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DAY 01: NORTH AMERICA / EUROPE.
Tour members will gather at the
ticket counter at the airport two hours prior to their departure to
Europe. Dinner and breakfast will be served in-flight.
DAY 02: EUROPE / TEL AVIV.
Upon
our arrival at the Tel Aviv airport, we will be met and transferred to
our hotel in a suburb of Tel Aviv - situated on the shores of the
Mediterranean Sea. Dinner will be served at our hotel. Weather
permitting; we suggest a walk after dinner on the beach.
DAY 03: TEL AVIV / GALILEE.
After breakfast we drive through
the citrus groves and farms of the rich land of Sharon, northward to
Caesarea, the Roman city of Herod where sights include Crusader
fortifications and the Roman aqueducts and amphitheater. Driving
through the Jezreel Valley to Mt. Carmel - the biblical site of
Elijah's contest with the prophets of Baal (IKings:18). Continue to the
fields of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16) visiting Megiddo. Here we visit
Solomon's Stables, the famous tower and secret passages. On to visit
Nazareth. We will see the Church of the Annunciation, carpentry shop
and Mary's Well. Continue via Mt. Tabor, the traditional site of the
Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-8), to Tiberias for dinner and overnight by
the Sea of Galilee.
DAY 04: GALILEE / CAPERNAUM / JERUSALEM. 
After breakfast, we board our
boat for a morning devotional service on the Sea of Galilee. After our
cruise, we continue to the ruins of Capernaum (John 6:24) to visit the
ancient ruins of the first century synagogue where Jesus preached (Matt.
4:13-17). View the Mt. of Beatitudes - site of the "Sermon on the
Mount" (Matt. 5-7). Visit Tabgha - the chapel dedicated to the
multiplication of the loaves and fishes (Mark 6:34-44). After lunch we
depart for the beautiful Pilgrims Park at the Jordan River for a
baptism. Continue to Bethshean and Samaria and then on to Jerusalem to
our hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 05: JERUSALEM. 
After a night of rest and a
hearty breakfast this exciting day will begin with a drive to the top of
the Mount of Olives (Matt. 24:3) for a panoramic view of the Old City of
Jerusalem. Visit the chapel of the Ascension, the Church of Pater
Noster and Dominus Flevit. Walk along Hosanna Road to the Garden of
Gethsemane to visit the Church of the Nations which stands on the Rock
of the Agony where Jesus was betrayed by Judas (Matt. 26:36-57). See
the Pillar of Absalom, the Eastern (Golden) Gate and the Pinnacle of the
Temple. Continue to the Gibon Spring, Pool of Siloam. After lunch,
drive to Mt. Zion, where we visit the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu
- on the site of Caiphas House - the Upper Room (Luke 22:14-20). A
Service with communion will be offered here. Then on to the Tomb of King
David and the Dormition. Continue to tour the new part of Jerusalem,
the Hebrew University, the Shrine of the Book that houses the Dead
Sea Scrolls, Ein Karem - birthplace of John the Baptist - Kennedy
Memorial and the Model City at the Holy Land Hotel depicting in
miniature the Holy City as it appeared in the first century. Return to
our hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 06: MASADA / QUMRAN / JERICHO /
JERUSALEM.
This morning we drive via the Judean Desert
to the Dead Sea - the lowest point on earth. A beautiful new road takes
us south along the shores of the Dead Sea to Masada, truly a remarkable
piece of history. On the way we view Ein Fescha, a green oasis in the
middle of the desert. Then ascend to Masada by cable car to visit the
magnificent ruins of the fortress where from 70-73 A.D. the Jewish
defenders made the last stand of the Judean revolt against Rome and
where the remains of store houses, cisterns and a 6th century Byzantine
church are still on view. After lunch at Ein Gedi we return along the
Dead Sea to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Visit
the remains of the community center of the Essenes and the Caves of the
Scrolls. Then we proceed to Ancient Jericho, where the walls came
tumbling down and a commanding view of the Mt. of Temptation and
Elisha's Fountain. Here we will see the Inn of the Good Samaritan (Luke
10:25-37). Continue to Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus
(John 11:1-46). Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Jerusalem.
DAY 07: JERUSALEM / BETHLEHEM.
 View
the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives from the Eastern Gate as you
start a walking tour to the Old City of Jerusalem entering through St.
Stephen's Gate to the Pool of Bethesda and Saint Anne's Church, the Ecce
Homo Arch (Behold the Man) (John 19:13) where Jesus was tried before
Pilate (Mark 15:6). We will also see the Lithostrotos and the Via
Dolorosa. Continue to the Temple Area of Mt. Moriah. Visit the El Aksa
Mosque, the Wailing Walland the Dome of the Rock which is built on the
ancient site of Solomon's Temple (Genesis 22:9-14) and over the Rock of
Sacrifice where Abraham offered Isaac (Genesis 22) and the ceremonial
sacrifice of animals took place. Walk through the Old City bazaars to
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. View the Tower of David and the
Citadel as you leave the Old City through Jaffa Gate. After lunch visit
the Garden Tomb and Golgotha -Place of the Skull. Onward to Bethlehem
to visit the Church of the Nativity and the birth place of Jesus, and
Shepherds Fields (Luke 2:1-20). Then we see the Fields of Boaz and Ruth
(Ruth 1:16-17 & 4:13). We observe Rachel's Tomb on our way back to our
hotel.
DAY 08: JERUSALEM /
TEL AVIV / NORTH AMERICA.
This morning will return to Tel Aviv
where we will transfer to the airport for our flight to Frankfurt. In
Europe we will connect with our flight to North America. The end of our
journey. |
