Today it´s hills and tels that are scattered all along the Tiberias Lake. Some of them are Christian sacred sites – they are easy to discover because there is always a church on top, with the matching monastery or nunnery attached to it.
It´s funny to bet which site belongs to which part of Christianity. Roman Catholics nuns (“would you please cover your shoulders, woman?”), Roman Catholic monks (“shhhhhhhh keep quiet, this is a sacred place”), Greek Orthodox (“no shorts no shorts get out of here”), Egyptian Copts (“cover everything”!), Armenian Patriarchate (“your shoulders! your knees”!)… it is absolutely impossible to make out who is who – except that the monks from St. Francis never bother to shout “cover yourself up”!
There is Mount Tabor, where Jesus the Christ said “blessed are the meek for they shall inherit”. There is Mount Kedumin, where Jesus the Christ was tempted (“but sir, how can a God be tempted?” – I earn an irate look from the whatever-it-is priest and my question goes unanswered). There is Meggido, where the last battle shall be fought.
There is a beautiful view from each mount. The valley of Jezreel lies at our feet, and the breeze plays with our hair. I end up deserting the group to try my skills at walking on water.
Lesson learnt: never try to walk on water or through water when not appropiately dressed to walk on water. The bottom of the Sea of Galilee is rocky – and the rocks are slippery. And if one wears white linen trousers the best advice is to stay away from a muddy shore.
Specially when you are part of a group and the group is waiting for you shouting “come back, we´re going to miss our boat!”. Damn, it is difficult to run uphill when all your clothes are wet and stick to your body.
And I wouldn´t miss my boat trip for anything. An old wooden boat which sails the Sea of Galilee while old Jewish songs are being played and I can sing and dance on the deck.






