Sea of Galilee, Israel

In 2014, I visited the Sea of Galilee with my high school friend, Grace. I was full of expectations. When I read the Bible as a child, I could not picture the Sea of Galilee in my head, where Jesus had walked on the water.

I had only read it through written texts, so when I saw it in person, my heart was filled with great and overwhelming emotions and thoughts. The Sea of Galilee was not actually a sea. It was a lake. In Hebrew, there was no distinction between lakes and seas. Did you know that they are both called ‘yams?’ The Sea of Galilee was called a ‘yam,’ as the word means ‘the sea.’

Mt. Hermon’s rain and snow drained and emptied into the Sea of Galilee. When I first saw the sea of Galilee, I felt like I travelled back in time 2,000 years.

My heart was filled with peace. I felt the peace and warm embrace of Jesus surrounding me as I listened to the lapping of the gentle waves on the shore.

This was the place where Jesus called Simon, Andrew, and Zebedee’s two sons as disciples. Many of his teachings took place at the foot of the lake nearby several villages.

How big and deep is the sea of Galilee? According to research, the Sea of Galilee is the largest freshwater lake in Israel - it is approximately 13 miles long and eight miles wide. It has a total area of 64 square miles and a depth of 141 feet at its deepest point.

It is also the lowest fresh water lake on Earth, and it is fed partly by underground springs and partly by the Jordan River. We drove around the sea of Galilee for about an hour.

For lunch, we had the opportunity to try a fried fish dish called Peter’s fish at a famous restaurant by the lakeside. The Mediterranean meal was very appetizing. After leaving the sea of Galilee, the fact of not knowing when I would return greatly saddened me.