Boating on Historic Lake of Gennesaret (or Sea of Galilee)

Afternoon of Tuesday, June 4, 2013

I was sad to leave Nazareth Village, but we had an appointment with a boat. We retraced our route back down to the Sea of Galilee, stopping at a local restaurant for lunch. About 10 picnic tables under an arbor provided outdoor seating, which on this beautiful day was perfect! I think I’ve mentioned that one of the national dishes—and one all tourists must try—is falafel, a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. It is usually served stuffed into a pita and topped with vegetables, humus, sauces, and even French fries! Americans have hamburgers; the Middle East falafel! 

After lunch we drove to someplace beside the Sea and boarded our boat for a ride on the Sea Galilee. These special tourist boats ply the Sea and give visitors a firsthand experience on this most historic freshwater lake. So many miracles were performed near and on this body water!

Our boat was named "Faith."

After boarding and pulling away from the dock, the boatmen play the national anthem of whatever group is on board and raise their flag. The stirring strains of “The Star Spangled Banner” brought tears to our eyes.

Hills around the Sea of Galilee; Ruins of Capernaum on the Shore

Not many, but several sailboats were on the sea near the museum.

We couldn’t have asked for a better day to make this journey on the Sea. About a half hour later, we disembarked at the dock of the Yigal Allon Museum on the grounds of Kibbutz Ginosar. The museum houses the “Jesus boat,” the authentic remains of a first-century boat discovered in the mud on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee in 1986. The intriguing story of its discovery, removal from the mud, and preservation can be seen on the "Jesus Boat" webpage under the tab Galilee Boat. It includes two videos besides the printed word.

Front of the Museum

Preserved first-century boat typical of the those used at the time of Jesus.

Besides the display of the boat, the modern museum houses a small snack shop and gift store where, even after all our days in Israel, we still found items to purchase.

We didn’t return on the boat because our bus driver met us at the museum. With some extra time in our itinerary, Yossi took us to what has become a large tourist attraction in Tiberias called the Galilee Experience. It was founded in 1990. A young Messianic Jew explained the Messianic movement in Israel today and left us to view their "world class multimedia presentation" that "will inspire, inform and entertain you with what God has done in this incredible Land."

An ancient Torah scroll is displayed in the theater.

I recommend reading the history of the Galilee Experience found on their webpages under the About tab.

When tourism diminished significantly in 2000, the founders of the Galilee Experience looked for other ways to earn income which resulted in them becoming "one of the largest Jewish roots product distributors to the Christian communities around the world." They sell these products online. Who knows, you may want to purchase some Holy Land items. You can also sign up to receive their newsletter.

Tomorrow we must be packed and have suitcases outside our door by 7 am. It will be our last day in this key country in God’s plan of the “latter days.” I tried to find a word to describe its attraction and appeal, but I couldn’t come up with one. The English language simply doesn’t have a word to convey its mystique and why it attracts millions of tourists each year—or perhaps it’s my lack of knowing English well-enough to find that word. The thesaurus didn’t help!