Day 1 – Monday, January 31st – Depart from the USA

Depart from the US to Tel Aviv.  Dinner and breakfast will be served during the flight.

Day 2 – Tuesday, February 1st – Arrive in Israel

Our representatives will meet you and walk you through customs.

We’ll board our bus, then tour the charming alleys of the city of Jaffa and visit the square where the Church of Saint Peter resides. We will enjoy watching the sun set on the old city of Jaffa.

Dinner & overnight stay in Netanya.

Day 3 – Wednesday, February 2nd – Caesarea, MT. Carmel, Megiddo (Armageddon), Nazareth Village  MT. Precipice & Tiberias

After breakfast we’ll visit the following sites:

Caesarea to visit the Crusader Fortress built upon the ancient city of Caesarea, named after Augustus Caesar, who imposed the tax that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.  Here we will visit an ancient Roman Amphitheatre, where the group can experience the acoustics of a structure built in the days of Christ.

Mount Carmel where Elijah issued his challenge to the False Prophets.

Megiddo, Site of Armageddon.  We will see where generations of civilizations were destroyed and rebuilt over and over again. Somewhere between 28 and 32 times, cities would be renamed and rebuilt after being conquered. This city was a strategic location for going into battle.  King Solomon established it as a ‘chariot city’ and housed hundreds of horses. It’s also home to a 120-foot water shaft (which many of us toured) which connects the city to a spring outside the city gates.

We’ll continue to Nazareth Village to experience the sights, sounds and aromas of Jesus’s time.

Mount Precipice (Luke 4:29-30).  We stood on the mountain from which Jews tried to throw Jesus after He told them He was the Messiah they had been waiting for. They couldn’t believe he was making such a bold statement, but Jesus was able to walk right back through the crowd unharmed.

Dinner & overnight stay in Tiberias

Day 4 – Thursday, February 3rd – Sea Of Galilee, Caesarea Philippi, Baptismal Site Jordan River    

On this day, we will sail on the Sea of Galilee, visit the museum of the ancient boat at Kibbutz Ginosar. Complete with shops, marketplace, residential areas, and wharf, this is a city where Jesus himself visited and taught. Visit Capernaum, the town of Jesus, visit the Church of Multiplication in Tabgha (where the Lord performed the miracle of the Loaves and Fishes), and visit the Mount of Beatitudes (where Jesus taught “The Sermon on the Mount”).  We’ll continue to Caesarea Philippi where Peter confessed Christ: “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:15-16).  We will continue to a baptism in the Jordan River, truly an unforgettable experience.

Dinner & overnight stay in Tiberias.

Day 5  – Friday, February 4th – Beit She’an, Gideon Spring, Jordan Valley, Jericho  

Today we will visit Magdala, with its first century synagogue, a complete first century city and remains of a once prosperous fish processing industry. We will bid farewell to the Galilee and visit Gideon’s Spring, where the Judge Gideon selected 300 warriors to go into the battle with him against the Midianites (Judge 7). Beit She ‘an – one of the earliest and most important cities in Israel from the time of the Canaanites.  It was here that the Philistines impaled King Saul’s body to the city wall – we will view its magnificent excavations.

We will continue onto the Jordan Valley pass Jericho, the first city conquered by the Israelites in the Promised Land, to Jerusalem.

On our journey, we will stop at a site at Qaser El Yahud on the Jordan River where many believe Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. This river borders the country of Jordan and Israel. We continue along the shore of the Dead Sea to our hotel for dinner and overnight. We will have time to swim in the Dead Sea and enjoy the spa facilities of the hotel.

Dinner & overnight stay at our hotel at the Jerusalem.

Day 6  – Saturday, February 5th – Jerusalem

We will wake up early, have breakfast, we will start our day with an exciting tour to the site where much of the Bible was written, the City of King David.  Here archeologists found King Hezekiah’s 2,700-year-old water tunnel, one of the wonders of early engineering, and the seal impression of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, possibly the scribe of King Zedekiah (Jeremiah 36:10). Continue to the Pool of Siloam where Christ healed the blind man by sending him to wash his eyes (John 9).  In the Jewish Quarter, we’ll explore the Roman Cardo, the Madaba Map, the Western Wall and the Western Wall Tunnels – underground tunnels exposing the full length of the Western Wall.

The tunnels are adjacent to the Western Wall and located under buildings of the Old City of Jerusalem. Proceed to Davidson Center (with its amazing virtual model of the Second Temple).  We will view the Temple Mount, and we’ll hear about the traders driven out of the Temple by Jesus (Luke 19:45-48).  Then to Bethesda where Christ healed the paralyzed man (John 5).  Our journey through the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross). We’ll walk through the old city market to the Damascus gate.

Dinner & overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 7 – Sunday, February 6th – Jerusalem & Bethlehem

Our morning starts at  Mount of Olives with its breathtaking panoramic view of Jerusalem.  The day continues with visits to the sites that will helps us of understand the Lord’s prophecy about Jerusalem: The Chapel of Dominius Flevit, where Christ Prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 18:41), the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-53), and Church of All Nations, the site where it is said that Judas betrayed Jesus.  In the Kidron Valley we’ll visit the tombs of Absalom.

We will proceed to visit the sites on Mt.  Zion: the Gallicantu Church which was built over the ruins of the Palace of Caiaphas, the High Priest before whom Jesus was brought for trial (Mark 14:  53-65).

We’ll visit the Tomb of King David and enter into the Upper Room – the site that commemorates Jesus’ last meal with his disciples.  We end by visiting the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ.

Dinner & overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 8 – Monday, February 7th ^– Lazarus Tomb, Dead Sea & Massada

After learning the amazing story of Lazarus, whom the Lord raised from the dead, we’ll continue to the Judean Desert.  Our first stop today will be next one of the St. George Monastery crosses, which offers an amazing view of the monastery.  This stop is important for understanding the water system used in the Judean Desert and monasteries.

We’ll continue to Qumran to hear the amazing story of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery. We will try to answer questions such as: Who wrote the scrolls?  Who were the Essenes?  How did they live and why there?  Then to Masada to learn about the dramatic story of almost one thousand men, women and children who chose suicide rather than becoming Roman slaves.

We’ll visit the archeological finds and enjoy the palaces, bathhouses, walls and the remarkable view of the Dead Sea.  We’ll proceed to swim and float in the Dead Sea and to enjoy the sun and the famous mud.

Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 9 –Tuesday, February 8th – Shiloh, Israel Museum, Garden Tomb & Farewell dinner

After breakfast we’ll depart the hotel, and drive to the ancient city of Shiloh, an ancient city in Samaria mentioned in the Hebrew Bible – called in Modern Hebrew Tel Shiloh (a “tel” is an archaeological mound, with many layers of history). It is located in the West Bank, to the west of the modern Israeli settlement town of Shilo and to the north of the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya. Relative to other archeological sites, it is south of ancient Lebonah and 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of Beth El.

Shiloh was the major Israelite worship centre before the first Temple was built in Jerusalem was established by Joshua, son of Nun, approximately 3,500 years ago, as the spiritual capital of Israel. The Tabernacle was placed there, and Jews from all over the land came to worship at the location (Joshua 18:1). The Tabernacle stood in Shiloh for over 350 years according to Jewish tradition, and its remains can still be seen today.

Israel Museum to visit the miniature model of the city of Jerusalem as it appeared in the time of the Second Temple before the great rebellion and its subsequent destruction.  Afterwards, we will get to see the Shrine of the Book, which houses the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls.

We close our memorable tour to the Holy Land with a visit to the Garden Tomb, for communion and reflection, and a sumptuous Farewell Dinner.  Then proceed to your hotel for overnight.