Our last stop today was at the Valley of the Doves. This a small valley by a cliff that overlooks the Sea of Galilee and Mt Hermon. There are natural caves in the cliff where the rebels hid during the time of Herod and the Romans. Josephus says that during a siege the Romans lowered baskets from the top of the cliff to catch the rebels in the caves. They set fires in the mouths of the caves to smoke the rebels out, then they threw them off the cliffs to their deaths.

The most significant thing about this valley is that for Jesus to travel from Galilee to the places he went, he had to walk this very path. There’s a small creek that runs through the bottom of the wadi. It was late afternoon when we got there and they gave us some personal time to walk and wander and think about walking where Jesus walked.

These are the cliffs with the caves in them.

This map shows the stream in the wadi.  This is the path travelers, including Jesus, would have followed.

A mosque near the reserve’s entrance:

And back on the bus again.  Here are our travel friends:

Tonight we 4 went down to the shores of the lake again and sat and absorbed the place– the lights of the little towns around Galilee, the waves were lapping.  It was so peaceful. I think sitting on the shores, just us, has been one of my favorite things this week. I feel peace here. I’m not thinking much about my cancer. I’m feeling peaceful and confident they will be able to take care of it when I get home.  There is healing in this place.