Scrolls from the Holy Land – 8 : Cycling around Sea of Galilee
Previous post: Tiberias
Next post: Ancient city of Beit She’an
A 72km bike ride along the Sea of Galilee coast checking out prominent Biblical sites.
Caution: This particular blog-post is going to be excessively long.
7:30, I start with the sunrise.
Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee (गॅलिले), slso known as Lake Kinneret (किनारेट), is the largest fresh water lake in Israel. This lake is 209 m below sea level, the second lowest lake in the world after Dead Sea (also in Israel and I’ll post abt it). The lake has several sites of Christian significance around it in addition to being historically important for the Jewish.
Biking
I rented a mountain bike from Hostel Aviv for 50 NIS and started on this route equipped with a map. The route going along the lake is 65 km long but since I took a detour, I had to travel about 7 km more. The terrain is uphill for the initial part (upto Capernaum) and then more or less a flat ride. Since I took liberal breaks at different sites, I finished the journey in 8 hours, but my average speed on road was abt 14 kmph, not bad! If you are visiting this area then I will definitely recommend a tour on bike, it is very refreshing 
Measurements
| Arrival 8:30 10:15 11:00 11:45 14:15 15:30 16:30 |
Distance 14 8 4 3 19 16 8 |
Location Ginosar Mount Tabgha Capernaum Kursi Kinneret Tiberias |
Ginosar: The Jesus boat
Jesus boat and me
In 1986, two fisherman brothers discovered the remains of an ancient boat that dates back to 1 CE, believed to be Jesus era. 27ft long and 7.5ft wide, this boat is delicately preserved at the Yigal Alon (यिगाल अलोन) Museum in Ginosar (गिनोसार). There is an excellent documentary that shows how the boat was excavated, removed, cleaned and reassembled – a process that took 7 years. This was my first stop and I met some people from a neighboring Kibbutz here. I had only read about Kibbutzs before and it was good to talk to real people working there.
Mt. of Beatitudes
Church of Beatitudes
It is believed that Jesus delivered the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ at a place around this location around 30 CE. This sermon is said to contain the central tenants of humanity, something that is shared by many religions. For example – ‘turn the other cheek’ or ‘resist not evil’, ‘judge not, lest ye be judged’ or the Golden rule. Mount of Beatitudes (बेटिट्युड) is located on a hill. The church is very beautiful, and the surrounding garden gives me amazing peace of mind. Also, the climb to the mountain top was an overkill and I was sweating like crazy when I reached here. I shed my clothes, but then it was cold, so had to wear them again (hehehe). The restaurant sells stuff that is bound to burn your pocket, and I got mine burnt.
Tabgha: Miracle of the Multiplication
In this fruitful garden, Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish.
Nice Church at (टॅब्घा/ताब्घा).
There was a little water fountain outside and I had a quick shower there while tourists/pilgrims who were arriving from big tour buses looked at me with disgust admiration and astonishment. Ah, it felt so good.
Primacy of Peter
This was a mystery as I did not have information about this chapel in my guidebook, nor did any tour bus stop here, so it was deserted except me, my bike and statues of Jesus. All I know is Peter was the favorite Apostles of Jesus of Nazereth and probably this Chapel is dedicated to him. The sepia picture shows a shepherd begging Jesus saying ‘Feed my sheep’.
Capernaum:
Ruins of an ancient Synagogue (ज्यू मंदिर) where Jesus prayed
Jesus lived in (कपर्नॉम) town along with his disciples after he moved from Nazereth (नाझरेथ). There are several architectural excavations that reveal old Synagogues, Monasteries, houses and courtyards.
Rest of the journey:
I only paused briefly at the Greek Orthodox Church (the distinct red building in the pictures below) admiring the numerous peacocks and the ambiance it had. The Church was closed, but at a table outside, the priest dressed in black robes was having lunch with some visitors. Needless to say I was invited to join them but it was all meat and since ani simkhoni, I had to politely decline.
So, after 5 hours of up terrain cycling, I was pretty exhausted. I ran out of my power bars and oatmeal cookies and water. I did not eat breakfast because everything was closed when I left Tiberias, and unfortunately there were no little stores on this way. 
God I was starving. I secretly asked Jesus to come back and multiply bread and fish for me, but he didn’t come (maybe it was his Christmas break.)
Finally I found one restaurant on the side of the road – yes very much like our Dhaba! – on the Yehudiya junction (north-east corner of the lake). I was so hungry that I told myself that falafel and humus were the best foods on earth. I stacked the pita bread full of olives, pickles, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, beet, peppers and other veggies. The lady gave me freshly fried spicy eggplant and some other thing (I never found it anywhere again). I had both – freshly squeezed orange juice and mint tea. After a contentful burp, I hit the road again. 
Wish there was a place to nap 
(wow a whole paragraph dedicated to my lunch!)
The remaining journey was tiring, probably because there was nothing much to see. But the real cause of pain (pun intended) was the uncomfortable seating of the bicycle. I tried various innovative methods to make my (sensitive, precious, private) body parts at ease but then the whole area became insensitive.
Roads in Israel including this part are in quite good shape. The drivers are also considerate (compared to India, not Canada) but sometimes they like to ‘play’ with cyclists…hehehe. Only on a few occasions I was forced off the road, but it was fun nevertheless.
Kinneret beach was beautiful, but I had painful reasons to reach back to the hostel asap.
Tiberias!
I was back to Tiberias before sunset. What a wonderful day it was Cycling and walking gives me a strange feeling of connection with the area, something that I will always prefer over booking a tour bus. (Maybe its a good thing to do after 40 years when I am old.)
Update: While I was riding from Kinneret to Tiberias, another cyclist went speeding past me. I don’t like when someone overtakes me for no reason and I sped after him. But I couldn’t match. Later I spotted him relaxing on the promenade just before Tiberias and since he seemed friendly we started chatting. I made a very good friend Yair who comments here regularly. Others – if you are reading this but not commenting then I hate you 
(nah, ofcourse not )
Next day I left to visit the ancient city of Beit She’an (बेट श्यान).
Previous post: Tiberias
Next post: Ancient city of Beit She’an
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Priyank I am loving the way your travelog sequence is moving. This part was really really exciting. knowing you i am sure you enjoyed this the most isnt it….? I am eagerto read mor e. thanks!
↵Sweet, but I thought my name will feature in this post…. and I become famous in India…
↵haha, kidding. Like the way you make narrate so interesting
Ash:
Thanks, yes this was one of the highlights of the trip
Yair:
↵OOPS! I’ve edited it. I got so tired writing all this that I forgot
Aah ! I am feeling so tired after the trip ! Cant write much now. Just need to munch some snack quickly and then go for loooong sleep !
c u tomoro : )
P.S.: Beautiful trip, indeed. Remembered our (I mean yours) similar kind of cycling trip in Canada some months back.
↵Yair:
I could guess couple of blogs before only that you are Priyank’s latest friend from this trip.
Hi….
↵great blog. This is such a unique way to travel in Israel, and as an Israeli, I’m so glad that’s the way you chose.
↵Raji:
Oh I miss cycling, and this winter doesn’t allow me to go out
guyava75:
↵Welcome to my blog from the TA forums and I am glad you enjoyed the post.
You call a bicyle a ‘bike’ while in India, a bike is a motorbike. Is that Canada’s influence on you?
Your wonderful day is an absorbing post here. Thank you for sharing your adventures.
Showering in public..uncomfortable seating..friendly cyclist.. *ahem* all so interesting !!
@Yair, you are now famous outside India as well. Can I have your autograph, please?
↵Man, i bet it was the first time somebody forced you to wear a helmet )
↵I just read all 8 installmens of your blog of your trip. My partner and I were in Israel at the same time, late Dec. ‘07. We covered some of the same territory, so I’m looking forward to the rest of your posts. I haven’t done a blog of my visit, yet, although I’ve been thinking about it. Yours is far more sophisticated than I could do, and thanks for sharing. We were in Tiberias on Shabbat, so most of the city was closed. We had a car and went to the Golan for the day. Beautiful scenery. Thanks to you, we get to see some sites we missed. Thanks for your insights to the sites.
↵Thank you for your visit and kind comment!
↵I am so glad you left a comment, seeing that you have such an interesting blog. This post alone was worth getting to know you, my sincere compliments!
I will be back ….
nice read!!!!….especially loved the faact that u had the interest and perseverence to do it on bike……checked out you kerala post also…..have given specific comments there!!!……you have really invested time and effort in your blog…will keep coming back time and again!!!
↵Cellu:
↵Yeah, its heavy Canadian influence. However, competitive cycling in India is also commonly referred as ‘Biking’
Evgeny:
↵Yeah… And I am going to buy one for here too.
Susan,
I didn’t have a car (wish I had) so I missed Golan altogether 
Anyway, I have kept Golan and Negev for the next time! Thanks for your comments.
↵Wow we were there at the same times, maybe I saw you guys somewhere
Merisi:
↵Thanks, and welcome to my blog. I’ll be checking out your stuff regularly
Shooting Star:
↵Welcome to my blog. I’m glad you liked it here, I’ve latched on your blog feed too!
Hi Priyank
Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a comment. I must say I am really impressed when I visited your blog & travelogues. I will go though them in detail and let you know my feedback. The journey to Israel must have been fascinating – the birthplace of so many religions and cultures.
Cheers,
↵Ananda
Hi Priyank,
Enjoyed the post. That’s a trip I’d love to do. Gotta do some bike training first!
↵Ananda:
Welcome to my blog and thanks for your visit. Feel free to browse and comment here:)
David:
↵Seeing you here after a long time. Thanks!
Priyank, I finally read your whole Israel trip blog this morning, and it’s just awesome. As Israelis would say, “kol ha-kavod!” Literally, that means “all the honor,” but as we would say in American English at least, it would be best translated as “way to go!” or “attaboy!”
You had asked about the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus asks his disciples who they are, and some reply that he is Elijah (the forerunner of the Messiah); others a prophet. But Simon says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of God.” In response, Jesus says, “You are Peter (Greek for “rock”; the equivalent English nickname would be Rocky), and upon this Rock (get the pun?) I will build my church.” So particularly in Roman Catholic tradition, this is the point where Jesus designated Peter to take a leadership role in the movement that would follow his death.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes a post-Resurrection appearance on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret today). Peter and some others have been fishing all night. A man (whom they don’t recognize) is on the shore and tells them to cast their nets to the other side. They do, and the nets are swamped with fish. Peter recognizes that it is the risen Jesus and strips and jumps into the water to swim to shore. (Gotta love Peter — he is always impetuous and frequently foolish.) Jesus proceeds to fix breakfast on the beach, cooking some fish, and three times he asks Simon Peter, “Do you love me?” When Peter replies, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you,” then Jesus replies, “Feed my sheep.” This is again taken as a designation of Peter as the leader of the movement when Jesus is gone. (Interestingly, though, the actual leader of the church in Jerusalem after Jesus’s death was not Peter but his brother James the Just, who died in 62 C.E. Jesus died around 30 C.E.)
According to tradition, this is the spot where that post-Resurrection appearance and remarkable breakfast occurred. The rock inside the church is called the “Mensa Christi,” or “the table of Christ.” The place has been venerated a long time, but of course, we have no way of knowing if this was THE place. But because Catholic tradition calls Simon Peter the first Pope, Catholics in particular hold “the Church of the Primacy of Peter” as a place of great importance. Both Popes (Paul VI and John Paul II) who visited Israel came there.
I love the church not for any of those reasons but because it is quiet and reflective, and I like the character of Simon Peter because he is so flawed and human.
I hope that sheds some light on that particular place. And again, I absolutely LOVED this blog.
Douglas Duckett
↵a/k/a Labatt from Trip Advisor
Labatt (Douglas):
↵I welcome you to this blog with greatest pleasure. The story of Rocky is very informative, and that explains why the rock was central to the Church of Primacy of st. Pater. Your contribution has indeed enriched this post, thanks so much
I thought you said you were busy with work …what a trip ! I can almost imagine a Nat Geo or a Discovery film ..amazing pictures..and I loved this post
↵backpakker (Lakshmi):
↵You mention Nat Geo, Discovery and my blog post in the same breath… thats like the biggest compliment one can get. I sometimes wish my work was as lovely as what these people do
Hi,
↵I will be travelling to Israel next month with a group – on the Holy Land Tour…thanx for the nice pics and info you have put up…
Leena
Leena Abraham: You are welcome, I’m happy to know that this information was of use to you.
↵