The Jordan River

For all its fame the Jordan River is not really a river. At least not when compared to the really great rivers of the world, and even the Middle East, such as the Mississippi, the Nile and the Euphrates. And still it is known my more people than most of the great rivers.

Songs have been written, stories are told, traditions and important events are told again and again. And against this there are other aspects to this venerated old river.

No one today will see it in its whole length, but only snatches and bits and pieces. In some places you may see fast flowing waters where modern water fun can be entertained. In other places a slowly meandering old river venerated for its religious importance.

The Upper Jordan River

The Jordan River runs from its sources Dan, Banias and Hazbani at the foot of the Hermon Mountain via the Sea of Galilee and empties out in the Dead Sea, for a total length of 320 km. The first part from the sources to the Sea of Galilee is also known as the Upper Jordan River. This part is some 80 km in length and has a steep drop from app. 343 m above sea level (near Banias) to 214 m below sea level (Sea of Galilee). [Read more...]

Beit Shean (Scythopolis) – A Gem

Overlooking excavations toward Tel Beit Shean

Beit Shean is located in the Jordan Valley, some 30 km south of the Sea of Galilee. It is considered one of the oldest towns of Israel. Archaeological excavations have revealed that the first human settlement took place in the Calcholitic period (4th millennium BCE). But it is most famous as the Roman city Scythopolis.

Origins and Name
As with many other ancient towns it was travel routes that determined location. Beit Shean is situated on the cross roads of the north-south route through the Jordan Valley and the eastern entrance to the Jezreel Valley at a point, where there is easy crossing over the Jordan River. It could therefore serve as a stop on the trading routes, as well as a buffer town and defense of the Jezreel Valley, the largest and most fertile valley in Israel. [Read more...]

Capernaum – The Town of Jesus

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View of Sea of Galilee from Capernaum

On the north shore of the Sea of Galilee lie the ruins of the town of Capernaum. This town has in modern times become known as the Town of Jesus, because this is where he spent the greater part of the three years of his ministry.

Capernaum has been in ruins and forgotten since the 7th century. It was rediscovered in the middle of the 19th century by the American explorer Edward Robinson, mainly the synagogue. His findings were confirmed by later explorers as well as archaeological excavations. [Read more...]

The Jesus Trail – A Spiritual Journey

portrait-2I just love it, when new experiences are added to the map of exploring Israel and the Holy Land. That is what this latest development is all about.

The Jesus Trail is a hiking tour through the Galilee that Jesus would have known. The moving force behind the development of the trail are Maoz Inon, an Israeli entrepreneur, and David Landis, a Mennonite from the US. [Read more...]

The Sea of Galilee – Kinneret

Despite the name the Sea of Galilee is not a sea, but a lake, being all fresh water. It is about 28 km long and 10 km wide on the widest. When seen from above it seems to have the shape of the ancient lyre, which in ancient Hebrew was “kinor”. This may be the origin of its Hebrew name – Kinneret.

If it is not, then nobody knows where the Hebrew name stems from. Not that it really matter to the average Israeli, who on holidays or Saturdays will stream to the shores of the Sea of Galilee to bathe, water jetting or visit one of the water slide sites, nor to the tens of thousand of Christian or Jewish visitors to the area. [Read more...]