Fodor's Expert Review Kursi National Park

Huddling under the imposing cliffs of Golan Heights, where Route 789 climbs away from 92, this place is linked with the New Testament story of two men possessed by demons. Jesus exorcised the spirits, causing them to enter a herd of swine grazing nearby, which then "rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and perished in the waters" (Matthew 8:32). Fifth-century Byzantine Christians identified the event with this spot and built a monastery. It was an era in which earnest pilgrims inundated the holy places, and the monastery prospered from their gifts. The partly restored ruins of a fine Byzantine church are a classic example of the basilica style common at the time; the ruined monastery is higher up the hillside.