Gone to the Galilee and the Golan

We started our weekend warrior adventure with a two and a half hour bus ride after work to Tiberias on the Sea (lake) of Galilee. This was followed by a night at a cheap-but-clean hostel and a morning heralded by a rooster.

We had planned to bike around the lake but then I vetoed the 67km bike ride in 30 degree heat. So we splurged and rented a car for two days. It was terrrifying at first, the thought of driving with the Israeli nut jobs behind the wheel, but the Chicken did an A1 job.

A tour around the lake is a visit to one biblical spot efter another. FYI, Mary Magdalene? She was a good ol’ small town slut. Magdala still looks to be less than 1000 people. Meh, in a small town like that, she probabably just got caught kissing a boy behind the hockey rink and was forever marked by the town gossips. My favourite spot was the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes which had an amazing mosaic floor depicting local birds and flora. The floor has lasted near two thousand years and many conquerings by people who don’t really care. In a close second was the Mount of Beatitudes which had an amazing view of the lake and the plushest Convent I have ever seen. The well manicured gardens and grounds made me think this is exactly what my Mother-in-law would do if she was in charge of a holy site.

The next day we purposefully got lost on the backroads criss-crossing the hills of the Golan in the very north of Israel. We figured as long as we didn’t see a sign that said “Welcome to Syria” we were OK. The hills of the Golan remided James of the hills of the British Isles. Rocks and grass and cows. We were lucky to be there when the wild flowers were out dotting the hills with purple red and yellow. No getting out to prance in the fields and pick them, though. Many areas had barbed wire and orange signs warning of land mines.

Did I mention fruit? The valleys were full of fruit farms for oranges and bananas and the great middle eastern invention: apples. I was tempted to get out and pick bright and beautifully ripe oranges right off the trees, but there were often big fences or even forboding rows of giant prickly cactuses to keep hungry tourists like me out. The Sea of Galilee is the major source of water for much of Israel and irrigation is cheaper and easier the closer you are to the lake.

Everywhere there were signs of people of other times. We explored ruins of towns that were two thousand years old, crusader forts and even Roman temples to Pan, Zeus and some dancing goats.

There are so many things to write about and comment on that I have decided to put them in other posts through the next little while. Be prepared for such fascinating topics as “Irony on the River Jordan” and “Nooky in the Nooks of a Crusader Castle” (G-rated).