Day One
Depart USA

Day Two

Arrive in Israel. Upon arrival at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport we’ll hit the ground running by driving to Tiberias, a city built on the edge of the Sea of Galilee during the lifetime of Jesus. The same day we’ll drive a few minutes north along the Sea of Galilee for one of the most beautiful views in Israel, from the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. After visiting the church and the idyllic grounds surrounding it at the Beatitudes we’ll descend to the lake, drive a few minutes and cross the Jordan River. A short while later we’ll enter the antiquities site at the biblical town of  Bethsaida, home to some of the disciples.

Overnight in Tiberias

Day Three

We begin the day on the shores of the Sea visiting Tabgha, site of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and then right by the lakeside the site of Peter’s Primacy. A short ride later we arrive again at lakeside to enjoy sailing on the Sea of Galilee. Passing back through the lobby at Ginossar we can visit the Jesus Boat, a 2,000 year old fishing boat found intact. Our last stop of the day will be the fishing village of Capernium, where Jesus lived during the three years of his ministry.

Overnight in Tiberias

Day Four

Today we will head east towards the Galilee. We will pass through the town of Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine at the wedding celebration. We will continue south, up and over the ridge south of Cana and enter the home town of Jesus, Nazareth. Here we will experience what life would have been like during New Testament times at a site called Nazareth Village, where demonstrations are given with biblical-era technology. We continue east to learn about Megiddo, site of Armageddon, which was discussed by the Gospel of John in Revelations.  Above Megiddo you can see the Mount Carmel National Forest and the Muhraka, site of the great battle between the purity of Elijah the Prophets demands and the 450 priests of the local deity, Baal.. With our remaining time we continue to the Mediterranean coast to visit the important port city of  Cesarea which was built by King Herod he Great and later figured in the story of Saint Peter’s conversion of the Roman Centurion Cornelius, the first pagan to join  the new faith of Christianity.

Overnight in Tiberias

Day Five

We spend today learning a great deal about biblical-era archeological sites in Israel’s far north. We begin at Tel Hazor,a site with continuing archeological activity and the site of one of the famous Solomonic Gates mentioned in the Bible. Tel Dan, our next site, really has it all: beauty, embodied by abundant water and trees, a biblical era city wall and cultic site, largely intact, and a view towards the Lebanese border which is representational of the challenges Israel faces in defending itself in a volatile region. Just up the hill from Tel Dan we come to another important biblical site, Cesarea Philippi, where Peter declared Jesus to be the Messiah. Finally, we’ll get a bird’s eye view into Syria from the always dramatic Mount Bental overlook, a place from which the current fighting in the Syrian civil war is very apparent. Here one understands very clearly the chaos and trouble which brew just across the border from Israel.

Overnight in Tiberias

Day Six

Today we will begin our day near the Sea of Galilee, drive down the Jordan Valley to the Dead Sea and then wind up the day ascending to Jerusalem. Our first stop brings us to Yardenit, on the banks of the famous Jordan River where Christian faithful often stop for the baptismal rite in the same river where John the Baptist baptised Jesus. About a half hour down the road from Yardenit we will stop at Bet Shean, one of the ten cities of the Roman Decapolis mentioned in the bible. The bible also mentions Bet Shean in the context of the death of the first King of Israel, Shaul, and his sons, including Jonathan, best friend of the future king of Israel, David. We’ll see the antiquities here which date to the Roman and Byzantine period.

We then continue down the Jordan Valley entering the West Bank. As we travel our guide will give a brief explanation of the politics in this region and how this territory came to be known by this designation. All along our drive to our left the Jordan River flows lazily, making its way south until it empties out into the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth. A few minutes after we view the Dead Sea for the first time we pull up to Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 and today a National Park.

Half an hour past Qumran and we stretch our legs with a 20 minute hike up the Nahal David (David’s Canyon) to a beautiful hidden waterfall at Ein Gedi. It was to this place in the wilderness of the Dead Sea that the popular and future King of Israel, David, would escape from a jealous King Saul. Asfter taking a quick dip in the waters here we will continue on to Masada, just 15 minutes away. We’ll spend about 45 minutes on top of Masada, where Jewish rebels against the mighty Roman Empire made the difficult decision to end their lives rather than to live out their days as slaves to the Romans.

Our last stop in the region will be at a nice Dead Sea beach where we get to experience floating in the Dead Sea, where it is impossible to sink! After a relaxing time here watching the mountains of Jordan, across the lake, begin to turn red, we head to our last stop of the day, in Jerusalem.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day Seven

Today we begin our day by spending a couple of hours in the town of Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. We’ll be visiting the Church of the Annunciation here, and the Shepherd’s Field. Later on we’ll ascend the Mount of Olives where we have a spectacular view across the Kidron Valley towards the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount including the Dome of the Rock. We will then walk down the Mount of Olives, stopping at the Dominus Flevit church which celebrates the moment when Jesus cried over the city of Jerusalem as he descended the Mountain. Finally, in the Kidron Valley at the bottom of the Mount of Olives we shall visit Getsemane and the Church of All Nations where, on the final night of his life, Jesus prayed on the Rock of Agony just before his arrest at the hands of the Roman soldiers.

Only a few minutes away we’ll enter the Old City of Jerusalem to visit the Western Wall, the last remaining part of the ancient temple where Jesus taught and brought sacrifices before it was destroyed two generations after his death. We can follow a tradition here and place a prayer in the cracks of the ancient stones of the wall before going on the Western Wall Tunnel Tour which takes us underground along the Western Wall and brings us out at the Via Dolorosa, the path on which Jesus was forced to wear the crown of thorns and bear the cross on the way to his execution at Golgotha.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day Eight

We begin our day on Mount Zion where Jesus was brought by the Roman soldiers after his arrest near Getsemane, to the house of the high priest Caiphus. The Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu is built over the area of the home where Caiphas lived and where Jesus was first tried the next morning. Our next stop on Mount Zion is at the Upper Room of the Last Supper, where Jesus held the Passover meal in the presence of the 12 disciples and he instructed them regarding the Eucharist. Just a few steps from Mount Zion we’ll enter the Old City of Jerusalem through the Zion Gate and approach the Jewish Quarter which is filled with archeological remains from both the first and second temple periods as well as the later Roman and Byzantine periods. We will follow the trail, according to a lesser known scholarly theory, on which Jesus carried the cross on his way to Golgotha, where he was executed. We endwalking along this Way of Suffering, or Via Dolorosa, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where the crucifixion took place. Following a detailed look at the events which took place here (crucifixion, washing and anointing the body, burial, and resurrection), we will walk down the traditional Via Dolorosa in the opposite direction, towards its starting point and then continue past its first station of the cross to St. Anne’s Church, the traditional birthplace of the Virgin Mary. We’ll end our day at the Garden Tomb, a beautiful Protestant site that celberates the resurrection, just outside the northern gate of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Overnight in Jerusalem.

Day Nine

Today we’ll spend most of our time away from Jerusalem’s Old City to tour important sites in the New City. We will start near the Western Wall at the Southern Wall Steps, where, thousands of years ago, pilgrims coming to Jerusalem would ascend to enter the temple compound where they would make sacrifices to God. Then we’ll walk down the hill to the original site of Jerusalem, the City of David. Here we’ll visit the Pool of Siloam, where Jesus cured the blind man. We’ll cross town to the Israel Museum where we’ll stand above a giant model of second temple period Jerusalem from the time of Jesus. Let’s see how many landmarks we can identify. At the museum we’ll also visit the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit which have taught us a great deal about Judaism and early Christianity. Finally we’ll end on a somber note by visiting Yad Vashem, the holocaust memorial museum.

Day Ten

On our last day in Israel we’ll be visiting the port of Caesarea built by King Herod over 2,000 years ago. Herod’s project opened up the Judean economy to the Mediterranean and the Roman Empire thereby improving the standard of living in the land. We’ll learn about the different empires which settled Caesarea for a period of 1300 years and learn of Caesarea’s rebirth in the 20th century. From Caesarea we’ll drive directly to the airport for our departure flight from Israel.

Arrive in United States