1/26 – Down the road from the Church of the Multiplication, is the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter.

Here, The Franciscans built a church in 1933 to mark the place where Jesus told Peter to “feed my sheep.”

It is right on the Galilean shore.

This church also has a big rock where Jesus is thought to have blessed the loaves and fishes.

There was an Asian group conducting a mass in one of the outdoor chapels. We listened to them sing as we gazed at the shore.

From here we hiked up a big hill to reach the Church of the Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount. We could imagine the hill filled with people as we climbed in the morning sun.

This was very small church jam-packed with tour groups, surrounded by a contemplative garden. The nuns also run a guest house here.

We tramped back down the hill, cutting through farmers fields and hopping over a barbed wire fence to get back to the main road. Now to walk to Capernaum.

Capernaum, pronounced Cap-har-NAY-um by the locals, is not a town, but another ruin with monuments.

Here, a house believed to belong to Peter is preserved under a very modern church that looks like a UFO.

You can see the excavation under the glass floor of the church, and from the outside. This particular house was maintained much longer than the other houses nearby, and had many oil lamps, which could mean it was used as a meeting or worship space instead of a dwelling. That’s why it is believed to be Peter’s house.

There is also a reconstruction of a large ancient synagogue here, where Jesus is said to have preached.

Our last hike of the day is to the pink-domed Greek Orthodox Church of the Twelve Apostles.

There are peacocks in the yard, and beautiful old trees.

Inside, a repeating chorus of Hallelujahs surround us as we took in the frescos on the walls and ceilings.

A fitting end to a wonderful day.