Kursi lies where a wadi opens onto the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, beneath steep slopes that fall towards the water — a topography that matches the Gospel account of the herd of swine rushing down into the lake. The site preserves the remains of one of the largest Byzantine monastic complexes discovered around the lake: a walled enclosure, a basilica with mosaic floors decorated with birds, fish and plants, a crypt, an oil press and service buildings, with a chapel higher up the hillside built against the rock. The episode commemorated here — the healing of a man possessed, and the herd driven into the water — is among the most disconcerting in the Gospels, and the film gives space to how it has been read across the centuries and why an important monastery grew around it. Kursi is now a national park, and the combination of open mosaic floors, standing walls and the lake beyond makes it exceptionally photogenic. The programme also situates it within the ring of sanctuaries that circles the Sea of Galilee.
