In 1996 David and I visited Galilee with Marg and Cameron Brett, our dear friends in Toronto; Cameron is the minister at our church, St. Andrew's, and it was great for us to be with someone who had some knowledge of the history in this beautiful part of Israel.
Not that he wanted to teach us anything; I think Cameron was happy to be as much a tourist as the rest of us - but, when pushed, he explained the significance of each site in a way we have never forgotten.
Not that he wanted to teach us anything; I think Cameron was happy to be as much a tourist as the rest of us - but, when pushed, he explained the significance of each site in a way we have never forgotten.
Has anything changed in the last eight years? Fortunately, yes. Whoever controls these Christian sites has finally thought out the parking, rest spots, shops and information - they are discreet, modern and beautiful and each is completely appropriate to its location.
We've driven up there from Jerusalem many times since we arrived in February. Most of the time we drive north along the Israel-Jordan border past Joshua's town of Jericho, which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and then up into the Golan Heights which overlook Jordan, Lebanon and Syria as well as the Sea of Galilee itself - called Lake Kinneret by most Israelis. Today the Golan is a lush farming area, filled to the horizons with fields of onions, potatoes and wheat, interrupted here and there by machine gun nests, heavily fortified military camps and snarls of barbed wire protecting communications towers.
The route we like best takes us about half-way across the top of the Golan and then hairpins down to the water and along the shores of Galilee to the sites most revered by Christians.
Why do we like these places so much? Because of their modesty, simplicity and authenticity. There is none of the appalling kitsch of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City or the dubious claims, proclaimed by General Gordon, of the charming Garden Tomb by the East Jerusalem Bus Station.
We've driven up there from Jerusalem many times since we arrived in February. Most of the time we drive north along the Israel-Jordan border past Joshua's town of Jericho, which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and then up into the Golan Heights which overlook Jordan, Lebanon and Syria as well as the Sea of Galilee itself - called Lake Kinneret by most Israelis. Today the Golan is a lush farming area, filled to the horizons with fields of onions, potatoes and wheat, interrupted here and there by machine gun nests, heavily fortified military camps and snarls of barbed wire protecting communications towers.
The route we like best takes us about half-way across the top of the Golan and then hairpins down to the water and along the shores of Galilee to the sites most revered by Christians.
Why do we like these places so much? Because of their modesty, simplicity and authenticity. There is none of the appalling kitsch of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City or the dubious claims, proclaimed by General Gordon, of the charming Garden Tomb by the East Jerusalem Bus Station.
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