Israel.

Our bus ride took us to the Mount of the Beatitudes located not too far from Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee.

We got settled under a pavilion for Michael to lecture about Christ giving the Sermon on the Mount.

Roman Catholic Chapel at Mount of the Beatitudes.

Views of the Sea of Galilee from atop the mountain.

Time for a snack. We became addicted to Magnum bars during the heat wave in Israel.

Another bus ride due north about 45 minutes to Tel Dan.

The Dan River is one of the sources of the Jordan River.

We got settled all around a beautiful wading area for Michael to give another lecture.

Pretty soon we got invaded with busloads of elementary school children laughing and screaming while playing in the water. It got a little much for Michael to compete with, so we moved to another area for our lecture.

We walked past the restored walls and gates of the old city that gave us an excellent idea of the fortifications Joshua would have faced as he conquered the land.

We settled in for another lecture in a quieter setting.

Banias is the modern name for an ancient town that developed around a spring associated with the Greek god Pan. Archaeologists have uncovered a shrine dedicated to Pan and related deities.

Banias, known as Caesarea Philippi in the days of Jesus was the place where the Savior asked his disciples, "Whom do ye say that I am?"

The Hermon River is another water source that leads to the Jordan River.

Our tour guide Joseph pointed out the fig tree leaf and said it was the first bikini. 

Notice the Magnum bar I am eating--for the second time that day.

Back in the bus for a ride to a Catholic church run by some nuns. They kindly let us gather for another lecture by Michael.

Rachel Densley was taking stock of her extremely sunburned feet and toes.

This was a good beach that allowed us to go stand out in the Sea of Galilee if we wished to do so.

We drove back to Tiberias where we spent our last night.

We went walking around the town by our hotel and found a McDonald's because Patricia wanted a bedtime snack.

We couldn't read anything on the menu--except for Happy Meal and Transformers.

Hebrew is written from right to left.

 Our step count for the day was 15,547 which is 7.85 miles.