Sea of Galilee & its Ancient Sites
Sea of Galilee & its Ancient Sites is part of the Tentative List in order to qualify for inclusion in the World Heritage List.Click here for a short description of the site, as delivered by the State Party
| Year | Decision | Comments |
| 2000 | Tentative list | Submitted as tentative site by State Party |
Reviews
Assif Am-David (Israel):
I don't understand from the official Unesco site what the proposed area should include. The Sea of Galilee, regardless of its Chritsian holy status, is indeed surrounded by numerous ancient sites. Their intergrity is questionable though, mainly due to the fact that some of the territory (the Golan hights) is disputed with Syria and is now an open subject at the peace negociations. On the Israeli (non-disputed) side several sites (Capernaum, Hurvat Minnim, Tiberias) are already proposed under other titles (ancient synagogues, Christian pilgrim routes, Hurvat Minnim). Tiberias itself is now a modern, heavily commercialized town, its historic Mamluk-Ottoman centre having been almost completely demolished by the Israeli army during the 50s. Whatever is left of it is far from impressive. New excavation of Roman Tiberias are underway at what is now called Barko Park. There isn't much to see there as yet. Nearby Hamat Tiberias offers a nice synagogue mosaic, but it is not mentioned in the description. Ancient Hamat Gader is nice to visit, also because of the proximity of the modern (terribly stinky) sulphate mud baths to the ancient Roman baths. Capernaum is a popular pilgrim site and boasts a magnificent marble synagogue as well as the remains of an early village. Tabgha has two churches with archaeological findings - the mosaic of the Bread and Fish is the better known one. Date posted: May 2008
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