The countryside of Israel near Jericho.

Our van was pulled over by the Israeli police. The policemen talked with the driver, opened the sliding door and looked at all of us American tourists in the back, and talked with the driver a little more before crossing the street to their patrol car. All the while my eyes were fixed on the assault rifle at the hip of one of the officers. In the end our driver was ticketed because none of us were wearing seat belts That's what he gets for picking up people who haven't seen a seat belt in four months.

Another countryside photograph.

After several hours of driving we came to our first stop on our Galilee tour, a church built on the Mount of Beatitudes, the place where Jesus delivered the famous Sermon on the Mount. Like many places Jesus visited, a church had been constructed in memory of the event.

Me and Teri at the church on the side of the Sea of Galilee. It overlooked the supposed site where Jesus delivered The Sermon on the Mount. It was pretty much a lush, green, sloping field.

The church was octagonal. One side for each of the eight beatitudes. The dome over the altar had each of the beatitudes inscribed inside it.

The church had a beautiful vista of the Sea of Galilee, the place where Jesus began his ministry.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE SEA OF GALILEE FROM THE MOUNT OF BEATITUDES.

The next place we visited was a church built at the site where Jesus divided the fishes and loaves to feed five thousand people in Taghba. Under the altar at the front of the church is the supposed rock where the miracle was performed. This church has famous mosaic floors that we were unable to see because a service was about to begin and the front of the church was roped off.

A closer view of the altar and the rock under it.

This was one of my most favorite places during our tour of Galilee. This is a church called the Primacy of St. Peter in the town of Tiberias. It is built on the edge of the Sea of Galilee on one of the sites Jesus appeared to seven of the apostles after his resurrection. In the bible the apostles were feeling dejected after Jesus had died and Peter had decided to go fishing. The other apostles joined him. They didn't catch any fish throughout the night. But in the morning Jesus was standing on a rock on the shore and shouted to the apostles to cast the net on the other side of the boat. The apostles did not recognize Jesus but followed his instructions and found an abundance of fish on the other side of the boat. The church is built on top of the rock where Jesus shouted to the apostles.

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the apostles by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. John 21:1-6

To the left is the rock where Jesus stood. A small sign says, "This is a holyground." It overlooks the Sea of Galilee.

Me touching the Sea of Galilee at the Primacy of St. Peter.

Our group at the shore of the Sea of Galilee at the Primacy of St. Peter.

The door to the Primacy of St. Peter.

Teri inside the Primacy of St. Peter. The rock where Jesus stood continues inside. It bore a sign that said, "Mensa Christi," which means, "Table of the Lord."

Inside was an odd mosaic showing the Pope kissing the rock where Jesus stood.

The church featured several beautiful stain glass windows.

Outside in the garden was a statue of Jesus speaking to Peter on the spot where it happened. After the apostles caught many fish, Peter jumped into the water and swam to Jesus. The plaque at the foot of the statue reads, "Feed my sheep."

That disciple who Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him a third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you where younger, you used to fasten your own belt and go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go. (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me." John 21:7-8 15-19

Beautiful sunbeams shown down on the Sea of Galilee.

Our next stop on our tour of Galilee was the town of Capernaum (spellings vary but it is pronounced cah-pur-NAY-um). After Jesus was rejected by the town of Nazareth he moved to Capernaum and it became his new hometown.

When he (Jesus) returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was home. Mark 2:1

This statue of Peter was near the front gates into the town. At the base it read, "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church. Matthew 16:18"

Our tour guide told us about the Jewish synagogue that was built in Capernaum at the same time as a Christian church in the 4th century. This indicates that Jews and Christians were living alongside each other in relative peace.

Greek inscriptions on a pillar of the synagogue.

Inside the ruined temple.

Archaeological digs around the synagogue and Christian church revealed homes from the time Jesus lived in Capernaum.

The synagogue.

The site of Peter's house. An octagonal church was built on top of it, and then another church was built on top of that, and yet another was built on top of that, forming a series of ruined concentric octagons. And then in the 1980's another church was built, suspended over the ruins. CLICK HERE TO SEE A PANORAMIC VIEW OF PETER'S HOUSE.

A mosaic floor from one of the churches built on the site was displayed nearby.

The modern day church that was built to be suspended over the site of Peter's house. We all agreed that it was an odd building reminiscent of a UFO.

Inside the modern day church is a really nice worship space. In the center of the floor is a large glass section so you can look down into the center of Peter's house.

Down the road a little we stopped at the Jordan River to see the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. The site is a little dubious because nobody knows exactly where the baptism happened, but really it doesn't matter. It was the Jordan River, and that's all that mattered to me.

I bought a small plastic bottle and collected some water from the Jordan to take as a souvenir.