Wednesday 23 September .... lovely drive from the Lake of Galilee to the sources of the River Jordan. Stopped for quite a while at Banias (place known as Caesarea Phillipi in time of Jesus), place where Peter professed his faith in Jesus. This place Banias was a centre of pagan worship and you can see extensive excavations of temples/shrines/caves dedicated to "greater and lesser" deities! It's all now located within a Nature Park, so we had a most beautiful 45 minutes walk through a wooded area, passing mountain springs, and finally, a waterfall. Beautiful place. Then on to another Nature Park which included important excavated Tel Dan. Followed by a most spectacular drive right up to the mountain top and right across the Golan Heights; plenty of evidence of the eyes being kept on Syria across the border. Also a most lush and fertile area. Afternoon ended with visit to Qasrin, an ancient talmudic village - important in how the Jewish Religion developed. Gave a good idea of what 4th century AD daily life was like in a Talmudic Village Settlement; We celebrated mass right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (1 min walk) from hotel. Looking out over the sea (lake) at night; seeing the lights of the towns around; from these places and from much further afield, the people came to seek Jesus. This was a most spectacular and memorable day. It began and ended in the calm and peace of the Sea (Lake).
