- JERUSALEM (AP) - Retracing Jesus' footsteps on Holy Land pilgrimages is
nothing new - but the tours have not extended onto water, until now.
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- Israel's National Parks Authority said
Monday that it had authorized a private contractor to build a submerged
bridge into the Sea of Galilee that would allow tourists to simulate Jesus'
miraculous walk on water.
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- "In the beginning we thought it
was a joke,'' the authority's head of planning, Zeev Margalit, told The
Associated Press.
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- Margalit said that after canvassing church
authorities about the idea and reviewing the plans, he concluded it would
"not hurt the feelings of the Christian tourists and it would not
be too kitschy, so we decided to go with it.''
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- The bridge is one of a long list of projects
approved by Israeli authorities for the millennium, when an anticipated
four million pilgrims are expected.
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- Some church authorities said they were
reserving judgment on the bridge until August, when it is due to be in
place at Capernaum, the legendary site of Jesus' walk on water.
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- "It is problematic,'' said Wadia
Abu Nassar, director of 2000 celebrations for the Roman Catholic Church
in Israel. "It will lead to various interpretations.''
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- He said the church had yet to decide
whether to list it as an official site.
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- The 13-foot wide, 28-foot long crescent-shaped
floating bridge will be submerged two inches below water, and will be able
to accommodate up to 50 people.
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- It will not be railed in order to enhance
the "walking on water'' effect, and lifeguards and boats will be in
attendance in case a walker slips off.
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- The site of Jesus' reported walk on water
at the Sea of Galilee - actually a freshwater lake in north Israel - has
been a pilgrimage point since at least the third century, and is marked
by an ancient church.
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- Margalit would not identify the contractor
or reveal the bridge's structural secret, which he said the entrepreneur
had patented. "It is a stable construction,'' he underlined.
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