Migdal

Just north of Tiberias, sitting at the foot of the Arbel Cliffs on the Sea of Galilee, lies Migdal. This is the birthplace of Mary Magdalene, one of the women who followed Jesus from the Galilee and who later discovered his empty tomb.

The Hebrew name for this village is Migdal-Nunia (fish tower) and the Greeks referred to it as Taricheae (salted fish). These names reveal that the place had an abundance of fish and was well known for fish pickling. In fact, a tower that was used for drying and salting the fish once stood here.

Jesus left from Gennaseret in a fishing boat and sailed by the town, most likely near the fish tower. Yet there is no real mention of Christ staying in Magdala in the bible verses, apart from Matthew 11:39.

In 1910, an agricultural community was established on this site. Today one can visit a white-domed shrine here but the ruins remain, for the most part, unexcavated. There is a one-room building near the ruins that puzzles archeologists. Some say that it was a small synagogue while others claim that it was a springhouse.