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8 days
Your spiritual journey begins as you depart on your transatlantic flight.
Arrival in Israel and assistance through customs and transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
Begin this morning at the ancient port of Jaffa and the house of Simon the Tanner where Peter stayed. Drive along the Sharon Valley to Caesarea to visit the Roman theatre and Crusader castle. Go north to Haifa, one of Israel's major port cities. Climb to the top of Mt. Carmel to visit the Stella Maris Carmelite Monastery where the Prophet Elijah hid. Drive to Megiddo (Armageddon of Revelation). See the excavation, King Ahab's Water Tunnel, and King Solomon's Stables. Cross the fertile Jezreel Valley to Nazareth. Pass olive groves to Cana and cross the lower Galilean Mountains on your way to Tiberias.
Board your boat on the Sea of Galilee to Mt. Beatitudes, site of the "Sermon on the Mount", and enjoy the magnificent view over the Sea of Galilee. Descend to Tabha, site of the Miracle of the Loaves and Fish and to Capernaum where Jesus preached. Go north passing Korazin, which Jesus denounced, and Hazor, the largest Canaanite city. Arrive at Banias (Caesarea Phillippi), one source of the Jordan River. Climb the Golan (Bashan Plateau) to see the Syrian fortifications and the magnificent view over the Hula Valley before returning to Tiberias.
Stop at the Baptismal site on the Jordan River. Then drive down to Jericho, the oldest known walled city. At the shores of the Dead Sea, see Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. On your way to Massada see the oasis of Ein Gedi. Take a cable car up to the fortress. Here the defenders held out for three years against the Roman Army and then committed suicide rather then be taken into slavery. "Massada shall not fall again" is the oath taken by cadets who graduate from Israel's military academy. Upon your descent return to Jerusalem..
Drive to the Mt. of Olives for a breathtaking view of the Old City. Descend to Gethsemane and visit the Church of All Nations. Enter the Old City via St. Stephens Gate. Walk along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Continue on the Cardo to the Temple Mount to visit the Dome of the Rock, Temple area and the Wailing Wall. (You may see colorful Bar Mitzvah ceremonies performed on Monday and Thursday). On to Mt. Zion to see David's Citadel and the Upper Room. End your tour at the Garden Tomb. You will have free time for shopping and strolling in the Old City.
Begin today at the scale model of the ancient city of Jerusalem. Then to the Israel museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. Drive via the Knesset to Yad Vashem, memorial to the Holocaust. On to the village of Ein Kerem, birthplace of John the Baptist. Depart for Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity, Shepherd's Field, Rachel's Tomb and the fields of Boaz and Ruth. Farewell dinner at a typical Israeli restaurant. Depart for the airport.
Depart Israel with memories of your many experiences in the Land of the Bible or continue on one of our extensions. Tour Host Benefits: ONE FREE FOR EVERY 5 PAYING TRAVELERS |
DEPART
THE USA
ARRIVE
AT BEN GURION AIRPORT IN ISRAEL
JAFFA/
CAESAREA /HAIFA/ MT.CARMEL MEGIDDO /NAZARETH /CANA/ TIBERIAS 
TIBERIAS/
BOAT RIDE ON SEA OF GALILEE/ MT.BEATITUDES/ CAPERNAUM/ TABHA KORAZIN/
BANIAS/ GOLAN HEIGHTS/ TIBERIAS 
TIBERIAS/
JORDAN RIVER BAPTISM/ JERICHO/ QUMRAN/ DEAD SEA/ EIN GEDI/ MASSADA/
JERUSALEM 
OLD
CITY OF JERUSALEM
NEW CITY AND BETHLEHEM/ FAREWELL DINNER 
RETURN
TO THE USA / OR EXTENSION 
