Whilst Israel is covered in cycle trails, few are more mesmerising than that around the Sea of Galilee. After all, this ride combines breathtaking scenery, Biblical locations, and great riding! The Jerusalem Post takes us on a ride around what is the lowest freshwater lake in the world, and a major setting in the Bible.

Does anyone have Bono’s phone number? If so, could they give it to Merav Ayalon because she’d like a word. Ayalon leans back, pats her dog and draws languidly on a cigarette. I’m sitting with her near the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth, 400m below sea level.

Cicadas chirrup and a lustrous full Moon illuminates the cacti and baobab trees in the middle distance, making them seem like old men frozen in time. Even at 10pm on a November evening, it’s warm enough to sit out in shorts and a T-shirt. My drinking companion is wistful, and so am I, but for different reasons.

The first surfboard was brought to Israel by a Californian doctor in the 1950′s. Now, over fifty years on, Israelis have developed into a country of surfers, and as soon as the waves get good, the beaches become dotted with surfers of all abilities.

Settlement has been taking place around the Sea of Galilee for thousands of years. Ruins of ancient settlements today stand alongside some of the pioneering and oldest communities established in Israel, including some of the oldest kibbutzim. Active sites sit alongside some important religious and historical ruins.