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TOUR ITINERARY:
Day 01 Depart from New York - Fly Tel Aviv
Day 02 Arrive Tel Aviv - Tiberias
We arrive to Tel Aviv airport. We will meet our guide then
board our coach and drive north to the Sea of Galilee.
Pending on arrival time, we will visit the site of Caesarea
Maritime, King Herod’s Capital and main Mediterranean port.
Dinner and overnight in Tiberias. (D)
Day 03 Tiberias
We start the morning at a small museum where a 2000 year old
fishermen’s boat was discovered and restored and is now
exhibited. Continue to Capernaum, the centre of Jesus’
Galilean ministry and the site
of many of his miracles. We will walk among the ruins of the
ancient synagogue and view the remains of first century
houses, including one which may have been Peter’s. Continue
to the Golan Heights. On the way we stop at Talmudic Village
in Katzrin. We will have a perspective of the way Jew and
Christian lived during the ancient times. Continue to
Caesarea Philippi where Jesus asked his disciples “Whom do
men say that I the Son of man am?” We end the day in the
Hula lake park, where thousands of migratory cranes spend
the night. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias (B,D)
Day 04 Tiberias
We start this morning with a beautiful short walk to the
high cliffs of Arbel, with a panoramic view of the Sea of
Galilee and Northern part of Israel. Continue to Nazareth,
the former village where Jesus spent most of his life. We
visit Mount of Precipice, the Basilica of the Annunciation
and Mary’s Well. Continue to Cana of Galilee, site of the
Wedding Wine miracle, then to the ancient city of Zippori,
the main urban centre in the Galilee during Jesus time.
Zippori is among the best preserved and excavated
archaeological sites in Israel with beautiful mosaic floors
and many public buildings. On the way back to Tiberias we
will board a boat for a leisurely sail on the Sea of
Galilee. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias. (B,D)
Day 05 Petra
We cross today into Jordan. We visit Jerash, the most
extensive and well preserved Roman ruins in the whole Middle
East. Conquered in 63 BC, it came under Roman rule and was
one of the ten great Roman cities of the Decapolis League.
Continue to Mt. Nebo, from where Moses looked upon the
Promised Land and where is believed that Moses was buried.
We tour Mabada, “City of Mosaics”, best known for its
spectacular Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, including the
famous 6th century Mosaic Map of Jerusalem and the Holy
Land. Continue to Petra to our hotel and dinner. (B,D)
Day 06 Petra
After breakfast, we visit the famous Nabatean wonder city of
Petra. We walk along the narrow gorge of the “Siq” and visit
the rose-red stone carved ancient city, founded by the
Nabateans. We pass the theatre, visit the church, the
temples and enter into some of the famous tombs hewn into
the Red Sand Stone. Dinner and overnight in Petra. (B,D)
Day 07 Dead Sea
We drive to the World Heritage Site of Wadi Rum with its
sheer walled mountains and huge sand dunes. This is the area
where Laurence of Arabia was active during WW1 and where he
assembled his Bedouin army. We take a 4WD safari tour of the
fascinating area. Later we drive to the border crossing and
enter Israel. We travel north via the Rift Valley to the
Dead Sea resort area. Overnight in a spa hotel near the Dead
Sea. (B,D)
Day 08 Jerusalem
We ascend Masada by a cable car. The cliffs of Masada
symbolize the heroism of the Jews in their resistance to the
Roman occupation. On we go to En Gedi where David hid in a
cave from King Saul. We visit the interesting Botanical
Garden. Continue on the beautiful road beside the Dead Sea,
then visit Qumran, the place where the “Dead Sea Scrolls”
were unearthed in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd. We proceed to
Jerusalem passing by Jericho and the Good Samaritan Inn. We
stop at the Mount of Scopus for a breathtaking view of the
Holy City of Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 09 Jerusalem
We start our day at the Mount of Olives. We descent an easy
path to Dominus Flevit , then to Gethsemane. Continue to the
Old City, where we enter the Walls via the Lion Gate and
visit Pools of Bethesda and St. Ann’s Basilica then follow
the Via Dolorosa to Church of Holy Sepulchre. We proceed to
the Jewish Quarter through the famous Old City Bazaar, then
visit the Herodian Quarter (Whol Archaeological Museum) and
the Roman Cardo. In the afternoon we will visit the Israel
museum including the Shrine of the Book with the Dead Sea
Scrolls and the renovated Model of the Second Temple. In the
evening we will enjoy the beautiful Sound & Light
spectacular in David Citadel. Dinner and overnight in
Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 10 Jerusalem
Early morning we visit the Temple Mount. We look at the
beautiful Dome of the Rock and the important mosque of El
Aqsa, then visit the Western Wall, the most sacred Jewish
site. We will watch many traditional Jewish Bar Mitzvah
ceremonies (adulthood ceremony) held at the site every
Monday. Continue to Davidson Centre (South Wall Park) where
the testimonial of the temple destruction during the Big
Revolt of 67-70 ad are evident. In the afternoon we visit
the City of David. We go down the Warren Shaft and through
Hezekiah Tunnel to the Pool of Siloam. We end the day in the
Garden Tomb, believed by many to be the historical tomb of
Jesus.
Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 11 Jerusalem
We start the morning at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial
Museum, for a touching experience. Continue to Herodium, the
Desert Fort - Palace built by King Herod to be his eventual
burial site. Herod’s Burial tomb was discovered four years
ago. Onward to Shepherds’ Field and Bethlehem, the birth
site of Jesus where we visit the Basilica of the Nativity.
Continue to Rachel’s Tomb. Dinner and overnight in
Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 12 Tel-Aviv
We drive to Tel Aviv, the vibrant cosmopolitan Mediterranean
city. We visit the Hall of Independence, the original site
where David Ben Gurion, Israel first Prime Minister declared
Israel independence in 1948. We visit Jaffa with its many
art galleries and colourful alleys, and then walk along the
Beach Promenade. In the evening we enjoy a special farewell
dinner in a restaurant. Overnight at Tel-Aviv. (B,D)
Day 13
Early in the morning we transfer to the airport for our
flight back home.
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