Magdala

A prosperous fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, hometown of Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’s most devoted followers. The town’s name means “tower” in Hebrew (Migdal), and its Greek name Taricheae (“place of salted fish”) reflects its thriving fish-processing industry that supplied markets across the Roman Empire. Archaeological excavations since 2009 have uncovered remarkable first-century remains, including a synagogue where Jesus likely taught, ritual baths (mikvaot), and a stone boat, providing vivid evidence of Galilean Jewish life during Jesus’s ministry. Mary Magdalene, identified as being “from Magdala” (Luke 8:2), became the first witness to Jesus’s resurrection and one of early Christianity’s most important figures.