Shalom and welcome to Israel!

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, you will be met by your personal tour operator who has been assisting in the planning for your tour and will ensure that you have a smooth transfer by special motorcoach to your hotel in Tel Aviv or Natanya. Time permitting we shall stop for a visit to ancient Jaffa (New Testament Joppa) to the House of Simon the Tanner on the rooftop of which the Apostle Peter had a vision and received God’s command to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. You will end the evening with dinner and good rest to prepare you for the exiting journey ahead.

After breakfast we begin this first day of the tour driving northwards to the ruins of the ancient city of Caesarea Maritima, a city built by King Herod which later became the seat of government of the Roman Governors the most prominent of whom was Pontius Pilate who sat in judgement on Jesus the Messiah. We shall visit the extensive excavations there including the Crusader City, the Amphitheater, the Hippodrome and the Roman Aquaduct. Then we continue our drive over the crest of Mount Carmel and visit the site where the Prophet Elijah had his encounter with the Priests of Baal. Next we drive on along one of the great highways of the ancient world called the ” Via Maris” to Emek Yezreel, a large fertile plain bounded by the hills of Samaria, of Lower Galilee and the Carmel to visit the necropolis city of Beit Shearim . It was once the seat of the Sanhedrin whose head was Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi who compiled the Mishna (the oral law) and was a great center of Torah Study in the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries AD. Then we drive on through the beautiful landscape of Lower Galilee, the home of many of Jesus’ disciples, to Nazareth, a town in the hill country of Galilee, which is best known as the childhood home of Jesus and the place of the annunciation where Mary received the message that she would give birth to the Messiah. It was also in Nazareth that Jesus began his ministry in a synagogue after which an angry mob attempted to throw him off a cliff. After the visit we shall make another stop at Cana in Galilee where Jesus and his disciples were present at wedding feast we read about in John’s Gospel chapter 2, the scene of his first miracle, the transformation of water into wine. We arrive at our hotel at Tiberias by the Sea of Galilee in the later afternoon. Dinner and overnight.

he Sea of Galilee is rich in memories of Jesus’ ministry around its shores and we start the tour today on Mount Arbel a high hill overlooking the Sea and from this spot you can see where the majority of the events of the Gospels occurred. It is believed by many to be the mountain where Jesus issued his great commission to his disciples (Matth. 28:16-20). Our next visit is to Magdala, the birthplace of Mary Magdalene followed by a visit to see the ancient fishing boat from the 1^st century AD which has become known as the “Jesus Boat”. Then starting with the Mount of Beatitudes, the scene of the Sermon on the Mount, we visit the pilgrim shrines on the NW shores of the Sea of Galilee including Tabgha with the Church of the Feeding of the 5000, the Chapel of the Primacy and Capernaum, which became known as Jesus’ own city because of the many signs and wonders he did there. There we visit the House of Peter and the ancient white synagogue. Next we drive on around the eastern shores of the Sea through the Land of the Gardarenes to Kibbutz Ein Gev. A lunch of St. Peters Fish is possible here, against extra charge, followed by a boat ride over the Sea of Galilee to Tiberias. Before returning to our hotel we shall visit a baptismal site on the banks of the Jordan River. Dinner and overnight.

Our first destination today is the city of Safed (Tsfat) the highest city in the State of Israel and is one of Judaisms 4 Holy Cities along with Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias. We shall visit the synagogue of Rabbi Josef Karo, a scholar and a kabbalist who lived in the 16^th century and who authored the Shulchan Arukh, known as the code of Jewish law. We can also walk through the old city of Safed and visit its artist quarter.Next we drive down to the Hula Valley and over the Bridge of the Daughters of Jacob up to the Golan Heights to Banias, the site of the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi, where the Apostle Peter made his great confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. From the top of Mount Bental we shall look over the Syrian border to the city of Kuneitra and the road to Damascus which was the route taken by the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. A visit to Gamla is also on our itinerary for today. It is also known as the “Massada of the Golan” the fate of which is described by the Jewish historian, Josephus Flavius, in his book on the Jewish Wars. We continue our drive passing Mount Hermon to Tel Dan where the remains of a 5000 year old ancient city were excavated. It takes its name from the tribe of Dan and was a major reference point in the unified kingdom – “from Dan to Beersheba”. We return to our hotel in Tiberias via the Hula Valley for dinner and overnight .

Today after breakfast we depart the Sea of Galilee and our first destination is Beit Shean, a major Biblical city located in the center of crossroads between the Jordan Valley and the Jezreel Valley. In the 11^th century BC King Saul’s body was hung on its walls after his defeat by the Phillistines. During New Testament times the city was one of the cities of the Decapolis named Skythopolis. After the visit we drive on through the Jordan Valley passing the ancient site of Gilgal, where the Children of Israel, under Joshua, encamped after crossing the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. In Jericho we see the Mount of Temptation and visit the Fountain of Elisha the Prophet and stop under a sycamore tree of the kind which Zachaeus, the tax collector, climbed in order to see Jesus. Next we shall visit the site by the Jordan River which is by tradition the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Then we drive on up to Jerusalem, the “city of God”, stopping at the entrance of Wadi Kelt to visit the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. George Koziba. We shall take a first glimpse of the Holy City from one of the heights surrounding Jerusalem before checking into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

This day begins with a visit to the Israel Museum with the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are preserved, and the model of the 2^nd Temple period Jerusalem. Passing the Knesset we drive to the Yad Vashem Museum of the Holocaust which preserves the memory of the 6 million victims of the Shoah. After the visit we drive on to a city of Judah which today is named Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah. The Chapel of the Visitation recalls the visit of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth and stands upon the location of the House of Zechariah. Then we follow this visit with a drive to Bethlehem, the royal city of David where Jesus was born. The Church of the Nativity is reputed to be one of the oldest surviving Christian Churches. Before leaving Bethlehem we shall stop at the Shepherd’s Field where some shepherds watching their flocks were the first to whom Angels announced the birth of the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. Then we return to our hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and overnight

After breakfast this day we shall visit the Temple Mount where so many of the events we read about in the Bible took place and where Jesus taught so often. Then we drive to the top of the Mt. of Olives, from which Jesus ascended to heaven after his resurrection. From the top of the Mount there is a magnificent view over all of ancient and modern Jerusalem, the center of the biblical world. We visit the holy shrines on the Mount and walk on down the “Palm Sunday Road” visiting the Chapel of Dominus Flevit (Jesus wept) enroute to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations where Christ prayed on the night of his betrayal (Lk. 22:40-46). Next we shall enter within the old walled city of Jerusalem and walk in the footsteps of our Lord as he bore the burden of our sins to the Cross at Golgotha. We visit the Pools of Bethesda and Gabbata before walking on along the Via Dolorosa, following the 14 Stations of the Cross from Pilate’s Judgement Hall to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the afternoon we shall visit the last standing remnant of the ancient Temple at the Western (Wailing) Wall. Next we shall visit the Mt. Zion with the Upper Room and the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu which is built over the Palace of Caiaphas, the High Priest, before whom Jesus was brought for trial and sentenced to death. Beside the Church we shall see the “Roman Steps” which were probably used by Jesus and his disciples on the day of his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. We end the day at the Garden Tomb and Gordon’s Golgotha before returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast visit to the “City of David”, the archaeological site where we can go through the Tunnel of Hezekiah and see the Pool of Siloam where Jesus gave sight to the man born blind. We walk through the Herodian Water Channel to the Western Wall and the Davidson Center, the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, where we can climb the 2000 year old steps of the Prophetess Hula which led to the Temple Mount during the 2^nd Temple period. On a Friday evening we shall walk down to the Western Wall to observe or take part in the recitation of special evening prayers known as Kabalat Shabbat, the Jewish ritual of welcoming the Shabbat. We return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Morning drive to biblical Samaria to visit ancient city of Shiloh which held a central place in the biblical history of the Children of Israel for almost 400 years and was the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant until the death of Eli the Priest. We return to Jerusalem through the Land of Benjamin and have the rest of the day is free for last minute shopping and/or other private activities. We return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast we say farewell to Jerusalem, the city of God, and set off for the drive to Ben Gurion Airport and the homebound flight when we hope you will relax and recount your life changing journey to the Holy Land. We check out of our hotel after breakfast and drive to Ben Gurion Airport for the homebound flight.