Although we were sorry to big adieu to the narrow, sinuous, vibrant streets of Jerusalem's Old City, the open road - and the Sea of Galilee - was calling! Fully recovered from Easter's festivities, we started our drive north on Monday morning. We decided to drive up Israel's West Coast to hit some of the sites on the Mediterranean. Our first stop was Caesarea, a former Roman port city and man-made harbor built by Herod the Great. Now a national park, Caesarea contains well-preserved ruins from the Roman empire and a helpful multi-media exhibit that clarified the city's turbulent history (it was controlled by the Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, etc). Caesarea is also mentioned in the Bible as the place where Paul demanded to have his case heard by Caesar. Pontius Pilate also spent some time here - and his name came be found in one of the surviving mosaics. In all, it is a beautiful place, located right next to the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.

After Caesarea, we drove north to Haifa, a booming industrial port city and capital of the technology sector in Israel (for proof of this, look no farther than the shiny Google building on the main road). The main reason we visited Haifa was to see the Bahai gardens and temple. Unfortunately, the latter was under construction, but the former were quite beautiful. After grabbing a snack, we drove up to Akko - a medieval city and capital for the Crusaders in the 12th century. Akko was not our favorite city, although some of the attractions (such as the Templar's tunnel) were interesting to see.

Having our fill of the coast, we headed inland to our final destination, the Vered HaGalil ranch on the Sea of Galilee. We cannot overstate how beautiful this location is! We had a cabin overlooking the Sea, and the ranch provides horseback rides and other outdoor activities around their many acres of property. The restaurant also features American favorites such as fried chicken and hamburgers. After the bustle of Jerusalem, being in such a tranquil environment was blissful.

After a wonderul night's sleep in our cabin we stepped out the back porch, took in a deep breath of fresh country air and enjoyed the beautiful view of the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee.  The plan for the day was to drive clockwise around the body of water to see many of the sites that Jesus visited during his ministry in the region.  Before jumping in the car we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and salads in the Vered HaGalil dining room.

Our first stop was the town of Bethsaida that was home to Peter and Andrew and is mentioned in the New Testament as the site where Jesus restored the sight of a blind man.  The site is in the process of being excavated by Iraeli and American archeologists but one can already enjoy the partial reconstruction of the main throughfare through the town.  More than anything the narrowness of Bethsaida's streets and the small size of the town in general provide helpful perspective on the humble origins of Jesus's ministry.    

A short drive along the seafront took us to Kursi where the story of Jesus driving unclean spirits out of the people and into the pigs took place.  Although the sea has receeded in the last 2,000 years, you can see cliffs that could be the site where the swine ran into the water.  Indeed, in the rocky precipice you can find vestiges of an old chapel and closer to the sea are the remains of a well preserved Byzantine church complete with colored mosaics.  

After Kursi we drove around the southern part of the Sea of Galilee and headed for Tiberias, the largest city in the area.  As one of the four holy cities in the Jewish faith, Tiberias gets a lot of traffic and also has the best beaches on the sea!  Our focus was on finding a restaurant and tasting the famous fish of St Peter.  We settled on a cafe near the water and were not disappointed with the well-seasoned catch. 

On the suggestion of a friend we had met in Jerusalem we headed out of Tiberias and away from the sea toward Mt Arbel National Park for what turned out to be a breathtaking view not only of the Sea of Galilee but also the Golan Heights region as well.  Mt Arbel may only be 400 meters above sea level but given much of the surrounding area is well below it really towered above the countryside.  Given we were on a tight schedule we chose to drive to a point near the top and walk a short distance to the peak.  There is the opportunity to hike from the bottom, which we hope to do on a return trip.  

Returning to the car we drove back to the seafront to visit Taghba, the site where the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes occurred.  A church has been built on the spot featuring the famous mosaic of fishes and loaves that dates to the fourth century.  Nearby is the Church of the Primacy of St Peter, supposedly built on the location where Jesus appears to the apostles fishing in the sea following his resurrection.  With its location direction on the seafront, this small church overshadowed the more famous fish and loaves church in our opinion. Just down the road is Capernaum, where the disciplies moved (it's closer to the sea than Bethsaida!) and where Jesus based his ministry in the region.

After navigating around the entire circumference of the sea, we had only one more stop for the day.  The location where Jesus is said to have given his Sermon on the Mount is fittingly named the Mount of Beatitudes.  Located within walking distance of the Vered HaGalil, the church - while only built in the 1930s - is special for the breathtaking panoramic view it offers of the the sea.  It was the perfect place to end a wonderful day of walking in the footsteps of Christ and to reflect on the transformational power of his ministry.