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).

The Banias

Dan and Banias are nature reserves as well as historical site. They both have hikes of varying lengths and difficulty to suit all. Within the Dan reserve is the ancient mound of Tel Dan, where one of the best preserved horned alters can still be seen, as well as the impressive Canaanite and Israelite city gates. It was here that the famous stelae was found carrying the words Beit David, House of David.

Banias , or  Caesarea Phillipi, is known for its Roman and Greek temples to Pan, but more so for being the place of Peter’s Confession (Matt 16:16; Mark 8:29).

On the upper river there are several places where rafting, kayaking or inner tubing can be done. Following good winters with much rain and snow the water rushes in places over boulders, creating decent rapids for the more adventurous spirits. In other places the water always run more placidly, and is therefore suitable for the whole family.

The Sea of Galilee

After some 80 km the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee not far from the ancient town of Beit Saida.  The Kinneret as it is known in Hebrew is app. 21 km long and 13 km across at its widest and goes down to a depth of 43 m. It is the only freshwater lake in Israel, and serves as an attraction to local and foreign tourism, as a holiday area, as well as supplying some 50% of fresh water to Israel.

The Lower Jordan River

The Jordan River runs out of the the Sea of Galilee on the south western edge, and runs for another app. 250 km till it reaches the Dead Sea. This part is known as the Lower Jordan River, and the flow here is much slower as the drop is from -214 to -420 over the longer distance. Almost the full length of the Lower River also serves as border between Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan.

On the lower river, very close to the exit out of the Sea of Galilee, is the place most visited by Christian tourists. At the Yardenit Baptismal Site it is possible for any visitor to truly see and touch the waters of the Jordan River. The place offers facilities for baptizing, and for many pilgrims this becomes one of the highlights of their tour in Israel.

Baptism

This is not the place where Jesus was baptized (Matt 3:13). The traditional site of the baptism of Jesus is some 5 km north of the Dead Sea. This site is not approachable from the Israeli side, only from the Jordanian side.

Best known as the place of the baptism of Jesus, the Jordan River offers the visitor many exciting moments from its headwaters near the Hermon Mountain until its end in the Dead Sea.

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.

The origin of the name is lost in the mist of time, but place names beginning with Beit (house) is an indication of the age of the site. The name may have derived from a god by the name of Shean, once worshiped in this place. Excavations have revealed almost continual settlement from the beginning to 8th century BCE, when it was conquered and destroyed by Tiglath Pileser III of Assyria, when he conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 732 BCE.

From the theater toward Tel

It was resettled in the Hellenistic period, but attained its finest hours in the Roman and Byzantine periods, when it became known as Scythopolis, one of the cities of the Decapolis. It is mainly this period that is Beit Shean’s cause to fame, and part of the Israeli touring map.

Excavations and History
The excavations have revealed a strong Egyptian influence in 15-12th centuries BCE. According to the Bible it was one of the cities that were NOT conquered by Joshua, and it continued as a Philistine-Canaanite town till the early part of the 10th century BCE, when it was destroyed, possibly by King David.

Although not part of the areas settled by the early Israelites, Beit Shean in mentioned in the Bible (I Samuel 31:10-12) as the place where the bodies of King Saul and his sons were impaled after their defeat at Mt. Gilboa to the south. It is also mentioned as an important administrative center during the reigh of King Solomon (I Kings 4:12). After its conquest by the Assyrians in the late 8th century BCE, it declined in importance and very little evidence has been found from this period.

Greek and Roman
In the Hellenistic period (beg. 323 BCE) the town sees a revival. But only with the advent of the Romans under General and triumvir Pompey in 67 BCE does the town rise to new importance. As part of the new administrative order Beit Shean is given a new name, Scythopolis, and made part of the Decapolis, Union of Ten Cities, with the other nine towns being on the east side of the Jordan River.

As the name indicates, it became an autonomous town (polis) with extensive self-ruling rights, including the right to mint its own coins, as well as counting the years from this date. Dionysis was accredited with having founded the city, and was therefore the main Roman god worshiped here. Nysa, Dionysis’ nursemaid, was believed to be buried there.

Massive new public and private construction begins, little of which can be seen today, due to reconstruction in later periods. It is primarily in the 2nd century CE that Scythopolis reached its final shape that we can see today.

Following the earthquake in 363 it was rebuilt and expanded. Many churches were built in the city, often on top of the former Roman temples. The expansion continued through the fifth century , when Scythopolis became an important resting place for Christian pilgrims journeying between Galilee and Jerusalem. It reached its greatest size then, some 40.000 residents.

Arab and Crusader
As a result of wars in the early seventh century and the conquest by the Arabs in 636 the city begins its final decline. The collapse of the city was finalized on January 18, 749 during the massive earthquake that shook the whole region. Although an Arab village was built on the ruins, and a Crusader fortress was built nearby, Beit Shean never recovered and got buried under the earth and sand of time.

Only the modern excavations have begun to reveal the glory that was Beit Shean/Scythopolis.

A tour through Beit Shean should include
The Theater
The Great Bath House
The Street of Palladious, The Sigma Square, Mona Lisa Mosaic
The Monumental Building
The Amphitheater

The tour can also include:
Sylvanus Street, Nymphaeum, Colonaded Pool
Tel Beit Shean

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.

Almost nothing about Capernaum is known from written sources outside the New Testament, which means we can’t say much about the origin of its name. Capernaum is a contraction of two Hebrew words: Kfar = village and Nahum, an ordinary Jewish name then and now. There is most likely no connection to the prophet Nahum.

Excavations show that the town, or maybe rather village, was founded in the early Hashmonean period, around 150 BCE, and that it was and stayed primarily a Jewish village, even through the Roman period. But already in the later parts of the first century CE there seems to be the beginnings of a group of followers of Jesus, an early Christian community in the Holy Land.

Who Lived in Capernaum?
We can’t say how large Capernaum was at the time of Jesus. It would not have been a significant place, as no defensive walls have been discovered. With ample supply of fresh water, either from the springs nearby or from the Sea of Galilee, the town could have been large, but it is estimated that no more than 5000 people lived there at the time.

The main occupations of the people would have been as fishermen, as farmers, or involved in the further production of the agricultural products. This can be seen from the olive press and large industrial wheat grinders that have been found.

But Capernaum would also have generated income from the route that passed through it, an ancient route connecting the Galilee with Damascus, and part of a large road system.

Although a small place and quite poor, it was built along the traditional lines of towns at the time. This consisted of a main street running north-south, and smaller side streets coming off, creating a grid-like system and different neighborhoods. Each square within this system was known as an insula (Latin) or agora (Greek).

All of the houses were built of rough basalt stones – the most common stone in the area. They were built along the typical lines of houses in the first century, two or three small rooms around a larger central courtyard. In this courtyard was the oven for the preparation of food. Staircases were found, showing that the roofs were used. The roofs were constructed of wooden beams with thatch and mud in between.

Being a small village none of the houses were more than the ground floor. But the roofs were in important part of the house, where the people might have preferred to sleep, especially in the hot summer months.

As was common in those days families lived together, meaning that an insula would house several generations of the same family, each within its own small house, but in close proximity to be of help to each other.

Further history of Capernaum
It seems that Capernaum did not take part in any of the Jewish Rebellions against the Romans, not The First Rebellion (66-70) that resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, nor in the second, the Bar Kochba Rebellion (132-135).

Capernaum continued to thrive in the following centuries. This can be seen from the construction that took place there in late fourth or early fifth century. The central part of the town was torn down to make a town square. On the north side was built a large synagogue, today known as the White Synagogue, on the south side a church, to become known as the House of St. Peter.

Capernaum was partly destroyed during the 7th century with the Persian invasion (614) and the Arab Conquest (636). Remains of an Arab village have been found nearby. It was finally abandoned in the 11the century, probably due to the Crusader conquest (1099) and left forgotten till modern times.

In the late 19th century the Franciscans took over the site, built a protective wall around the remains of the town. They also undertook complete investigation of the site as well as archaeological excavations that have revealed the White Synagogue, the remains of the early churches of the House of St. Peter, the oil press and other agricultural implements, the agora, and more.

This is a definite must for any visitor to Israel traveling in the footsteps of Jesus.

Things of special importance in Capernaum:
The Oil Press
The Synagogue
The Insula
St. Peter’s House
The remains of the panels, with rolling ark and star

® Copyright to Birte Edwards, Your Tour Guide to Israel

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. The idea behind the trail is to allow visitors to Israel the opportunity to experience the Galilee scenery in a new way, as well as helping businesses in out-of-the way places to make more money.

But there is more to it than that. As reported in StarTribune.com | Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota:

Though the venture is called the Jesus Trail, the appeal is meant to be broad. Nazareth and the Galilee are important to Christians, who regard the area as the setting of Jesus’s boyhood, adult ministry and initial miracles. However, the route is a layer cake of “narratives,” covering Christian holy sites, small Arab towns typical of northern Israel, the remnants of Palestinian villages empty since Israel’s 1948 war of independence, ancient Jewish sites, modern kibbutzim, Crusader battlefields and Muslim shrines.

The Jesus Trail is still in its infancy, but is constantly being improved. From the website of the Jesus Trail:

The Jesus Trail offers an alternative for travelers and pilgrims to experience the steps of Jesus in a way that is authentic, adventurous and educational by trekking through the rugged and beautiful landscape of the Galilee.The main Jesus Trail route is 65 km and begins in Nazareth and passes through Sepphoris, Cana, Kibbutz Lavi, Arbel Cliffs, Tabgha, Capernaum, and the Mount of Beatitudes. An optional return loop to Nazareth passes through Tiberias, the Jordan River, Mount Tabor, and Mount Precipice.

The trail is made up of several journeys that can be hiked individually or in full. The organizers will rent out GPS, organize guides and more.

At present only the first section is guided by volunteer guides. There are daily tours that start at 8 am from the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, except Sunday.

For full article on The Jesus Trail – A Spiritual Journey By Howard Schneider, Washington Post

For the Jesus Trail Website.

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.

And it is not just the Kinneret itself that attracts. The mountains around – to the west the mountains of the Galilee, to the east the Golan Heights – are strewn with historical sites and great hiking trails for all ages.

If you should happen to be hungry, there are no lack of eating places. Some are a little away, maybe up in the mountains on either side offering not only excellent foot but often a stunning night view of the Sea. Others are nearer the shoreline or on the shoreline itself. The majority of eating places are in Tiberias, the only town at the Sea of Galiee.

Certain parts of the population prefer the eating places in Tiberias, whether down on the promenade or in one of the small side streets. One thing is for certain – a lack of restaurants is not the reason for you to go hungry.

But the Sea of Galilee is much more than the fun  place for Israelis. On the north shore are some of the most important places to the Christian visitor.

Capernaum – where Jesus spent the greater part of his ministry
Mt. Beatitudes – the place where tradition says that Jesus gave his longest sermon, The Sermon on the mount.
Tabgha or Church of the Multiplication – just below Mt.Beatitudes, the place where Jesus fed the four thousand
Primacy of St. Peter – where Jesus appears to his disciples for the third and last time

Other places important to the Christian visitor are at some distance from the lake, such as Caesarea Philippi and Nazareth. Also within reach are places like Safed and Beit Shean.

There are many hotels in Tiberias of various levels of comfort. But around the Sea of Galilee are kibbutzim who have established hotels as part of their industries.

There is no lack of anything in this beautiful corner of Israel, and to make a long story short a visit to the area of the Sea of Galilee, the pearl of Israel, is a must for anyone visiting Israel.

Actually, there is a lack of something – water. For the last 10 years or so the area has been in a drought. As The Sea of Galilee is also Israel’s main fresh water reservoir, the results have been that the level of the lakes has dropped substantially. Measures are being taken throughout Israel to minimize damage. The questions hovers all the time … Is it too late? Will next winter bring good rain?

Israel will pray for rain as will many around the world. While waiting for the rain Israelis as well as visitors from all over the world will continue to flock to the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

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