Touching the Promised Land 08 | Day 2 - SUNRISE OVER GALILEE
- Regina Liu
- Jan 17
- 3 min read
A LIGHT BORN ANEW OVER GALILEE
My first night in the Holy Land was spent in Tiberias, a city with a distinctly Jewish character. Preferring to dine simply as I often do on business trips, I settled for a light dinner of fruit and snacks provided in my hotel room. I later gave the complimentary bottle of wine to our guide, as I could never finish a 750 ml bottle by myself; I am virtually alcohol-free, with only very rare exceptions. Afterwards, I took a leisurely stroll through the hotel gardens. The air was heavy with humidity, and the heat felt far more intense than in Nazareth—a mere 30 kilometers away, which I had visited that afternoon. The stark difference was due to the lower altitude and the lake's proximity.
I walked to the railing by the outdoor pool, which overlooked the lake. Behind me, I could hear the delighted shouts of two children playing in the water. Before me, beyond the dark, misty, placid surface, the twinkling lights of countless homes dotted the distant shore…
It was on this very lake, on a windy and turbulent night, that the Lord Jesus walked on the water, appearing to His disciples and strengthening their faith… (Matthew 14:25-26, John 6:19).
Having planned to watch the sunrise, I checked the forecast and set an alarm. The next morning, I woke promptly at its call.
My initial hope was to view the sunrise from my balcony, where I could be undisturbed and photograph the scene in solitude. However, a grove of tall palm trees obscured the view, so I took my phone and made my way through the quiet corridors, past the pool, and through the garden to the water's edge.
The hotel enjoys a private stretch of shoreline, with a swimming area marked by buoys. In the soft morning light, another guest (I presumed) was taking an early swim; I saw his figure moving smoothly through the water, but he was distant enough that I heard not a splash… The pool's border was lined with white pebbles, dotted with round lounge chairs under their sunshades.
As sunrise approached, the morning light first washed the clouds over the Golan Heights in a deep, roseate hue. Then, brilliant rays pierced the cloud cover and fanned upward into the sky…Soon, the sun itself crested the Golan Heights, emerging from the clouds and transforming the lake’s surface into a shimmering expanse of golden pink. Water birds skimmed silently across the water. For nearly twenty minutes, I stood alone on the shore, enveloped in a sacred silence that allowed my soul to find a deep and restful peace.
Beneath the Golan Heights—a territory still garrisoned and a symbol of ongoing tension—and amidst the conflicts that simmer along its borders, such profound peace on this lake feels like nothing less than a divine benediction.
After the sun had risen, I walked back across the dewy meadow to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. It was the first day after Sukkot, and though not the Sabbath, the religious observance meant stoves were not to be lit. Consequently, the buffet offered no hot food, no freshly brewed coffee, and no warm toast. Furthermore, as would be the case in almost every hotel I stayed in during the trip, there were no pork products among the cold cuts.
The selection, however, was still abundant: a remarkable variety of cheeses, standard Israeli salads, several desserts, flavorful spreads made from local beans, and an assortment of cured fish. In the end, I assembled a plate with two room-temperature hard-boiled eggs, a generous spoonful of hummus (which I mixed with a little olive oil for my egg yolks), two slices of marinated salmon, a small round bread roll, and two kinds of soft cheese. To complete my meal, I made two cups of instant coffee—my first breakfast in the land of Israel.
Touching the Promised Land | DAY 2 – GINOSAR
A RELIC FROM THE APOSTLES' SEA
Leaving the modern comforts of hotel in Tiberias, my journey took me a short distance up the western shore to Ginosar, a kibbutz nestled on the lakeside. Here, the ancient and the biblical are not just memories but tangible realities, preserved in a remarkable discovery from the depths of the Sea of Galilee. At the Yigal Allon Center, I encountered an ancient boat that had lain dormant on the seabed for nearly 2000 years — perhaps the very kind from which Peter and John had cast their nets.
