Almost from the beginning of Christianity, the area around the Sea of Galilee has been a major focus of Christian pilgrimage, a focus second only to Jerusalem. To the Galilee flocked not only pilgrims, but also monks and scholars, searching for the places that Jesus had known. Sites such as Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ mission before he left for Jerusalem; Bethsaida, the birthplace of the apostles Andrew, Peter and Philip; Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene; Tabga, where the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes occurred; and the Sea of Galilee itself—all are places that to […]