14 Days Israel Christian Tour

Day 1:

Arrive at the Ben-Gurion Airport by Tel Aviv, where your Guide will meet you. Transfer to your Hotel. Dinner and Introduction to your tour by your guide.

O/N in or by Tel-Aviv.

 

Day 2:

We shall start our pilgrimage with a tour of the old city of Jaffa, one of the ancient gateways to the Holy Land: Through its port the Cedar trees for Salomon's Temple were brought, the prophet Jonas tried to flee God, but most important: It was in Jaffa where Christianity began to be spread among the nations. Here St. Peter lived in the house of Simon the Tanner and had the "Vision of the Flesh", and here he made his first miracle by healing the little girl. Today Jaffa's renovated alley-ways attract many artists, who have their galleries there. We drive to Caesarea Maritima, the magnificent port-city built by King Herod the Great. From here St. Peter went to Rome and started with his first miracles. In Caesarea's well-preserved theater an inscription of the procurator Pontius Pilate was found. We continue along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea to climb the ever-green Mt. Carmel. Here we will visit the Carmelite Monastery, where the monks get their spiritual inspiration from the view, and from the deeds of Elijah the Prophet who acted on this mountain.  In the late afternoon we drive through the hills of Galilee to Tiberias, where we will spend the night. O/N Tiberias.

 

Day 3:

We start the day in Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water to wine at a wedding. Its modest church is a suitable place to reconfirm wedding-ties. We step back on the bus and continue to Nazareth, where we visit the Grand Basilica of the Annunciation and the St. Joseph's Church. We will also stroll through Nazareth's colorful Bazaar and visit the Greek-Orthodox St. Gabriel church near Mary's Well. O/N in Tiberias.

 

Day 4:

Today we visit the places where Jesus acted around the Sea of Galilee: We visit Capernaum, with St. Peters House and the famous Synagogue, enjoy the view from Mt. of the Beatitudes, where the "Sermon on the Mount" was given, and also the reconstructed church at Tabgha, where tradition puts the miracle of the Bread and The Fish. We will also sail on the sea in a boat similar to the boat used by Jesus and his disciples. In the afternoon we make a short drive to the Baniass Nature Reserve, once Caesarea Philippi, where the Keys to Heaven were given to Simon – Petrus. O/N in Tiberias.

 

Day 5:

Our first mission today is to ascend Mt. Tabor. Its majestic presence, overlooking the Jezreel Valley "by itself" has led to the tradition that it was here were Jesus' Transfiguration took place. The road up this mountain is so steep, that pilgrims coming by bus have to switch to Taxis, in order to be able to ascend to the mountain peak, where the known architect Berluzzi built a unique church.  After descending the mountain, we drive to Megiddo, biblical Armageddon. Here excavations have revealed some very important findings from the time of the Canaanites, King Salomon, and the Kingdom of Israel. O/N in Tiberias.

 

 

Day 6:

After a stop at the Yardenit Baptismal Site to reassure our baptismal at the Jordan River, we continue along the Jordan Valley to Beth Shean, an important city during the times of the Old Testament (here King Saul's last battle took place). In Jesus' time it is mentioned as one of the "Decca-Polis", an alliance of ten independent cities with a mixed Roman-Jewish community. After visiting its very well-preserved antiquities, we travel in Jesus' footsteps through the Jordan Valley and past Jericho, to enter Jerusalem via the Mount of Olives. On Mount Scopus, at a point viewing the Holy City, we will step out of the bus for a Welcome Ceremony to Jerusalem. O/N Jerusalem.

 

Day 7:

Garden of Gethsemane. We also visit the "Wailing Wall", the last remnants of the Temple in Jerusalem. If the current situation allows it, we will try to visit the Temple Mount as well. We continue in the footsteps of Jesus along the Stations of the Via Dolorosa, Jesus' "Way of Suffering", and unto the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Jesus was crucified and buried. The Via Dolorosa also passes through the Old City's oriental "Suq" (Bazaar). At the end of the day we visit King David's Tomb and the "Room of the Last Supper". O/N Jerusalem.

 

Day 8:

Today we will see sites that remind us of the beginning of Jesus' life: we will drive to Bethlehem, the birth-town of Jesus, where we shall visit the Church of Nativity, built in the 4^th century, and since then never destroyed! We will also see the Milk grotto and the "Shepherds Fields". [Important Notice: As Bethlehem is today under the control of the Palestinian Authority, responsibility there is solely on our Palestinian colleagues. Tour can be cancelled without prior notice due to security or other reasons.] In the afternoon we will visit the picturesque village Ein Karim, where according to tradition, John the Baptist was born. O/N in Jerusalem.

 

Day 9:

This day is dedicated to Jerusalem's New City: We visit "Yad Vashem", the holocaust memorial commemorating the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis, and then the famous "Menorah" (Candelabra) situated outside the "Knesset", Israel's parliament. The "Menorah" shows us the history of the Jewish people from biblical times and until this day. In the afternoon we visit the Israel Museum were we shall see the original "Dead Sea Scrolls", and the famous 1:50 model of Jerusalem, as it was in Jesus times! O/N in Jerusalem.

 

Day 10:

Today we are southwards bound, into the desert! We will visit Qumran, where most of the famous "Dead Sea Scrolls" were found. In Qumran we can learn about the way of life of the Essen's, Jews who lived according to the teaching of John the Baptist and Jesus, even before their time! We climb (by cable-car…) the famous cliff-fortress of Masada, where Herod the Great built a magnificent palace in the middle of the desert. Masada was then used as a fortress by the Jewish "Zealots" who fought, few against many, against the pagan Roman Empire. Their heroic struggle became a symbol for the modern State of Israel. Then we drive to our spa-hotel by the Dead Sea, where we spend the night. We will not miss, of course, some floating (not swimming!) on the Dead Sea, the deepest point on earth!

 

Day 11:

If necessary, we will leave you some time in the morning, in order to enjoy the famous healing-qualities of the Dead Sea. Then we drive past Sodom (Yes…! That Sodom!!!) and the Pillar of Salt that according to tradition was Lots Wife (Genesis 19 : 26). Then we drive on the "Arava Road" to Timna. Here we visit some of its famous  structures carved by nature in the soft sandstone, the ancient mines that were identified as "King Salomon's Mines" and the 1:1 model of the Tabernacle, made by Christians just according to the measurements of the Bible! In the afternoon we arrive to King Salomon's City by the Red Sea – Eilat. O/N in Eilat.

 

Day 12:

Today is a day of leisure in the Resort City Eilat. You can visit the Underwater Observatory to take a close look at the colorful underwater-world of the Red Sea Coral Reef, or take a tour to the St. Catherine Monastery in Sinai or Petra in Jordan. O/N in Eilat.

 

Day 13:

Leaving Eilat, we drive through the wild Negev Desert and through the Ramon Crater, a unique geological landscape, only to be found in Israel, and to the Nabathean city Avdat, once a major station for the caravans that used to carry the Myrrh and Frankincense to Rome. The ancient churches revealed in Avdat are sometimes used by pilgrims for a special prayer in the desert, like the Patriarchs of the Church… Then we drive by Abraham's city, Beer Sheba, to Tel Aviv, where we spend the night.

 

Day 14:

If your flight-schedule permits it, you will have some free time in Tel Aviv before your transfer to the Ben Gurion International Airport for your flight back home.

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