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TOUR ITINERARY:
Day 01 Depart from New York – Fly to Tel Aviv
Day 02 Arrive Tel Aviv Airport
Your tour guide will meet you after you pass through
customs and claim your baggage. Depending upon your arrival
time, we may visit the site of Caesarea Maritima, King
Herod’s capital city and Palestine’s chief Mediterranean
port. We will travel to the Sea of Galilee. Overnight &
dinner: Tiberias (D)
Day 03 Tiberias
We will start the morning with a visit to the “Jesus
Boat”, a 2000 year old fishermen’s boat that was discovered
in the Sea of Galilee and Migdol, the city of Mary Magdalene
(with a newly discovered 1st century synagogue). We’ll
continue to Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ Galilean
ministry and the site of many of his miracles. We will walk
among the ruins of the ancient synagogue where Jesus taught
and worshipped and view the remains of first century houses,
including one which may have been Peter’s. Finally, we’ll
travel to Caesarea Philippi where Jesus gathered his
disciples and asked “Who do the people say that I am?” This
was an important teaching moment for Jesus’ followers.
Overnight & dinner: Tiberias. (B,D)
Day 04 Tiberias
To begin the day we will drive to Nazareth, the village
where Jesus spent most of his life. We’ll visit the Mount of
Precipice, the Basilica of the Annunciation and Mary’s Well.
We’ll continue to Cana of Galilee, site where Jesus turned
the water into wine, and then to the ancient city of
Sepphoris,
the main urban center in Galilee during Jesus’ time.
Sepphoris 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, time
permitted, we will take a short walk to the high cliffs of
Arbel, with a panoramic view of the Sea of Galilee and the
northern part of Israel. Overnight & dinner: Tiberias (B,D)
Day 05 Cross to Jordan – Jerash & Gadara
Today we will cross into Jordan. We’ll visit Jerash with
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. We’ll continue to Um Qais (ancient Gadara)
another of the Decapolis cities where Jesus cast out the
demons from a man living among
the tombs. We’ll finish the day at our hotel in Amman, the
capital and largest city of Jordan. Overnight & dinner:
Amman (B,D)
Day 06 Gadara – Amman – Petra
We will begin today’s tour by visiting some of the
ancient ruins of Amman (ancient Philadelphia – yet another
of the Decapolis cities). We’ll also take in the
Archaeological museum of Amman before traveling south to
Bethabara, the place where John the Baptist proclaimed the
coming Kingdom of God. Later we’ll visit Mt. Nebo, from
where Moses looked upon the Promised Land and where he was
buried. Additionally, we’ll tour Madaba, the “City of
Mosaics”, best known for its spectacular Byzantine mosaics,
including the famous 6th century mosaic map of Jerusalem and
the Holy Land. We’ll continue to Petra for our hotel and
dinner. (B,D).
Day 07 Petra
After breakfast, we will visit the famous Nabatean city
of Petra, one of the wonders of the world. We’ll walk along
the narrow gorge of the “Siq” and visit the rose–red stone
carved ancient city, founded by the Nabateans. We’ll pass
the theatre, visit the monastery, the temples and enter into
some of the famous tombs hewn into the red sandstone.
Overnight & dinner in Petra. (B,D)
Day 08 Dead Sea
We’ll 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 built his Bedouin army. We take a 4WD safari tour
of the fascinating area. Later we’ll drive to the border
crossing and enter Israel. We’ll travel north to the Dead
Sea resort area. Overnight in a spa hotel near the Dead Sea
(B,D).
Day 09 Jerusalem
We will kick off the day with a cable car ride to the
top of Masada. Masada was the final holdout for Jewish
rebels at the end of the Roman war in the first century.
Later, we’ll head to En Gedi where David hid in a cave from
King Saul. We’ll continue on with a visit to Qumran, the
place where the “Dead Sea Scrolls” were unearthed in 1947 by
two Bedouin shepherds. We’ll proceed to Jerusalem passing by
Jericho and the Good Samaritan Inn. We stop at the Mount of
Olives for a breathtaking view of the Holy City of
Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 10 Jerusalem
We’ll start our day on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. We’ll look
at the beautiful Dome of the Rock and Al–Aqsa mosque. We’ll
continue to the Pool of Bethesda and walk through the Via
Dolorosa to visit the Ecce Homo convent and the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre. We’ll enjoy the famous Old City Bazaar,
then visit the Garden Tomb, which some believe may be the
historical tomb of Jesus. In the evening we will enjoy the
beautiful Sound & Light spectacular at the Citadel.
Overnight & dinner in Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 11 Jerusalem
We’ll start the day with a visit to the Western Wall, the
most sacred Jewish site with its walls dating back to the
first century Temple. We’ll continue to the City of David.
We’ll go down Warren’s Shaft and through Hezekiah’s Tunnel.
We’ll see the Pool of Siloam and walk a newly discovered 1st
century street from Jerusalem’s past. We will visit the SW
temple archaeological excavations and then walk to the
garden of Gethsemane, passing Absalom’s tomb. Overnight &
dinner in Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 12 Jerusalem – Tel Aviv
We’ll start the morning at the Israel Museum, including the
Shrine of the Book with the Dead Sea Scrolls. We will
continue to the Herodium, Herod’s palace and fortress.
Herod’s tomb was discovered here four years ago. We’ll move
onward to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus where we’ll
visit the Church of the Nativity, the Shepherd’s Fields, the
Grotto and Rachel’s Tomb. Overnight & Farewell Dinner in
Tel–Aviv. (B,D)
Day 13 Tel Aviv Airport – Fly Back to New York
Early in the morning we transfer to the airport for our
flight back home.
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