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On the shimmering Sea of Galilee, where the Christian gospels say Jesus walked on water, 150 Nigerian pilgrim sing and dance to an African beat.

Reverend Samuel Tunde Ogunmodede, said he and his congregation had come to see what they had, until now, only read about in the scriptures.

“We came here to seek the face of God, pray to God as he did in the time of the disciples. We will pray here so that he will do the same in our lives,” he said on board the boat.

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About 1 million tourists visit the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Tiberias or Kinneret, each year.

But the Sea of Galilee may need a few more miracles.

A sharp drop in annual rainfall has caused the lake’s waters to recede. It is now at its lowest in five years.

This has created problems for the largest freshwater lake in Israel, which is a water resource, a tourist hot-spot and a main fishing zone.

Receding water levels means higher salt levels, which harm the eco-balance and could render the water unusable.—Reuters

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